Michigan's Missing Glove

College Admissions Checklist for High School Juniors and Seniors

It’s late, and I’ve got this new thing where I try to get up at 9am or earlier (“…what is this ‘morning’ of which you speak??”), so I’m just going to generalize a checklist I made for my brother, who will be starting his junior year of high school this coming Monday. I have a few friends who are still in high school; they might be able to use some advice.

These are pretty much the steps I took as a high school student, and I’ve done pretty well for myself up to this point, so why not? You guys can form your own opinions on whether I’m sensible or senseless and give further instructions in the comments box. We’ll discuss it later.

• If, like my brother, you don’t already have one, get an email address!
  • It will probably save you money if you get your SAT and other standardized test scores back on the Internet instead of through the mail.
  • By senior year, you absolutely needs one. This is how most schools communicate with prospective students.
  • Make sure it sounds professional: john.smith@____.com or JDSmith, whatever you want as long as it’s not sexyguitarist92 or something to that effect.
  • Gmail has great email services for free.
• Begin narrowing down your list of colleges.
  • I’m a weirdo: I had known where I wanted to go since ninth grade. You might not know so specifically where you want to go. A great tool to narrow your options is College MatchMaker on the CollegeBoard website. These are the people who organize the SAT and AP tests every year. They also write guides to college admissions, etc. The MatchMaker asks questions like, “Do you prefer a public or private school?” You then choose one of the options or “no preference,” and it eventually whittles you down to several schools that fit your tastes.
    • CollegeBoard’s website can also show you various schools’ statistics and rankings (and what sort of SAT/ACT scores you need to get in). For example, here is the stats page for the University of Virginia.
  • …then go on college visits!
    • You might know the stats for every football player on FSU’s team, but do you know what the campus is like? Do they have a good department for your intended major? What about the food or what goes on over the weekends? You need to get a feel for life at each of these universities and eventually find the one that clicks for you. College visits will help with this, and most high schools count these visits as excused absences.
    • This will whittle your list down further, preferably to somewhere between 3 and 5 colleges. (I have known crazy people who applied to nine schools, but we won’t go there.)
      • These schools should be stratified as “Safety School(s),” “Back-Up School(s)” (one you wouldn’t mind going to if you don’t get into your first choice), and “First Choice.” For example, mine were:
        • First Choice: UVA
        • Back-Up School(s): William & Mary
        • Safety School(s): VCU
• Sign up for the SAT Question of the Day.
  • Also presented by CollegeBoard, this daily SAT review (in a small, easily handled dose) is sent directly to the student’s inbox. You can then choose one of the multiple choice answers, which will redirect the browser to the CollegeBoard website with the correct answer and the reason why it is correct.
  • I used this program when I was reviewing for the SAT, and it helped me succeed on the test – especially on the Math section!
  • Also, when I was a junior, I waited until March of my spring semester to take the SAT for the first time. It gave me time to get acclimated to the pressures of junior year – as well as more time to study for the test. If absolutely necessary due to poor scores, you can take it a few more times in the fall of your senior year (as well as several times that spring of your junior year).
• Get a fastweb.com account.
  • I still have the account my dad and I made back in my freshman year. It’s really a great help to find out about scholarships you didn’t even know existed.
• Speaking of senior year, APPLY FOR COLLEGE!
  • Summer before Senior Year
    • Most colleges release their admissions essay questions in May or June or use the same questions year after year. Start brainstorming and writing first drafts of the essays during the summer when ideas are fresh and you’re not juggling writing with the rest of college applications AND schoolwork. They’ll sound much nicer that way.
  • Fall of Senior Year
    • Set a more specific personal schedule for when you will get each aspect of each application done (e.g. Personal Information for NYU due Sept. 5). Deadlines will help motivate you to get things done.
  • January 1 of Senior Year
    • Apply for FAFSA as soon after this as possible to get the best aid for that coming year.
    • Also, file for your school’s financial aid by their priority deadline so as to get the best aid for that coming year.
  • March/April
    • Congratulations! You got into some schools! Be sure to send back your letter accepting or declining admission ASAP (and definitely before the acceptance deadline)!
  • The Whole Year
    • Keep your grades up and don’t get senioritis! Just because you got into a school doesn’t mean they can’t kick you back out.

Hope this helped!

Hugs, Jessica