Completing the Common Application can be a daunting task. First, there is the demographic section where you reveal all the facts about your family: where you live, who went to college within your family, and other personal information. If a college requires an SAT or ACT score, then you must take one of those exams and submit the score. Next, you must complete the portion of the application that indicates what activities you participate in within the school and outside your school life. Of course, the essay that is sent to all the colleges and the supplemental essays that are only sent to a specific college must be written and uploaded. And throughout the junior year, you want to meet with your guidance counselor and attend all school meetings for the college-bound student. Gathering all this information, preparing it, and inserting it into the Common App is what makes the application process difficult. Each high school will provide programs and distribute information to students and their families to learn about this process, but if you are prepared, each meeting will have a more satisfying outcome. If you are the first person in your family who is applying to college, it can be overwhelming. In fact, even if your brother or sister has done it all before, it can be intimidating since the process often changes. This summer EA is trying to help families understand how the process works and ways to prepare the information that will be needed.
If you are entering your junior year, decide in advance if you are going to take the ACT or SAT. If you are a strong science student, then the ACT might show your strengths as a student more than the SAT. Look out for the next Free EA Workshop on the difference between the SAT and ACT if you want to discover exactly how they compare.
If you are a freshman or sophomore in high school, then now is a good time to begin your activities list. On the Common App, you will be asked to indicate the number of years you have participated in an activity. It is ideal if you have done an activity for all four years of high school and have taken a leadership role. Additionally, you have done other activities for more than one year inside and outside of school. Colleges are interested in students who have contributed to their communities either as volunteers or as committed employees.
The essay that you send to all of the colleges should begin with a little research. Read the mission statements, philosophy, and history of each college so you will understand the values of the school. Then honestly ask yourself which college has the most similar values to your own. Before you begin reading about each college, many will have similar values, so look at the order they are presented, so you will know which one is valued most. Remember to always be honest when you are writing. The admissions officer can tell when you aren’t authentic. They are detectives searching for the best people to be part of their incoming class.
This summer is the time to think about the process and hopefully complete portions of the application if you are a junior. For sophomores, just think about it and write down your ideas. For juniors, begin the process. And if you are a senior, run, don’t walk, to that Common Application and start immediately.
And as always, EA is here to help. We are just a phone call or email away from the answers to all your questions. 845-582-0017 or educationallyaware@gmail.com
If you are entering your junior year, decide in advance if you are going to take the ACT or SAT. If you are a strong science student, then the ACT might show your strengths as a student more than the SAT. Look out for the next Free EA Workshop on the difference between the SAT and ACT if you want to discover exactly how they compare.
If you are a freshman or sophomore in high school, then now is a good time to begin your activities list. On the Common App, you will be asked to indicate the number of years you have participated in an activity. It is ideal if you have done an activity for all four years of high school and have taken a leadership role. Additionally, you have done other activities for more than one year inside and outside of school. Colleges are interested in students who have contributed to their communities either as volunteers or as committed employees.
The essay that you send to all of the colleges should begin with a little research. Read the mission statements, philosophy, and history of each college so you will understand the values of the school. Then honestly ask yourself which college has the most similar values to your own. Before you begin reading about each college, many will have similar values, so look at the order they are presented, so you will know which one is valued most. Remember to always be honest when you are writing. The admissions officer can tell when you aren’t authentic. They are detectives searching for the best people to be part of their incoming class.
This summer is the time to think about the process and hopefully complete portions of the application if you are a junior. For sophomores, just think about it and write down your ideas. For juniors, begin the process. And if you are a senior, run, don’t walk, to that Common Application and start immediately.
And as always, EA is here to help. We are just a phone call or email away from the answers to all your questions. 845-582-0017 or educationallyaware@gmail.com
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