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Choose the Right College: Getting Organized

Whether you can't wait to start applying to college or are overwhelmed by the prospect of doing it, getting organized before you start is essential. If you know what you have to do and when, and if you have a system for organizing the hundreds of pieces of information that will be thrown at you, you'll be in control of this often unruly animal called the college application process. And being in control has a positive impact not only on your mental sanity--which is important--but brings you closer to getting the result you're after: finding a college that makes you happy and getting accepted!

It's Never Too Early!
If you take just one piece of advice from this book, let it be this: Start early! The more time you give yourself to research schools, think about your options, write essays, and search for scholarships, the better off you'll be. Many of us learned this lesson the hard way, so take our word for it and avoid last minute stress, anxiety, and worst of all, missing out on an opportunity because you waited too long.

If I could've done one thing differently it would have been to get a start on the whole process earlier.

How early is early? You shouldn't go crazy with it, but start thinking about college during your sophomore year. Do a bit of research, take the PSATs, and give some thought to the type of college that might make sense for you. By the second semester of your junior year, your college selection and application process will be in full swing, so get there prepared and with your mind focused on the right goals.

In the next section we put together a timeline to help you organize the many tasks you have to complete as part of this process.

Create a Realistic Timeline
The college selection and application process is a long one and you'll feel more confident and relaxed if you break it down into smaller goals and plan when you need to get each one done. Get a planner or a desk calendar and create a realistic timeline that gives you enough time and includes every important step, from studying for standardized tests to going on college visits. Having a visual picture of this timeline will be really helpful.

Start with some deadlines that are set in stone, like when applications are due for Early Decision/Early Action and regular admission. As you start to find out when other events like college fairs take place, you can add them to your timeline. Once you know these fixed deadlines, you can create your own personal deadlines around them, like when to start researching and visiting schools.

Make sure that you revisit your timeline often and make any required changes. You might, for example, decide to take an additional SAT II subject test midway through your senior year. You should always put any major step like that on your timeline and leave yourself time to prepare.

It's a good idea to get into the habit of setting a specific and achievable goal for each week, like finishing an essay or working on vocabulary for the SATs. That way, you're not overwhelmed and you have a feeling of accomplishment, which we've found is pretty important.We've put together a general timeline to help you get started. It contains the main steps most of us go through as we choose and apply to college, but you should make sure to fit it to your particular needs and schedule. Here it is:

Sophomore Year

• Start thinking about college. Check out a few college fairs in your area or at your school. Sign up for any college workshops that your school might offer.
• Meet with your guidance counselor to talk about your college plans. It's important to establish a relationship with your counselor--he or she can be extremely helpful in the college and financial aid application process.
• Talk with your parents about paying for college. It's important to have an understanding of how much you'll be expected to contribute and who will take the responsibility for filling out the numerous financial aid forms.

Junior Year

Fall

• To get in the running for the National Merit Scholarship, take the PSAT/NMSQT. It's also good practice for the SAT I test. (You can also take the PLAN test. This prepares you for the ACT, which you may take later, and gets you thinking about your possible career interests.)
• Begin to prepare for the SAT or the ACT.
• Start to research scholarships.
• Think about which teachers, counselors, and employers you'll ask to write your recommendations and make sure that you're in touch with them.
• Start thinking about some of your initial college selection criteria.

Winter

• Continue to research potential colleges and start working on your "ideal college profile."
• Register for the SAT or the ACT and continue to study.
• Begin to take stock of your transcripts, activities, and jobs. If you seem to be light on extracurriculars, get involved in a few--it's not too late to bolster your arsenal.
• Begin to work on your scholarship essays and continue to research scholarships. (Make sure to write any scholarship application deadlines in your college application timeline.)

Spring

• Request information from colleges that interest you. Do further research on any that look interesting and start to get your initial list of possible schools together.
• Take the SAT or the ACT.
• Visit a few colleges during spring break. Just make sure that it's not spring break at the college--you want to be there when the action is in full swing.
• Sign up for summer school if you need to fulfill any special requirements. Apply for a summer job or an internship and try to make it a great one. Or, consider going to study abroad for a few months--it's a great experience and can be awesome material for your college and scholarship essays.

Summer

• Visit more colleges.
• Request additional materials and applications from colleges where you're thinking of applying.
• Begin to work on your college and scholarship essays.
• Continue to apply for as many scholarships as possible.
• Consider taking a prep course for standardized tests.

Senior Year

September

• Schedule a formal appointment with your guidance counselor to talk about where you are in the college application process, your goals, and any questions. Talk about your preliminary college selections and get an opinion about how realistic they might be. Discuss financial aid and scholarships.
• Create a system to keep your application materials organized.
• Take the SAT or the ACT if you haven't yet, or if you want to improve your score.
• Continue to work on your college and scholarship essays.
• Request letters of recommendation from your teachers and counselors.

October

• Attend college fairs to find out more about the schools you're considering. This is a great opportunity to meet with admissions staff from numerous colleges all in one shot.
• Start working on your applications. If you're applying Early Decision or Early Action, start with those applications.
• Order transcripts for the colleges where you'll be applying.
• Visit more colleges if you need to.

November

• If you're applying Early Decision or Early Action, send in your applications.
• Request that your standardized test scores be sent to the schools where you're applying.
• If you haven't yet, take the SAT or the ACT.

December

• Continue to work on your applications and essays for regular admission.
• Begin to collect the required materials for the FAFSA, the main financial-aid application.

January

• Make sure to check with your prospective colleges about any financial-aid forms they might require besides the FAFSA.
• File the FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1.
• Continue to apply for scholarships.
• Check with the teachers who wrote your recommendations to make sure they sent them in.
• Send in any finished college applications.
• Take the SAT, the ACT, or SAT II if you haven't yet, or if you need to improve your score.

February-April

• Review your Student Aid Report (SAR) and make any corrections, if necessary.
• Many scholarships have late deadlines, so continue to apply for any for which you qualify.
• As your acceptance letters start pouring in around mid-April, carefully consider your options. You should also be receiving financial-aid awards--contact your school(s) and ask for more money if you don't receive enough aid.
• Visit or revisit more schools if you have to.

May

• By May 1, you should have decided on a college and sent in your notification.
• Send your chosen college your tuition and dorm deposit, if required.
• Apply for any additional loans and scholarships, as needed.

Summer

• Work, travel, read, and relax! Enjoy this time and do something you're really happy doing. It's a good idea to take it easy, but we suggest that you read some good books to keep your brain cells working and ready for college.

Organization Counts
Trying to stay organized is a good way to alleviate some of the pressure. Knowing that you have a well-defined plan should give you a good amount of confidence.

--Recent Grad
Princeton University

You're going to be accumulating a lot of information during this process, so you need some way to organize it. If you don't have a filing cabinet, you can get an inexpensive box for files and some hanging folders, as well as some manila folders. Use a hanging folder for each of the colleges you're considering and make sure you have contact information for the important people at each school: dean of admissions, registrar, financial aid officer, etc. If you really start liking a particular school, you'll have a lot of information on it, so you can use the manila folders to sub-divide. Within each hanging folder, create sections like "catalog," "correspondence," "school newspaper," etc.

Make Yourself an Awesome Candidate
As you begin your college search and application process, take stock of how you're doing in your classes, activities, relationships with your teachers, and so on. This is your opportunity to make yourself stronger as a candidate, so take advantage of it.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Make sure that you're taking challenging classes and doing as well as you can. If you need tutoring or help, get it instead of just letting it slide.
• Get involved in several extracurricular activities, but make sure that you're doing it because you're interested and passionate about the activity. It's much more valuable to have a few activities to which you're strongly committed than ten that you're doing just to make yourself look good. You'll be asked about your activities during college interviews and it's pretty easy to spot someone who is just doing something to look good versus someone who really cares.
• Think about which teachers and counselors you'll ask for recommendations and make sure that you put some effort into establishing a good relationship with them.
• If you don't read a lot, make it a habit to read a book a semester and a good newspaper, like The New York Times, at least several times a week. This is a great way to improve your vocabulary and know what's going on in the world.