So you've done your standardized testing and worked hard on extracurriculars for years - it's time for the home stretch, but we are far from ready to take a break.
The final bits of the college application process are where many promising students tend to stumble. It can be very overwhelming without proper preparation and planning, but we're here to help! Here is a summary of an incoming 6-part series geared for juniors so they don't miss a single step on the path to admissions success. Look out for more detailed articles on each piece in the upcoming weeks - and this summary article will be updated with links as soon as additional information is released.
Step 1: Making a College List (April/May)
It’s natural to subconsciously (or consciously) start developing a college list throughout high school, but around April of your junior year is when it should be written down and completed. Start defining the number of reach, match, and safety schools and check out their application platforms – most should accept the common app, but a couple (like the UCs) have individual application sites or don’t like the common app. There’s a lot of unchanging personal information you can start filling out, some of which is a little difficult to fill out rushed (like parental level of education). Remember that you can always modify your college list up until you submit applications, so don’t feel too stressed about locking in things now – but safeties generally don’t change much, and getting a baseline of what schools you’re applying to will greatly help with the rest of your applications. Continue reading here.
It's hard to place this step because it depends fully on individual teachers and their policies with Letters of Recommendation. Some teachers ask students to fill out applications as early as May, while others would be willing to write a quick one right before a deadline if asked. The latter doesn't lead to good letters of recommendation, though, so make sure to be proactive - ask teachers about their policies and work with them to make sure they have the tools needed to easily showcase your strengths. Even if a teacher doesn't ask for an application, consider preparing a document with parts of your resume, samples from essay drafts, and potential key points you'd like them to focus on. Remember that they are doing you a huge favor out of their own time, so it's important to be nice and understanding (gifts can help with that too)! It's also crucial to pick teachers that make sense with your application - words from a 9th grade teacher in a subject you didn't focus much on are worth much less than those from a teacher more directly connected to the current self you're presenting on your applications. Continue reading here.
Now that your college list is settled and letters of recommendation have been put into the works, it’s time to start working on your overarching application – namely, starting the Common Application and the activities list, two components that every college receives. The Common Application is used for most colleges, but make sure to check your college list for any school-specific applications (like the UC app). Most schools accept both the Common Application and the Coalition Application, but some may only allow one or the other. Start filling these out as soon as you can - all of the information can be edited until you hit "submit", and it can take a bit of time to enter all of it in.
The activities list is hard – sometimes it feels like there’s too much to put in, other times not enough – so it’s important to draft it openly and give yourself a lot of room for revision. It’s hard to fit each activity into 150 characters, but start by writing over the limit then breaking things down. Making a complete product then cutting the unnecessary bits helps make any part of the application, whether it’s a hundred-character description or long essay, showcase a concentration of the best things you have to offer. Try and put your most impactful activities near the top, and leave the “fun” ones for near the bottom. Do you occasionally scuba dive? That’s a great one to put at the end if you have extra space, but a casual hobby shouldn’t be the first thing an applicant reader sees. Continue reading here.
The personal statement is a lot of work – it will probably end up being your longest essay, and it is certainly one of the most impactful ones. It’s crucial to spend ample time exploring possible topics: brainstorm, then write a bunch of different potential essays. After, find the one that resonates best with your application strategy and focus in on it. The other drafts can be used within the main essay you choose (combining multiple facets of your personality can be good!) or reapplied to college supplements later, so it’s a win-win situation to write out as many ideas as you’re able.
It's worth talking to some friends, teachers, family, etc. to get opinions on which prompts are effective and which aren't. You know you best - so it's easy to miss context or accidentally present something incorrectly. Getting multiple pairs of eyes from people who know you in different facets of your life can be a great way to shape essays into something that admissions officers will enjoy reading. Continue reading here.
By now, there should be a couple schools that catch your eye more than the rest. Many top institutions offer early applications: meaning that you can submit early and get an admissions decision around December. For some schools, early applications greatly increase chance of admission, while others don't - so make sure to research accordingly.
There are three main types of early applications - REA, EA, and ED. REA (Restricted Early Action) requires students to not apply REA, EA, or ED to another school, but it's non-binding - meaning that admitted students still have the option to apply to, and potentially commit to, a different college after Regular Decision. Applying EA (Early Action) allows applicants to apply to multiple EA colleges, as well as ED. ED (Early Decision) is the only binding application - students may not apply to any other college through REA or ED, and must withdraw all other applications if they are accepted. Further, it's also worth noting that some public schools have only one deadline, closer to the early deadlines for other schools - the University of Washington and UC Colleges have their normal deadline in November.
It's best to pick a target early deadline college and start planning out a timeline for essays now. Prioritize working on the essays that are due soonest and work methodically so that your application is the best it can be, even though it is being submitted early. Early applications have the best results for applicants that are already able to present themselves well by the time they apply - so if first semester grades or a major project is needed to round out the rest of your application, it's worth thinking hard about what application strategy makes the most sense for you.
Once school is fully out, you should continue fleshing out your personal statement and activities list (these components may change up until right before you hit submit) whilst following your essay timeline. Do a similar process as your personal statement with these essays so that you can find the “best” answer for you – there’s no such thing as a perfect essay, but you should still prioritize making your application represent you as a person as well as possible.
By the time school begins, you should have a solid personal statement (although, again, and I can’t stress this enough – it is good to update and revise) and at least one to two full applications drafted, and preferably, close to submission quality. It’s really easy to get swept away by the start of senior year, and even easier to fall into a procrastination/anxiety trap that hinders your ability to write essays – so it’s important to do as much work as you can over the summer. Even just starting essay writing documents for each school can help; having the prompts simmer in your brain is much better for sparking sudden inspiration.
Continue staying on top of essays, letters of recommendation, and deadlines, and you will be set. Follow this plan and you should be on track to write great essays without insane stress and present your best self on your applications. However, be aware of the potential to overwork essays – there’s a certain point where edits and “moving towards perfection” hinders style and personality. Make sure to save many copies of drafts instead of overwriting each old save. Sometimes, it’s worth reverting or taking inspiration from an earlier draft!
Look out for the rest of this 6-part series for a more detailed look into each step of the path to successful college applications.
Written by DB, PathIvy Content Team