does anybody have any advice for someone who is completely lost in the process

Applying to College
1

<p>okay
here we go,
bare with me and my bad spelling , im not completeley illeterate, just typing fast</p>

<p>okay first of all im not a procrastinater , i just have a lot going on right now and the momentum is really grueling
thats my fault, but sometimes life goes fast and hard without any mercy and im doing pretty well so far
im a senior in highschool whose unfortunately having a difficult time handling the college process</p>

<p>im by no means incompotent but i am overwhelemed right now...its a hard process, ive learned</p>

<p>anyway
so far ive got a list of colleges where im located, ive gotten there prerequisites, and info about them, visits , etc....
ive been unable to apply yet do to other cirumstances and the process of geting everything together
-letters of reccomendation(i dont have them yet, but ive asked who i wish to write them)
-transcript(i feel uneasy about the school handling that but i guess there nothing i can do about that)
-act(got them....the only thing ive got, already mailed off
-immunization stuff..(i managed to find these and ive got them)
-fafsa(im having trouble with this due to my taxes not being back yet, but im working on it)
-i have no extracurriculars to mention though i do work so i guess thats a plus, or is it
-ive forgotten to mention a few things but ill reply if needed</p>

<p>mainly this is what im worried about
1.lack of financial aid
-being 17(18 in september), ive only got a few months left until im on my own, so all of the money ive collected after that will mainly be funneled into existing....ill work a bit of overtime to cover college stuff but im counting on the aid to at least help me out until im established after the first year or two
-my parents make about 50,000 this year ,but ill be on my own next year so my income constitutes aid at that point, so im not sure exactly how well off ill be....thoug i imagine that at such a low income at 18 ill get decent aid in the second year, bit i dont want to assume that or count on it, i want a contingency plan</p>

<p>2.me , personally
-im not going to lie, i am not the smartest person in the world, country, state or city...no-one is, intelligence is present in all people in some degree greater than everyone else, but in my particular school(about 2000+people) id rate in the top 20...i am very intelligent, but due to disagrements and unfortune i have erected my schools hatred of me(just the admin , mind you, everyone else im cool with)and a 3.1 gpa
now that with no extra activities and no clubs of the sort, and only work experiece otherwise, i elieve makes me a poor candidate for selection without an interview
with an interview im confident i could assure my acceptance, but based on people looking at my academics alone, im uncertain
not that thyre bad, just generic and they broadcast a certain ambivalence...
my essay to the college can be just as good as i am in person but with limited words i am not sure what i can achieve</p>

<p>3.major
-im uncertain about my major and although im told this is fairly common to be ambiguous about it until the second year , it bothers me
im currently thinking about biochemistry, engineering, or even med school, but i dont worry about this one so much</p>

<p>4.housing
-im not living on campus.......that simply wont work, and with the hellacious rent and cheap employers nowdays, im not sure how ill manage to get my paychecks to fit it all(people are so fickle now...they wont hire at 17, but theyll pick the moron whose 1 year older than you to do the job, that ****es me off)
this problem is a problem and one of the biggest ones,ive considered a roommate but im still deliberating that
although two people paying the bills would make it easier
i dont know about that....ill decide when it becomes necessary</p>

<p>all in all im torn between total self annihilative hedonistic worry, and trying to keep everything under control</p>

<p>so any help at all would be appreciated</p>

<p>you see i typed all of that without even really asking a question, thats how ridiculous my thought process is right now</p>

<p>so advice, assurances, criticism, internet beatdowns, anything
ill take it all at this point
just as long as i can stop myself from driving myself crazy</p>

<p>i guess if anything my problem is worrying about the near future , more than the actual things that i need to do to get there....but man, it gets hard, y'know</p>

2

<p>I think the foremost thing you can do for yourself is on Monday, go in and meet with your Guidance counselor (or schedule one ASAP). Explain yourself and he/she should be able to sort out your priorities. If you've not gotten any applications in, you're limited on what schools you can attend come September. Regardless, all is not lost. Your GC will be your best source of info as he/she is most familiar w/the nearby schools and your fit to them. Good luck</p>

3

<ol>
<li><p>Financial aid. If you're worried about financial aid, you should apply to schools that you're sure you can get into that are generally cheap or have generous financial aid so that if you find that these are your only options, they're at least affordable.</p></li>
<li><p>If your supposed interest in academics isn't reflected in your GPA, then what about all the other things that colleges look at? Recommendation letters, the personal essay, test scores, and interview? Those are all avenues where you can show that you have interest in academics and can handle the workload of the schools you're applying to. I don't understand what you mean when you say that you're worried about the word limit. The essay isn't meant to be an autobiography; it's meant to give the reader a "slice of your life." And it's special because it's the only time (besides the interview) where you can communicate directly with the admissions officer. The essay has a word limit for a reason.</p></li>
<li><p>Major. Your intended major, in most cases, won't impact admissions decisions, so I don't understand why you're so worried about it. Check with the colleges you're applying to, when you actually need to declare your major. At my college it's not until the end of sophomore year, so I still have plenty of time. You don't need to declare your major during senior year of high school (for most colleges at least). Do you have any academic interests whatsoever? That can serve as a temporary major, which you can change until it's time to declare the major.</p></li>
<li><p>Housing. Can't really help you there. First see how much financial aid you'll get. Maybe living on campus will be cheaper than you think.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I think that honestly, you need to set aside some time, gather your applications, sit down, and get them done. Why are you sitting here worrying about not getting enough aid? However much aid you get is however much you get. Sitting on the computer worrying about it isn't going to magically get you more aid. So you should get your forms filled out and see what happens. Things might not turn out to be as bad as you might think.</p>

4

<p><em>cracks neck</em></p>

<p>ok wow..."dchow08", youre absolutely right it seems
you see call me a sadomasochist but sometimes i get so worked up i need someone else to kick me off the ladder of perpetuality, thank you, yove accomplished that</p>

<p>i suppose youre right
theres no sense worrying so idiotically about trivial things that dont matter unless i get other things done
the gpa is insignificant, as my true visage is in my words, my appearance, youve reminded me off that
the housing is also pointless, thats not even college related, its a seperate matter all together, so no worries...although the money wasnt the reason i wouldnt do on campus, im the king of misanthrope as it is, so id never be able to live with someone i didnt pick out before hand..that was the problem, but that too is irrelevant
the major wasnt admision wise, i was just worried about it and i wanted to address it, but i think within a year ill have narrowed it down to what i want
as for the money, ill pull it all together somehow, irregardless</p>

<p>i suppose i really just needed someone to reaffirm how stupid i was being
besides you can only throw so many punches before it become necessary that you take one</p>

<p>come monday im just gonna go and do everything i possibly can and worry about the trivial things later, thank you, you were the boot to the head that i needed, lol</p>

<p>good luck to you in the future</p>

<p>also TO "T26E4"
im sorry , but you must think im incompotent, dont you
why do you think i would wilingly elect to do this entire process myself, and to find out and fill every little shred of paper myself</p>

<p>i tried to go the conselour routine and let them help me a little, but they really didnt care(apparently at lhs, they do everything but console people....although my personal favorite hobby of theirs is correcting me because appraently i dont know how to dress myself or speak audibly)</p>

<p>you see the conselor doesnt really help much at all....so why would i waste my time going to see someone who doesnt care that i wasted my time going to see her</p>

<p>are you seeing how stupid that is</p>

<p>im not being sarcastic or anything like that, but dont you think im smart enough to know that if that was an option that i should do it to relieve some of the work, huh?</p>

5

<p>Have you considered starting out at community college? Get a year under your belt. Get some general ed. requirements out of the way. Earn a strong gpa your first year and consider transferring to a 4 year college after that. </p>

<p>Are you interested in any specific colleges? Have you researched their websites? What are their deadlines for submitting applications? Do your qualifications (gpa and SAT/ACT scores) fall within the range of accepted students at the colleges you're interested in? </p>

<p>In all honesty, you're late in beginning the application process for Fall 2009. Essays, recommendations, transcripts, test scores, and applications should have been filed by now. Your best option may be to start community college this fall and try to transfer out after a year.</p>

6

<p>If your counselor is not helpful, I suggest you post on the parent's board here for help. You need advice from adults who can guide you through this process. You need to understand admissions (GPA is relevant) and financial aid (it can be very generous if you apply to the right places).</p>

7

<p>To expand a little bit on what hmom said:</p>

<p>You can't say that an interview will be able to "make up" for a GPA. A 3.1 is a totally respectable GPA, but the transcript is by far the single most important part of any application, and interviews usually don't count for all that much.</p>

<p>A lot of schools' application deadlines have passed by now, but you will be fine. hmom is right: if you don't feel that your guidance counselors are helpful, then it's important that you find a really well informed adult or two who can help you out.</p>

8

<p>Considering that you need a lot of financial aid (which means that few 4-year colleges would be affordable for you since most can't meet 100% of students' demonstrated financial need) and would be applying to colleges late in the process (which greatly lowers your chances of getting aid from the colleges that do give need-based aid), I suggest the following:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Consider spending your first 2 years in college living at home and attending your local community college. Many people -- including many solidly middle class students -- do this to save money and to enjoy smaller classes than many 4-year colleges offer. Depending on your state, as long as you get decent grades and take the right coursework, you may be guaranteed a post AA transfer to an in-state public.</p></li>
<li><p>Take a year or 2 off and be an Americorps volunteer. You'd earn a stipend that you could live off, and for each of the 2 years that you worked, you'd get about $4,700 that you could use for college. You'd also learn excellent skills and a lot about yourself and the world that would help you figure out what you want from your college experience.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Parents Forum here on CC also could be very helpful.</p>

9

<p>One thing you wrotecthat has not been addressed yet is that you stated you would be independent your second year and figure you would get more aid. Not true. </p>

<p>You would be considered independent until you are 24. Does not matter that you would be living on your own and not getting any $ from parents. Their income and assets will still be used to calc aid. That is just the way it is. </p>

<p>I agree with other posters. Go to CC for a year. If you are having this much trouble with the app process and have procrastinated this much then you are not ready for a 4-year school yet.</p>

10

<p>
[quote]
mainly this is what im worried about</p>

<p>1.lack of financial aid
-being 17(18 in september), ive only got a few months left until im on my own, so all of the money ive collected after that will mainly be funneled into existing....ill work a bit of overtime to cover college stuff but im counting on the aid to at least help me out until im established after the first year or two</p>

<p>-my parents make about 50,000 this year ,but ill be on my own next year so my income constitutes aid at that point, so im not sure exactly how well off ill be....thoug i imagine that at such a low income at 18 ill get decent aid in the second year, bit i dont want to assume that or count on it, i want a contingency plan

[/quote]
</p>

<p>None of this matters because unless you meet any of the following:</p>

<p>Completed your first bachelors
Are 24 years old
Married
Have a child for whom you provide more than 50% of their support
Are a veteran
Are a ward of the court before your 18th birthday</p>

<p>You will be considered an dependent student when it comes to FA . The school will provide an EFC based on the income/assets of both you and your parents.</p>

11

<p>hmmm, you all have a point on some level</p>

<p>to "iron maiden"
i was aware of the independant requirements, they just eluded me when i wote that one part, and i appreciate you pointing that out
to "all"
community college isnt an option, mostly because i literally live 10 minutes away from UL, and with the requiremts there i could easily be accepted, and thats the one place ive gotten the items that i need to apply sent to...</p>

<p>"to hmon"
i didnt mean that the gpa is utterly worthless , i mean that in the grand scheme of my problem it wasnt as omnipotent as i thought it was and that i could give myself a bit of lee-way there...but youre right, the gpa is obviosuly rellevant above all to an extent and 3.1 isnt that horrible</p>

<p>"to wishy washy"
basically i owe you to same amount of thanks i payed to hmon, because you further elaborated on what he was saying</p>

<p>to "northstarmom"
ive already said ill be on my own soon so how could you possibly get "hey i can stay at home for two more years" out of that...no offence or anything but some people, like myself, are about as humanesque as nuclear fallout or vomit on the ground and my family is no better than that, and in fact they are quite insufferable</p>

<p>almost everyone ive ever asked about college has said to me" stay at home the first few years", without even thinking about what theyre saying
the world isnt some magical placve where your parents take care of you until youre 21 and then you start your life....in fact the world is a dismal chasm of pointlessness and you realize at age 13 that the only way you can survive in it is to live in spite of life itself and thats what keeps you going</p>

<p>now your second answer was intersting and i apluade you thinking outside the box, that was some thing id never considered or was even brought to my attention for tht matter</p>

<p>although i doubt i could do that, i like the fact that you gave an abstract answer...it got me thinking</p>

<p>in general i think it is unfair that aid is given as it is in age regards</p>

<p>being younger than 24 doesnt make collge easier, it makes it harder
there exists much less job security and your much less experienced "in vitam", so to speak
it doesnt seem fair , but i understand the logic behind it nonetheless
it is idiotic though that my aid status is judged based not on my income but on someone elses that doesnt want to offer any help, rather ironic in fact</p>

<p>i must say that all the answers here suggested the parents board and that is where i shall go next, in hopes that someone there has been through the same things and can offer a bit of help or maybe just a good kick in the face for me</p>

<p>to reitterate, thank you all for your time and answers</p>

12

<p>Good luck. It is hard!</p>