How do I Apply to College?

It's a daunting task. Even more daunting when you're a first generation college student. Even more daunting when you have no friends to go to for help. That was my situation, at least! I don't want anyone else to struggle like that, so consider me your new friend. I'm going to tell you all about college applications, programs that make it easier, and how to prepare.

Where do I start? When do I start?

Okay, good questions. Unfortunately, starting time depends on what kind of preparation you need. According to College Ave, the common app opens its applications in early August, and closes on January 1st of the year you'd enter college. Most colleges follow this window, but some have rolling admission.

What's rolling admission, Atticus? So glad you asked! Rolling admission colleges evaluate your application as you send it in, rather than waiting for a deadline to start reading through them. There are benefits to this, such as a shorter wait time for their decision! However, you need to be wary of dates, even if they are rolling. Applying too late in the year might lead to you not getting a spot in the college for the semester you're hoping for. All colleges have a cap for the amount of students they can receive.

Beyond rolling admissions, you should also consider early action and early decision. Both early action and early decision applications are sent in far earlier than regular decision, usually around mid to late November, but can even go so early as late October. It's best to look at your preferred colleges' websites to see when their deadlines are. Both early action and early decision also send back their decisions earlier too! Colleges will usually send their decisions around mid-December to early January. So, what are the differences? Early action is a non-binding application. That means that while you are applying early and having your application read earlier, you are not bound to attend any college that accepts you. You may apply early action to as many colleges as you like because of this! Early decision, on the other hand, is binding. You can only apply early decision to one college, and if they accept you, you must attend that college. The benefit to early decision applications is the potential for deferment. If you are not accepted for the academic year you applied for, they might choose to hold your application and review it again the next year to accept you later!

So. What all do I need to apply?

In general, you should have important test scores and grades and essays handy when applying to college. This is where it's important to start thinking about college early. While you may be applying in your early senior year, or the summer just before senior year, you should start getting your materials together before that, especially things like test scores.

SAT and ACT scores

This is probably the first thing you'll have ready when applying to college. Most websites suggest taking your SAT or ACT in the spring of your junior year of high school, and you'll receive your score in the summer. However, a lot of colleges are changing their views on these tests. It's best to check early in your junior year to see if the colleges you wish to attend require an SAT or ACT score before you register to take the tests. It's worth noting that colleges will usually still accept test scores if you have them, so if you're a good test-taker and want the extra buffer in your application, go for it!

Essays

It's a little difficult to try to prepare these before applications are open, as most colleges will have their own prompts for you to follow, so my suggestion is to work on your writing skills and look up what past college essay prompts have been! College essays should be professional, concise, and honest. Work on grammatical skills, such as comma usage, sentence structuring and variation, and personal anecdotes (all colleges love a good ole' "what hardships have you faced" essay prompt). You want to be professional and appealing to the college, so work on your confidence in the writing too! If you have someone you trust to be honest with you about improving your writing, ask them for guidance. Look for workshops that your high school might offer as well!

Letters of recommendation

Most colleges will require a couple of letters of recommendation from teachers that you have worked with. It's important to be kind to your teachers and give them plenty of time to write the letter, as they will probably receive a lot of requests from other students applying to college. When you get a letter of recommendation, there is usually a portal in which they must send it in, and you cannot read the letter of recommendation.

Other items

Almost all college applications will have an extensive list of personal information that you must fill out, including financial information for potential scholarships. I suggest setting a time with parents if you think you will need their assistance for any information!

You also need to send in your high school transcript. Atticus, how do I do that if I'm still in high school? Great question, reader! Most college application portals will request your grades up until your final year of high school, under the promise that you send your official high school transcript upon graduation. Usually, you'll send this request to your high school counseling office, who will directly send the transcript to the college. There's an important detail to this notice- colleges can rescind their offers to you if they want. This means that if you give up in high school after getting your first college acceptance, you can lose it once they see your grades have tanked. So be careful!

Money

*sigh* This is an unfortunate facet of college, but it has some caveats. Almost every college has an application fee to it, ranging anywhere from $40-$80 (or more, these are just the prices I've faced). A lot of colleges are beginning to implement waiver policies, though! You can do anything from sending in test scores to essays to grades, depending on the school's requirement, and get the application fee waived. If you have chosen a lot of colleges to apply to, I highly suggest this so you don't have as big of a dent in your wallet after the application period.

I have everything ready and it's time. Where do I apply?

It's time!! I *highly* suggest applying with the common app! This is a website that really consolidates a lot of this process. Rather than filling out a personal information list for every single school you're applying to, you do it once and it saves the information, sending it to each school you choose! This website also saves your essays, so if you can reuse them, it will let you!

If you can't find your application on Common App, it's probably only available on your school's site. It can be as simple as googling "[insert your college here] application" and finding the right link. These sites will have different instructions, but they'll usually involve the same basic process of sending everything in and filling out all the necessary information!

Once you've done everything, all that's left to do is wait. It can be insanely stressful, but the best way to handle it is to just power through with your current work until you receive your decisions. From there, you'll need to choose a school to attend (if you don't have an early decision commitment), and from there, you'll receive information from your chosen college about getting ready for your first semester!

I believe in you, friends. You're going to do great things!