6 Things Students Need to Know About College Admissions

Lessa Scherrer

Your College, Your Way

How to stay on track for college

• P l a n A h e a d

• S h o w Le a d e r s h i p

• Fi n d t h e R i g h t C o l l e g e s

• Wr i t e a K i l l e r E s s a y

• G e t G re a t Le t t e r s o f Re c o m m e n d a t i o n

• S t a y O rg a n i z e d

Step 1

Plan Ahead

Ideally, college planning should start in 8 th grade.

• C o l l e g e p re p

c l a s s e s

• G PA

• Te s t i n g S c h e d u l e

• S o c i a l M e d i a

• E x t r a c u r r i c u l a r s

Plan all 4 years right

awayYou can ’ t take ca l cu lus sen io r yea r un less you

take a lgeb ra i n 9 t h g rade .

Plan your standardized testing

• A P o r I B

• AC T o r S AT o r b o t h

• P S AT / N M S Q T

• S AT I I S u b j e c t Te s t s

• C L E P

Your GPA is an average of

all your grades

Senior year i s too late to t ry

to ra ise i t .

Clean up your social media.

• # Tw i t t e r i s f o re v e r

• O n l y p i c t u re s t h a t s h o w t h e f u t u re c o l l e g e s t u d e n t / j o b a p p l i c a n t

• Pro f e s s i o n a l e m a i l a d d re s s , n o t “ M c P i m p n @ g m a i l ”

Activities Resume

ht tp : / / s choo lbuff .com/Ac t i v i t i e s _Exper iences_Record .pd f

Step 2

Show leadership

You can be a leader inside and outside the classroom

• C l a s s / C l u b O ffi c e r

• Vo l u n t e e r Wo r k

• Pa i d Wo r k

• I n t e l l e c t u a l

c u r i o s i t y

Intellectual curiosity

Making connections and applying

knowledge

Step 3

Find the r ight col leges

What you’ll need to think about

• S i z e , t y p e ,

l o c a t i o n

• Po s s i b l e m a j o r

• Te s t s c o re s a n d

s e l e c t i v i t y

• C o s t

Size and Type

Smal l l iberal arts col lege or

b ig state research

univers i ty?

Location

C lose t o home o r

f a r a w a y?

M oun ta in s? Bea c h ?

Dow n Sou th ?

New E ng la nd?

Test Scores and

Selectivity

Do your scores and GPA match their f reshman

c lass?

The best ways to evaluate a college’s culture

• Vi s i t !

• S u m m e r c a m p o n c a m p u s

• S i t i n o n c l a s s e s a n d / o r c o m m u n i c a t e w i t h p ro f e s s o r s

Cost

Is i t a fi nancial match?

“Sometimes a private

college can be cheaper than a state

school.”

Paying for college

• S a v i n g s ( 5 2 9 p l a n )

• S c h o l a r s h i p s

• G r a n t s

• Lo a n s

Step 4

Write a ki l ler essay

This is how Admissions gets to know the real you

• S h o w y o u r p e r s o n a l i t y

• P i c k a t o p i c y o u a re p a s s i o n a t e a b o u t

• D o n ’ t w a i t u n t i l t h e l a s t m i n u t e

No matter what the topic, the subject is

always you.

You r p a s s i on a n d exp e r i e n c e w i l l m a ke yo u r e s s a y e a s i e r t o

w r i t e a n d t o re a d .

Pick a topic you are passionate about

Be specifi c and show, don’t tell.

The more deta i l you prov ide,

the better your story

Don’t wait until the last

minute

Good essays require t ime for revision

“Be yourself, tell the truth,

and share stories that the people

who know you best would say refl ect

who you are.”Kev in McMul l i n ,

Co l l egewise

Step 5

Get good le t ters o f

recommendat ion

Ask for recommendations from teachers who know you well.

• J un io r y r teachers ,

no t s r.

• Fo re ign l anguage &

a r t s o r c lub sponso rs

• Be p repared

6 Weeks Notice

Teachers are busy and sometimes

forgetfu l

Request Package

Wr i t t e n re q u e s t

B r a g s h e e t / l i n k

S A S E s o r e n v e l o p e s

S i x w e e k s n o t i c e

Send a thank you note!

Handwritten is better than

email .

Step 6

Stay organized

Use the tools most convenient for you.

• M a s t e r c a l e n d a r

• H a rd c o p y f o r

v i s u a l / s p a t i a l

• P h o n e

a p p s / re m i n d e r s

• S e t a l a rm s o n t a s k

l i s t

• E xc e l o r Wo rd

Portfolio Website

ht tp : / /Homeschoo l -Po r t f o l i o .weeb ly. com

ht tp : / /www.zeemee .com

Z e e M e e P re - b u i l t Po r t f o l i o

You c a n fi n d m ore i n f o rm a t i on o n a l l t h e s e

t op i c s on m y w e b s i t e :

Thank you for coming!

www.YourCollegeYourWay.com