6 replies to this topic

[Vitalis]

Aside from getting high marks in school, what are other ways to improve my chances to getting into a good college? I plan on joining extracurricular activities next year as a junior and I've heard that joining community college classes during the summer can save me a lot of money, and I think that something like that would be in my favor when applying for colleges, right? I'm pretty foggy on the details so if anybody could help me out I would really appreciate it. I've set up a meeting with my guidance counselor at my school but it's not for another week.

Thanks in advance.

[Black Flame]

Extracurriculars and high marks are definitely important. It would also be wise to join an AP class or two in your junior/senior year. Don't go overboard though. Don't join 7 clubs and take 5 APs or something because you will mentally explode. Your also going to possibly want to do volunteer services and get a job, since both are asked on college applications. Really any work experience you've done you put on the application. I know this because I'm in the middle of finishing 9 college apps right now.

But yeah as long as you do those things really, you should be fine. Just again don't be too worried and go overboard. I've seen some of my friends do it and I don't recommend it by any means.

EDIT: Oh and when the time comes to do apps, you don't have to do as many college apps as I am. I'm just doing it because I'm overly paranoid.

[hungryhippo]

You definitely need to get involved in extra-curriculars. They are really important. They show the school what you could bring to the table as far as they are concerned. They aren't going to go for the straight A student who does nothing and appears to be scary anti-social over the A-B student who is involved in their school and gets awesome recommendations from their teachers.

Establish really good relationships with your junior/senior year teachers; you'll be asking these people for letters of recommendation when they argue to the college why you'd be good for their school.

Begin compiling a "brag sheet" now. It's never too early. List every extracurricular you've done, and when you did it in a word doc. List every award you've gotten in high school and if it isn't straight forward (like Highest Average in Biology or something) describe it a little bit. List your work experience. List any leadership experience you've had and describe it a little bit. Put in your current GPA and course load (like what level classes you are taking). List your community service (very very important) experiences and tell a little about what you did. This brag sheet will be absolutely invaluable to you while you're doing applications and looking for teacher/guidance counselor recommendations.

Start looking into your colleges now. You'll have a much better understanding of what you should do if you have a clear understanding of what types of schools you'll be applying to. Try to at least pin down a safety school (one that you should get in to if you're on your current academic track), a 50-50 school (one that you definitely could get in to but is a bit more competitive), and a reach school (one that you may not have the stats to get into, but you should want to push yourself toward this school). Use resources like collegeboard.com to search for facts about schools.

Do well on your SATs and/or ACTs. They can be a big factor in lots of schools admission's offices. Take the PSAT. Take practice SATs. If you aren't prepared, get help. There are books, tutors, classes from people like kaplan, etc to help you. Your guidance counselor will have loads of info on resources like this for you.

[can you tell I'm a college student who's already been through all this haha]

[Vitalis]

Thanks a bunch you guys. I really appreciate the help. I'm currently taking an AP class for History. I would take as many AP courses as possible, the only problem is that my school only offers two. Better than nothing I suppose.

I've been meaning to get a job although I always find a way to procrastinate. Thanks for that idea about the brag sheet. Pretty clever imo.

Establish really good relationships with your junior/senior year teachers; you'll be asking these people for letters of recommendation when they argue to the college why you'd be good for their school.

Are you only allowed to ask for recommendations from your junior and senior year teachers? I had a pretty good relationship with all of my middle school teachers, albeit it has been a few years.

I have one last question: My family is having a pretty horrible time with money (My mothers the only one working and my father was recently let go as his company went up in flames), is there any way to get some financial aid? I have absolutely no idea how scholarships and loans work (Something I'm pretty sure I should know by now), does anybody have advice for that?

[redlion]

I have one last question: My family is having a pretty horrible time with money (My mothers the only one working and my father was recently let go as his company went up in flames), is there any way to get some financial aid? I have absolutely no idea how scholarships and loans work (Something I'm pretty sure I should know by now), does anybody have advice for that?

Yes there is. First of all, FAFSA will help if your family earns below a certain amount each year. Further, each university will have an aid package for you. Some will consist of student loans, some will be grants, some will be scholarships; it depends on what you earn and how attractive you are to them as a student. Better performing students are offered better deals.

[Tyler.]

I have one last question: My family is having a pretty horrible time with money (My mothers the only one working and my father was recently let go as his company went up in flames), is there any way to get some financial aid? I have absolutely no idea how scholarships and loans work (Something I'm pretty sure I should know by now), does anybody have advice for that?

If you get a LIFE Scholarship (It's like, $5,000/semester or something, not sure.), you can't skip a semester/year or anything and then go back, or you'll lose that scholarship. 'Bout all I know

[hungryhippo]

I would take as many AP courses as possible, the only problem is that my school only offers two. Better than nothing I suppose.

Are you only allowed to ask for recommendations from your junior and senior year teachers? I had a pretty good relationship with all of my middle school teachers, albeit it has been a few years.

I have one last question: My family is having a pretty horrible time with money (My mothers the only one working and my father was recently let go as his company went up in flames), is there any way to get some financial aid? I have absolutely no idea how scholarships and loans work (Something I'm pretty sure I should know by now), does anybody have advice for that?

Most schools will have a form for your guidance counselor where he/she can tell the the level of difficulty offered at your school and how rigorous your course load is for you school. ie- your school only offering two APs won't hold you back against someone who took every single class as AP. Most schools will take into account only that you took the most rigorous courseload you could handle that was available at your school.

About the recs.: depends on the school. Some may allow person relations (a middle school teacher would no longer be considered your teacher, only a personal relationship), but most are going to want to here from teachers that have taught you recently, so they know how your current work ethic is now. Basically, most of your reqs will come from your junior year teachers.

About financial aid: I'm getting my entire education paid for because my mom is a single parent and a teacher. There is lots of aid! Sign up first of all for the government stuff (FAFSA and, if the school wants it, the college board's PROFILE...ask your counselor about these goodies). Get yourself on the mailing list for fastweb.com You take a pretty quick survey about who you are and what you're involved in, and fastweb will match you up with scholarships that you can apply for. It's a scholarship search database that does a lot of the searching for you basically. Obviously you still have to sort through your matches and see which ones you really qualify for, but it's an awesome resource in looking for scholarships that aren't through the government. Basically, for right now, save tax returns and W-2s (yours if you work and your parents) because you'll need them for FAFSA