It’s February. That means less than four months of high school left for most seniors. College applications are in, standardized testing is over, and the last semester is breezing by. Naturally that means time to slack off and screw around, right?! Wrong. So wrong. Be afraid, be very afraid of a potentially dangerous and extremely contagious condition going around – SENIORITIS.

I get it. It’s your last semester ever of high school. You probably filled your schedule with as many PE and art credits as allowed (I seem to recall taking Ceramics II and Country Line Dancing) and you have a couple of AP classes. But now is not the time to slack off on the AP classes. Focus your time on your challenging classes, especially if you are planning to take AP exams for college credit. This is the semester when you should enjoy a ton of time with your friends and continue to maintain your grades. Think of it as training for time management in college. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: college planning, senioritis, student leadership roles
Posted in College Applications | Leave a Comment »

It’s getting down to the wire and college application deadlines are just around the corner. Are worries of something falling through the cracks keeping you awake at night? Well, worry no more. Complete all the items below and you’ll stay organized and on top of things.

• Confirm college application deadlines, whether you are applying early, regular, or rolling admission

• Request that your guidance counselor send both your high school transcript and midyear report to your schools Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: college application essay, college planning, recommendation letters
Posted in College Applications | Leave a Comment »

I should probably add that I wasn’t all that traumatized by applying Early Decision. Once it was over and done with, and I was safely at school and settled in, things were fine. The point is that this decision of where to go and how to apply is a big one, and I want you to feel that you are able to make the best decision for you. There’s a lot of responsibility wrapped up in that last sentence but if you are reading this, you are probably more than aware of how this decision will impact your life. Good on you.

Now let’s say that you aren’t like me. You have some idea of schools that you feel are your best fit, but there isn’t one that really stands out from the rest. That is fine as well. Not everyone will follow the same path to college. But if you are in that position, there are other ways to apply so that it doesn’t feel like you have to make The Decision right then and there. You can pick a different early application/acceptance program so that you can spend the rest of high school making detailed charts and graphs and packing lists.

There are four early notification programs: Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: early action, early decision, rolling admission, single choice-early action
Posted in College Applications | Leave a Comment »

So you want to apply early to college? That’s fantastic. I did. It was a good time. While many of my friends spent the winter gnawing on their cuticles waiting for their Dream School to accept them, I spent the winter being lackadaisical about pretty much everything. It was lovely and my only worry was my AP test(s) at the end of the year. I’m sounding like some sort Class A overachiever, and believe me I was not, but I knew in my heart of hearts that American University was the school that I wanted to attend. Applying early decision just meant knowing earlier rather than perpetuating a cycle of anxiety.

I was the type of person for whom the Early Decision option was made for. I had spent years thinking about college; specifically how far I could get away from Upstate NY without ending up at the University of Fiji. There were spreadsheets made with pros vs. cons. I am freely admitting to the world that I would spend night after night researching my top choices and practicing essays, and wondering if I could grow to love Ithaca (I applied to Cornell) even in February. The answer was a resounding no, I could not. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: applying early, college admission, early decision
Posted in College Applications | Leave a Comment »