College

Step 1: Research Colleges & Majors (Spring of Junior Year)

• Do a self-evaluation and think about what you want in a college and which majors/careers interest you.
• Meet with your counselor to discuss your plans.  Use computer searches and/or books to help identify colleges to visit and majors to explore.
• Keep an open mind and consider private colleges and out of state schools. Sometimes private and out of state options become affordable due to scholarship offers and/or financial aid.
• Take the SAT and, if feasible, the ACT.  Register online (and on time) at www.collegeboard.org and www.act.org. SAA’s school code is 112696.

Step 2:  Parents & Students- Look at Your Financial Situation (Spring of Junior Year)

• If you have not already done so, examine your family’s financial options.
• Get a ballpark idea of how much loan debt the student and/or parents are able and willing to accept.
• Consider future plans (advanced post-graduate degrees, etc.) and how that affects your financial picture.

Step 3: Visit Colleges (Spring Break or Summer)

• Visit some different types of colleges (city/suburban, large/small, etc.).
• Take an official tour.  If possible, attend an open house or a Q&A session.
• Observe students in busy areas, and check out the school newspaper or other printed publications, if any.
• If you are visiting many colleges in a short span of time, take notes so that you keep the details clear.
• Visit Savannah’s area colleges, especially if you can’t visit schools that are further away. 

Step 4: Prepare for Senior Year and the College Selection Process (Spring/Summer)

• After identifying a career field of interest, see if any opportunities exist for an internship or job shadowing.
• Get more involved in the community and work on community service projects.
• Prepare a draft of your resume.

Step 5:  Narrow Your List (Fall of Senior Year)

• Determine which colleges you would be interested in attending and begin applying.
• Make sure that you have a balanced list that includes some schools that are likely to accept you.
• Meet with your counselor again to brag about your progress and review your options.
• Take the SAT and/or ACT again, and use the four free score reports.
• Check application and scholarship deadlines early and read all instructions carefully well ahead of time. 

Step 6:  Apply to College (Fall/Winter of Senior Year)

• Make a list of your application deadlines. Apply online.
• If using the Common Application, add your counselor so we can upload supporting documents.
• Have SAT and/or ACT scores sent to colleges to which you have not already sent them. This is done through the websites of College Board and ACT.
• If a college is test optional, decide whether to send your scores.  Look at the college’s average scores at bigfuture.collegeboard.org.
• Allow time to write good college essays.  Don’t wait until the last minute to write your first draft.
• Be organized and stay ahead of schedule.

Step 7:  Apply for Financial Aid (Starting October of Senior Year)

• File the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible after October 1st.
• Be aware of financial aid deadlines for the schools to which you have applied.
• Look for scholarships through online searches and information posted by the counseling department.

Step 8:  The Forlorn and Forgotten Step: Eyes on the Prize

• Remember what your goal is in this whole process.  Is it to get accepted to a college of your choice or is it to attend a college of your choice and be successful?  There is a huge difference.
• Don’t forget to continue doing everything you can to prepare for the rigor of college work.  Remember that you will spend much less time in class in college and will have more responsibilities out of class. 

Self-Assessment

• Begin thinking about what things are important to YOU: Sports, clubs, a particular major, location (big city, small town?) religious affiliation, fraternities & sororities, prestige, study abroad?
• Talk with the people who support you: Parents, teachers, counselor, coach, etc.  What do they see as your strengths, realistic academic & athletic ability level, etc. Do they have any suggestions?
• Pool your info and take a realistic look at yourself.  How do your interests, SAT/ACT Scores, transcript, and financial need come together?
• This will give you the outline for a school that is the right fit for you!
• Check out www.gafutures.org or use the College Board’s My Road software.  These computer-generated searches are so helpful!! 

Visit, Visit, Visit!

• Visit schools you have no intention of attending (YES! I’m serious!) to get a no-pressure exposure to the visitation process.
• Visit ALL the schools you apply to arrange an alumni interview if you cannot visit the campus.
• Individualize your visit to your interests: Meet teachers, coaches, students, see facilities, sit in on a class, determine if this school is a good fit for you, use your self-assessment as your guide.
• Know your basics!! Check out the college’s website, read the Peterson’s Guide description, and have questions prepared so you know as much as you can at your visit and are prepared for questions.
• YOU should ask the questions!! It is very important that you take ownership of your visit.
• If you are touring the campus WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES!! Most campus tours last at least 1 hour.  Also remember that many admissions offices look out over the parking lot.  You are being watched when you arrive!
• Remember to write a thank you note after your visit to EACH person you met with, including your tour guide.  This is especially important if you met with an athletic coach or professor regarding a particular major.
• Start a college notebook.  After visiting a number of campuses, especially on an out-of-town trip, your memory of the details of each one will get fuzzy.  Make a page for each school you visit.  In the few minutes after your visit, write your immediate thoughts on the page.  When you are trying to remember months later which school it was that had the student center you loved, this will come in very handy! 

College Fairs

• An excellent way to get an overview of many potential schools in one place.
• PROBE in both spring and fall here in Savannah.
• Visit nacacnet.org for a listing of National College Fairs, where you can see hundreds of schools from all over the world.
• Prepare ahead of time by researching the list of participating schools and knowing who your priorities are.  Don’t waste time wandering up and down the isles!
• Make address labels that include detailed contact information and any extras you are looking for (majors, sports, clubs, support services, etc). Instead of standing there filling out the card, you can be talking to the college representative. 

Getting to Know Your List

• Many admissions offices now have Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as student blogs that are geared specifically to prospective students.
• Explore the websites, read the college newspaper, and check the coming events on the campus.
• Attend athletic events or performances if the school is within driving distance.
• All of these things will help give you a feel for the campus environment, and eventually help you to know if this feels like a place you could call home for the next four years. 

From this process, you should develop a list of schools you plan to apply to that include both financial and academic reaches, middles, and safeties.  No school should be anywhere on your list unless you can truly see yourself happy there…you never know, you might end up attending it!  

As you develop a list of colleges that interest you, be sure you can answer these questions about them.

The Basics

• Where is the college? Can you locate it on a map? Is it too close to home? Is it too far? ls it too cold or too hot there?
• Have you taken the course work the college requires for admission?
• What size is the college? How many students are undergraduates?
• What is the college's selectivity ratio (what proportion of applicants were admitted last year)?
• Does the college offer majors that interest you?
• Is the college coed or single sex?
• What percentage of students live off campus?
• How many of the students graduate in four years? Five years? Six years?
• How many first-year students return for their sophomore year?
• How much does the program cost? What is the total per­ year expense?
• What type of financial aid is available?

Where would you fit in?

• What are the admission test scores at the colleges of interest to you? Where does that place you?
• What were the high school GPAs of most of the freshmen last year?
• Are freshmen guaranteed on-campus housing? If not. where do they live?
• Are there extracurricular activities that interest you?

Visit their websites and read college guidebooks

• What are the admission test scores at the colleges of interest to you? Where does that place you?
• What were the high school GPAs of most of the freshmen last year?
• Are freshmen guaranteed on-campus housing? If not, where do they live?
• Are there extracurricular activities that interest you?

Admission Process

• When are applications due?
• What does the application contain? Are essays required?
• Is an interview suggested or required? Is an interview available from staff or alumni?
• When may you visit the college? What is its policy regarding campus visits?
• What are the financial aid deadlines? What financial aid forms are required?

Now answer these questions

• When are applications due?
• What does the application contain? Are essays required?
• Is an interview suggested or required? Is an interview available from staff or alumni?
• When may you visit the college? What is its policy regarding campus visits?
• What are the financial aid deadlines? What financial aid forms are required?

What should my college list look like?

✓ The number of schools on your list may vary depending on your personal situation and the competitiveness of the schools you choose.  In general, it is true that students apply to more colleges than they used to because of competition for space.

✓ Balance is the key.  Students can divide the colleges on their lists into three categories: Likely schools, Probable schools, and Reach schools.

✓ Likely schools are colleges to which you will almost certainly be admitted.  A likely school for one student may not be a likely school for another.  If your scores, GPA, academic record, etc. all compare very favorably with the school’s averages, then it may be a likely school for you.  Ideally, your likely school has a high rate of acceptance or is a regional school that doesn’t have strict limits on the number of students they can accept (like Savannah State, Georgia Southern, etc.).  You should have one likely school on your list, and it is essential that it be someplace that you like and would be happy to attend.

✓ Probable schools are generally colleges for which your scores, GPA, and academic record are somewhere in that school’s average range or slightly higher.  Be sure to check the acceptance rate to see if it is favorable.  Again, a probable school for you may be someone else’s likely or reach.

✓ Reach schools are colleges at which you meet all of the basic criteria, but your scores, GPA, and academic record are below average when compared to the school’s statistics.  This may be a dream school that you really like.  Many students have one of these on their lists, but it is not necessary.  Also, be sure to realize that if you are accepted to a reach school, you will likely find the work to be very challenging and will have to work very hard to be successful, so be prepared.

✓ Students who apply early may not need as many schools on their lists.  For example, if you apply early action and are notified in December that you have been accepted to a school that you know well, have visited, and really want to attend, then you may not find it necessary to apply to your likely schools.

✓ You might also need to have a financial safety school, which is a college that you know you can afford in case your financial needs are not met.

What if the college is too expensive?

✓ Don’t be scared too much by sticker prices.  If you really like a particular school, you should apply.  Just be sure to have an affordable backup school.

✓ Explore the financial aid and scholarships that are available at private schools.  You may qualify for enough merit and/or need based aid to make a private school affordable.

✓ Many well-endowed schools provide free tuition for students whose family incomes fall below certain thresholds.  Other colleges have instituted programs in which they commit to meet 100% of “need” (as determined through the FAFSA process) through grants and/or scholarships.

When do I apply to college?

✓ Most students will be submitting the majority of their applications between mid-October and late December.

✓ Many schools will have separate deadlines for scholarship consideration and financial aid. Deadlines for scholarships (merit based awards through the admissions office) and financial aid (need based aid through the financial aid office) may be earlier than the final admissions deadline.

✓ It is extremely important that you read all instructions and check all deadlines for each of your schools and be careful to note whether the school is on rolling admissions (see next page).  If you see an admission deadline that is fairly late in the year (March or later), then there’s a good chance that the school has rolling admission.

✓ The vast majority of the college crisis situations with which we have assisted would have been avoided if the students had read all application instructions carefully.  The instructions may include important information about testing requirements, financial aid deadlines, or other vital requirements.

How do I send my transcript; and what about sending SAT/ACT scores?

✓ If you apply through Common App or a similar method and add your counselor to your application, your counselor will upload your transcript and other required materials.  For Georgia schools not on Common App (public and private), log into www.gafutures.org and send the transcript yourself.  All senior transcripts are loaded into GA Futures in August and are ready to go at that point.  For everything else, email Sandra.cope@sccpss.com to request your transcript be sent. For good measure, copy your counselor on the email to Ms. Cope.

✓ If a student requests that a counselor write a letter of recommendation or complete a form, that letter/form might reference or contain any of the following: GPA, rank, SAT/ACT scores, and specific course grades. Visit the seniors page at saacounseling.weebly.com and locate the counselor recommendation interview form, which will help your counselor write a good recommendation for you.

✓ Discuss with your counselor any special circumstances that should be explained in a recommendation.

✓ It is not unusual for two to three weeks to pass before a college receives and processes transcripts, so please be patient and try not to panic if the transcript isn’t processed immediately.

✓ Colleges generally require that you submit official copies of your SAT/ACT scores, which is done directly through the College Board or ACT.  Your SAT/ACT scores are not part of your transcript.

Early Action, Early Decision, Rolling, Regular, what does it all mean?

✓ The glossary of admissions terms grows each year, but the information below should help.  Note, though, that these are only guidelines.  Many variations exist, which is why it is essential to read application instructions carefully and note the official procedure and deadlines.

✓ The regular, old-fashioned admissions deadline structure is fairly straightforward.  Students apply by a certain date (usually sometime between January 1 and February 15).  All admissions decisions are sent to applicants at approximately the same time (usually March 15-April 1).

✓ Early Action generally refers to a process in which students can apply by an early deadline (usually somewhere between October 15 and December 1) and receive an admissions decision early (usually mid to late December).  Students will either be admitted, denied, or deferred (meaning that the college will wait and consider you with the regular pool).  Applying early may not be recommended for students whose GPA, scores, and overall academic records do not compare favorably with the college’s averages.

✓ Early Decision is typically a binding agreement in which the student commits to attend that college and withdraw any other applications if accepted.  This is obviously a serious decision, and students (and parents/guardians) must be certain about their choice.  You may only apply to one school through early decision.

✓ Rolling Admission has become a very common alternative to the old-fashioned procedure.  The college chooses a date on which they will begin making admissions decisions and sending notifications (usually on or, more likely, before January 1).  From that time on, they will review applications as they are received and will send out decisions as they are made.  Many of these schools will list a final deadline, but it is best to apply closer to or even before the start date before any programs become full.

What do I need to do to be considered for scholarships from colleges?

✓ As always, check with your colleges before you apply.  In most cases, students will automatically be considered for scholarships by the admissions office.  Sometimes you must apply by a certain date in order to be considered for scholarships.  When in doubt, talk to an admissions representative.

✓ Some colleges will require students to submit an extra form requesting to be considered for scholarships. Most scholarship money that students receive comes from the college they attend, so it is essential that you check all deadlines and procedures.

Do I apply for financial aid when I send in my admissions application?

✓ Financial aid is a completely separate process that is handled by a different office.  Generally, the financial aid process will begin after you have applied for admission.  Financial aid procedures are very different than admissions procedures and have different deadlines, so you must be sure to read the procedures for each college and do so early.

✓ You apply for financial aid by completing a FAFSA form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).  This form can not be completed until October 1 or later and should be done online.  Priority deadlines for financial aid can vary, so it is advisable to complete the FAFSA as early as possible.

✓ Some colleges will require students to complete the CSS/Profile form through the College Board, usually at the time of admission for students who are applying early.  This process (which is used mostly by private schools, only a few of which are in Georgia) must be completed online at www.collegeboard.org and is only available through early December.  When you are preparing to apply to a college, be sure to read the financial aid information and all instructions on their website.