Finding the right college for you and filling out all the applications can be stressful. If you are not yet a senior, I highly recommend that you start preparing for college now. If you already are a senior but you are feeling a bit lost, get started right away and keep a few things in mind: 

1. Try to Collect as Much Money as Possible 

There are so many ways to collect money for college depending on your financial need, skills, academics, and more. For instance, according to College Seminar teacher, Mrs. Disponzio, every student must apply for FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to access offers for grants, loans, and work-study programs. While loans must be paid back over time, grants are like gifts and don’t require any payment, and work study programs provide jobs so that you can earn money towards your tuition. Although they are due on June 30th, FAFSA applications should be completed as soon as possible because they require a great deal of personal information from both you and your guardians, which may take time to collect and organize. Another way to earn money for college is through scholarships, which are based on your academics and extracurriculars rather than financial need, and don’t have to be paid back. Fastweb and College Board are excellent resources for finding scholarships that can provide college funding based on your identity, interests, achievements, and so on. Additionally, if you are a division 1 or 2 athlete, you can also apply for the NCAA which offers funding if you play on certain colleges’ teams. 

2. Start Thinking About Your College Applications 

College applications can be incredibly time consuming and stressful, so make it easier on yourself. While various colleges have differing requirements, it still helps to record all your extracurricular activities, awards, accomplishments, and anything else that might be noteworthy. Keep a notebook or digital file that lists the names of each activity, how much time you dedicated to it, what year you participated, and what you achieved. Plus, while you are reflecting on your accomplishments, consider what you would like to write about in your college essay. Not all colleges require one, but there are so many topics and ideas to choose from that planning your essay can’t hurt. If you are already a senior, start your applications now because they will likely take much longer than you think! 

3. Thoroughly Explore Your Options 

There are too many colleges to count in the world and narrowing them down to the perfect schools for you can be a daunting task. Start asking yourself specific questions about what you want in college. For example: 

• Do I want to live at home, get an apartment, or dorm? 
• Would I rather attend smaller classes or large lectures? 
• What will I use for transportation? If I’m driving myself there, will it be easy to find parking near my classes? 
• Is campus safety important to me? 
• What can I afford? 
• Am I looking for scholarships from this college? 

Filtering your college search allows you to funnel your options down to the few best colleges for your needs. Once you have a few specific schools in mind, Mrs. Disponzio recommends making a pros and cons list for each school so you can see which one offers the most to you, because they should offer you what you’re worth. She also insists that “visiting the colleges you want to attend is extremely important.”  Colleges offer open house tours that you can register for online, which allow large groups of potential students to explore various parts of the school with trained guides. To add, they usually offer personal tours, which can be scheduled online and allow the guide to focus on you and your specific needs. Traveling to colleges allows you to consider the travel time, traffic, safety, and other aspects of that school. However, if you can’t travel to a college, you can engage in a virtual tour instead, which can often be found on a college’s website. If you would like to start college but you haven’t quite figured out your major or which career you would like to pursue, Mrs. Disponzio advises you to consider starting at a community college and majoring in Liberal Arts “because those credits are easy to transfer to another school.” This will allow you time to consider your aspirations without putting your education on hold. 

4. Watch Your Deadlines! 

It’s easy to get swept up in the chaos of college applications, but always keep track of your due dates. While in most cases college deadlines are not until much later in the year, those who are interested in Early Decision or Early Action applications need to complete everything as soon as possible because those deadlines are coming up soon. Regardless, complete your applications sooner than later because they could take months to trudge through every detail of the process. Once you have applied and received offers from colleges, make sure that you select a school and accept their offer by May 1st. 

If you are looking for advice on a particular subject, please leave a comment so we can help you!