<p>All ppl who just graduated or are about to graduate from high school give advice to the class of 2008, the upcoming seniors.</p>
<p>Any advice regarding the college admission process.</p>
<p>regrets?
tips?
tricks?
college selection?
number of applications?
time-management?</p>
<p>anything...everything...</p>
<p>This has all been said before, but here goes...</p>
<p>Don't apply to any college (even a safety) if you don't actually want to go there. It might end up being your only choice. Plus, the more applications you do the less time you will have to concentrate on each and make it good. </p>
<p>Prestige and academic quality might be important factors, but if you'll be socially miserable there it will drag down your academic performance, so consider the social atmosphere as equally important. This is especially important at LACs. </p>
<p>Send SAT scores and deal with your school's procedure for sending transcripts WAAAAAAAAY before the deadlines--like, do it as soon as you have your list. Sending SAT scores takes a longer time than you think and your school will be overwhelmed with requests near the deadlines. </p>
<p>Write your essay over the summer. You'll be too busy with schoolwork to want to deal with it in the fall.</p>
<p>Regrets: Wish that I had applied to some slightly easier to get into reaches. The average acceptance rate of my 4 reaches in the RD round was, like, 8 or 9%--not surprising that I got two rejections and two waitlists. I was happy with my list, but I do wish that I had taken a more serious look at some more schools that accepted between 10 and 30% of their applications, instead of just jumping that whole spectrum. </p>
<p>Tips: Look for schools outside your and your friends' comfort zone(s). Whether that be a geographical location, a women's college (if it applies :)), or a school with a weird rep (like UChicago), or even a whole type of school (LACs, especially), if it's a school that no one around you is really considering, that might actually be a good thing. Example: I live in Chicagoland. We had 25 applications to Northwestern, 25 to WashU, and a whopping 5 or 6 acceptances to both schools combined. Had these kids looked to schools around the country that offered similar caliber educations, that might have been better off (ex: sure, it's a bit less selective, but the girl who applied/will attend Vanderbilt did a good job: similar school to Northwestern, WAY easier to get into from our HS because there aren't a gazillion applicants). Same thing with me and Wellesley: not only does Wellesley have a relatively low percentage of students from the Midwest, but it is also easier to get into because of the self-selection factor. In addition, very very few people from my school apply to LACs, so the competition is low. </p>
<p>Tricks: Not much of a trick...just start on your application very early and keep working on it right up until a day or so before the due date. More time = better app. I second the transcripts/recommendations thing--get them off as soon as possible. Also, carefully consider a teacher's personality/reputation. In my school, the teachers who lost assignments and took forever to grade things were the same teacher's who waited until the due date to complete their students' recommendations. If you want to use a teacher like this, you might want to have a back up recommendation, just in case. </p>
<h1>of apps: Very personal, but I completed 9 not particularly challenging applications, followed my advice to work early and often, and still felt exhausted by the end of the process. It might seem like a good idea to apply to 20 schools, but you are going to either a) have a LOT of work in front of you or b) going to churn out a bunch of mediocre to worse applications. Also, if you are going to apply to a lot of reaches, be sure to have at least 3 or 4 safety and match schools, so that--like me!--if it doesn't work out at the reaches, you still have a) good schools to choose from and b) a choice to make (ie: more than one acceptance).</h1>
<p>Dont apply to a school because of its name (i.e. HYPS)
Apply to where you want to go and fit in.
Dont let your parents or anyone else influence where you apply. For friends, you'll meet new people anyway. </p>
<h1>1 rule, never apply somewhere because of a significant other.</h1>
<p>If you can afford it, Early Decision, SCEA, etc. is the greatest thing ever. Only do so if you clearly have a school you're most interested in
Dont be afraid to apply somewhere because you dont fit in statistically--admissions are a crapshoot
Dont be upset if you dont get in somewhere because; admissions are a crapshoot
Breathe, relax, stay calm, dont worry. It'll work out.</p>
<p>You don't realize how huge this is, but trust me: Just be likable on your application. </p>
<p>A reader really liking you will do you much better than 50 SAT points.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, in my case, that doesn't always help.</p>
<p>Good idea for a thread topic. Here are some things that I think helped me out in the admissions process:</p>
<p>regrets? - My main regret was that I underestimated myself. People with very similar stats to mine applied to Ivies and a slew of other competitive schools. I didn't apply to any Ivies and only one "Ivy-esque" school (NYU). I was intimidated by the high average SAT scores and low acceptance rates of many of the top schools. As it turned out, I got more scholarship $ than I expected, including a very nice offer from NYU, which is where I'll be going this fall. If there is a lesson to be learned from my regret, it is that you should not refuse to apply to a school just because it has average stats that are higher than yours.</p>
<p>tips? - Here are some basic tips that I think could be useful:
1.) - Take the SAT 2-3 times, unless you do extremely well the first time you take it.
2.) - Be as unique as possible. IMO, ECs and essays don't really help you if they are cookie-cutter and oridnary.
3.) - Pay attention to deadlines and try to hand everthing in early.
4.) - Go visit schools that you are interested in. It would suck if you wound up hating the college you attend.
5.) - Don't be stressed when you are waiting for admissions letters. After you handed in your apps, all you can do is sit back and wait.</p>
<p>college selection? - My school guidenace counselor perhaps put it the best way: A college is like a shoe, when it's the one for you it fits. HYP might not be a fit for everyone. Find the school that fits you and (if you get in), that's where you should go.</p>
<p>number of applications? - I know one kid who applid to almost 30 schools, and another who applied to only 1. While there is no set amount of schools you should apply to, I'd say an ideal number would be about 10. Make sure you apply to a couple of safeties, and also a couple of reaches even though I didn't.</p>