Dates, Documents, Deadlines, and Decisions Part 2

Posted on October 25, 2009 | Filed Under Articles

Part two of two: Deadlines and Decisions

by Audrey Johnson

Deadlines 

Test Registration

As a home schooling family, it was our responsibility to make arrangements for the PSAT through a local school. The College Board website provides us with all the information we need to register for the SAT and SAT Subject Tests. There are regular registration deadlines (postmark/submit by), U.S. late registration periods, and international registration deadlines: (http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/calenfees.html ). For my son’s 2009 Subject test, we completed the registration online.

College Visits
Some colleges may provide housing for prospective students who want to visit the campus. These arrangements must be made in advance.One college asked for two weeks notice to arrange a visit. This college is asking him to complete these arrangements through his “college account” with them, where he will see if the dates he desires are available. Colleges will have guidelines about when students can visit. I recently borrowed from the library Princeton Review’s Guide to College Visits. (http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780375766008)
College Applications
My role as a home school mother/guidance counselor warrants that I seek the information my son/student will need to be ready for college. As I search the web sites of the colleges he has chosen, I make myself aware of the college application deadlines. For each school, he will need to know how he will apply: early action, early decision or regular admission (http://www.howtogetin.com/apply-to-college/early-decision.php).
Scholarships and Financial Aid
Scholarship opportunities arise from many places. You must seek out the scholarships, complete the applications, and meet the deadlines! Each college may have their own financial aid application. The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/) is a form that must be completed. CSS/Profile is a financial aid service of College Board

(https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/prf/index.jsp) that you may need to complete as well.

Interviews
As I reviewed a college website, I noticed that they have a deadline for arranging interviews. These interviews may be on the college campus, or in your hometown.
Decisions
Each of these issues (dates, documents, and deadlines) comes with the question: What do you do now? What dates will you put on your calendar? Will you take the SAT and /or the ACT? When will you take them? How often will you take them? Which, if any, SAT Subject Tests are you required to take? When will you take them?

Are there any college fairs in your area? How far will you travel to spend time at a college fair or a college presentation in your hometown? Which colleges will you visit?

How much and what kind of test preparation do you want to do? Which books will you buy or borrow? Will you seek outside help?

How will you find out about scholarships and financial aid? When should you start looking?

And the biggest question of all. Where will you apply to college? What factors will determine the list of schools you chose to apply to? Where do you want to spend your college years?

How do we accomplish all this? Here are a few resources to help high school students and their parents plan for college.

http://www.howtogetin.com/apply-to-college/calendar.php (General calendar)

http://www.howtogetin.com/college-preparation/calendar.php (Month by month calendar)

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/pay/ (How to pay for college)

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/apply/the-application/23626.html ( College application calendar)

http://www.aie.org/About/index.cfm  (Adventures in Education website, featuring a weekly newsletter with checklists for each year of high school.)

In our home we have created a calender that places our families’ and my son’s major events (birthdays, orchestra rehearsals and concerts, home school group activities, etc.) on a list with SAT, ACT, and Subject Test registration deadlines and testing dates, possible college visiting dates and other high school activities. Your family can determine the best method for you to keep track of dates, documents, deadlines, and decisions!

　

　

　

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Pop Corn Friday – October 23, 2009

Posted on October 23, 2009 | Filed Under Pop Corn Friday

My First Rejection

When I was five, I married Billy. It was a romantic wedding officiated by his older sister on the swing set in our back yard.

I loved Billy with all of my 5-year old heart. I knew we were going to be together forever.

Two weeks later, Billy told me that he didn’t want to be married anymore.

And like that – my marriage was over.

My first rejection!

No one likes to be rejected.

But rejection from a college you’ve pinned your hopes and dreams on is hard.

Why’s it hard?

Because it feels personal. But for the college, it’s not personal. It’s business.

They had to pick between thousands of college applicants and offer seats the candidates they believe will be the best fit for their upcoming class.

We often talk about the college partnership. The colleges’ role in the college partnership is to put together the best class they can amongst the applicants. There is a set number freshman seats available and not everyone will be admitted.

Remember, it’s a numbers game in the end. Nothing personal.

In this week’s Pop Corn Friday Video, the admission directors at various business schools discuss why they might reject one student over another. Don’t think that because they are talking about admission to business schools the lessons don’t apply. Read more

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Dates, Documents, Deadlines, and Decisions Part 1

Posted on October 9, 2009 | Filed Under Articles

Part one of two: Dates and Documents

by Audrey Johnson

Dates

It is my son’s junior year in high school, and the calender is filling up with important dates for him to remember. The first set of dates deals with college admissions testing.  Each college has requirements for admission, which could include submitting scores for the SAT (http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/about.html) or ACT (http://www.act.org/). . The PSAT (http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/psat/about.html  is a practice test for the SAT.  

The PLAN (http://www.actstudent.org/plan/  is a practice test for the ACT.   The PLAN is only given to tenth grade students.   The PSAT is taken by eleventh grade students, and often by tenth grade students as well.   The 2009 dates for the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) were Wednesday, October 14 and Saturday, October 17 .  My son also took the PSAT as a sophomore. In the spring he will take the SAT. There are seven testing dates between October and June during the 2009-2010 school year.  Some of the schools on my son’s list of potential colleges require not only the SAT, but SAT Subject Tests as well.

 (http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/calenfees/calensubj.html). The calendar on College Board’s web site provides information about the dates that each Subject Test is offered.   Some colleges will accept the SAT and/or the ACT.   A student has the opportunity to take the ACT on six different dates during the 2009-2010 academic year.

The second set of dates for our calendar involves college fairs.  The National Association for College Admission Counseling sponsors two fairs this year: National College Fairs and Performing and Visual Arts Fairs: (http://www.nacacnet.org/EventsTraining/CollegeFairs/Pages/default.aspx ) . My son and I attended a Christian College Fair in 2008 (http://fairs.naccap.org/).   A local high school held a college fair that we attended during his eighth grade year.  One of the colleges on my son’s list brought their staff to a local school for a presentation last fall.

Check the college web sites to see when schools on your college list are coming to the area.

The third set of dates for our calendar revolves around college visiting. We are continuing to work on selecting possible dates and making arrangements for the schools we would like to visit.

Documents
Test preparation books, brochures, and applications

In preparation for the college tests, the first set of “documents” were test preparation books.  They can be purchased at local bookstores or borrowed from the library.

The ACT (http://www.actstudent.org/testprep/index.html ) and the College Board (SAT) (http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/prep_one/prep_one.html ) web sites offer free on line test preparation, as well as material to purchase.

As a result of taking the PSAT in his sophomore year, my son has been receiving a lot of college brochures.  What is most important now is that he contacts the colleges on his list to request their brochures.  Many colleges have wonderful web sites, loaded with all the information you need to know to apply.  We will want to know what each college requires: tests, essays, fees, interviews, transcript, financial aid application, etc.

While each school may have their own application, they may also allow use of the Common Application (https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/default.aspx). You must determine all the necessary documents needed to submit a complete application.

Deadlines and decisions will be addressed in our next article!

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

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Pop Corn Friday: October 9, 2009

Posted on October 9, 2009 | Filed Under Pop Corn Friday

A college’s perspective on college funding

You’ve done internet research.

Attended numerous college fairs and financial aid nights.

Bought all the “How to Get Into College” books and the 3 inch thick books of scholarships.

And yet, you have a suspicion . . .  that everything you’ve already done and learned will help get your child into college but may not be helpful to you, the parent, in putting together a strategy for paying for college. 

You’ve already invested considerable time, energy and money. 

Your hopes and dreams for your child’s future are tied up in his getting into and graduating from college and your being able to pay for it all.

 

In this week’s Pop Corn Friday’s College Video of the Week

We often talk about going to college being a partnership.

In this week’s Pop corn Friday video, we have Douglas Christiansen, Vanderbilt’s associate provost for enrollment and dean of admissions at Vanderbilt University explaining the financial aid process from a college’s perspective.

It is giving you some of the factors to consider when applying for financial aid. 

Here are the 12 items discussed in the video

  1. What you need to do to apply for financial aid.
  2. What if you are uncomfortable talking about your finances?
  3. What are the steps you need to take?
  4. Question you should ask a financial aid office
  5. What is EFC and how does it affect me?
  6. Explanation of FAFSA and CSS Profile
  7. Do you need to feel out the financial aid forms?
  8. Should you look at the sticker price of college before applying?
  9. Where does financial aid come from?
  10. What are some of the unique programs that colleges have implemented recently to help families pay for college?
  11. Would it impact my chances for admission if I ask questions about financial aid?
  12. Is it worth applying for financial aid?

The bottom line is “You miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take” so if you want financial aid, apply for it.

If you learned something more about college funding from this video, please sign up for our RSS feed to get the latest notification of weekly video additions on college planning.

 

Quote of the Week

Opportunities are never lost; someone will take the one you miss.
~Author Unknown

 

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Financial Aid: The University Insider’s Guide

Posted on October 8, 2009 | Filed Under Videos

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The Most Important 3 Letters in the Alphabet

Posted on October 2, 2009 | Filed Under Pop Corn Friday

Question:  What are the most important three letters in the alphabet for college bound seniors in the month of October?

Answer:  SAT or ACT. 

The scores students receive on each standardized test are supposed to be an indication of the student’s ability to be successful in college. 

With so much riding on three letters, students and parents are looking for multiple ways to ensure better test scores.

We see parents paying for tutors, or test preparation classes in books by both Kaplan  and Princeton Review that are both on-line or in a classroom.  There are also a number of books that offer the self-directed student a valuable way become familiar with the format and take real life examples of the test.

But what is a student that is not a good test taker to do?  Read more

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