<p>I see so many people talking about spreadsheets. Besides due dates for various schools' applications, what do you all put on these? It seems like a great way to stay organized but you must be doing more than just putting SAT registration and test dates and application deadlines on them. Thanks!</p>
<p>My son’s spreadsheet columns were: College/Deadline/Common App needed/Supplementals/Date initial app sent/SAT (or ACT) scores sent and date/SAT - ACT school code/Interview and date/# of teacher recs required/teacher names/teacher reqs sent/counselor rec sent/transcripts sent and date/mid yr report reqd and date sent/CSS Profile needed.sent/App fee/Status as of March __/Result</p>
<p>I had various spreadsheets based on where we were in the application process. One was a larger list when doing comparisons for schools we were considering. Once he decided where he might apply, I put more specific information in it.</p>
<p>Some of the columns I had in my spreadsheets:</p>
<p>School
ED deadline
RD deadline
CSS Profile deadline
FAFSA deadline
AP Credit acceptance policy
Degree Requirements (such as general education, distribution requirements, etc.)
Acceptance % for both ED and RD
Male/Female %
Number of undergraduates</p>
<p>Here is what the spreadsheet has on it right now. These are the column headers. Each row is a college that has D’s prospective major, that she would consider. I still need to add application deadlines on there, but D is a junior, so I am waiting until the 2012/2013 deadlines are added for Fall 2013 admissions. Some of the info here is available from the website:</p>
<p>[College</a> Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics](<a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/default.aspx]College”>College Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics)</p>
<p>College Name
Location
State
Total # of undergrads
Direct Flight?
Driving Time /Distance
Avg. Jan High Temp
Avg. Jan Low Temp
ACT comp score 25-75%
SAT CR 25-75%
SAT Math 25-75%
College Website
Acceptance Rate 2010
Female Acceptance Rate
Yield (% deciding to attend)
Retention Rate
Number of D’s Major Completions
4 Year Graduation Rate
6 Year Graduation Rate
% Students in Greek Orgs
Cost: tuition + room & board
SATII required?
Ranking
Male/Female Ratio</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1243508-what-put-college-checklist.html?highlight=spreadsheet[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1243508-what-put-college-checklist.html?highlight=spreadsheet</a></p>
<p>Happykid’s transfer-to spreadsheet had columns for:
comparing transferable credits
comparing specific course offerings for her major
tuition & fees
standard room & board
published estimated books & materials (so I could see the variation and use my own best estimates)
published estimated personal expenses (ditto)
travel time to/from home
travel time to/from closest relatives or family friends</p>
<p>She applied to two, was accepted by two, and sent her deposit last week. I deleted the spreadsheets. Yay! Done!</p>
<p>I just looked at my enormous spreadsheet (5 sheets). My first sheet had admission information (see posts above); second was for financial aid, including merit scholarship requirements and deadlines, contact information; third was a list of information required from the school, noting when everything was mailed, what was still missing, etc and dates when confirmation was received along with school websites, logins and passwords (then later acceptance results and dates); fourth was a grid marked with schools and attributes completed by DS. Once FA packages were in I created another sheet to compare FA packages. I have now added another column to put date of regret email or letter.</p>
<p>A good idea would be to include financial information:</p>
<ul>
<li>List price cost of attendance.</li>
<li>Net price estimate from school’s net price calculator (need-based aid only).</li>
<li>Guaranteed merit scholarships based on stats.</li>
<li>Net price estimate minus the guaranteed merit scholarships based on stats.</li>
</ul>
<p>Also, in the admission context:</p>
<ul>
<li>Whether it guarantees admission based on stats, as described in <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1314309-how-find-assured-admissions-safety.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1314309-how-find-assured-admissions-safety.html</a> . Such schools can be counted on as admissions safeties.</li>
<li>Whether admissions selectivity varies by intended major, and (if known) whether the student’s intended major is more or less selective than the overall admissions profile.</li>
<li>How difficult it is to change majors once attending.</li>
</ul>
<p>Current spreadsheet for junior:</p>
<p>School</p>
<h1>undergrads</h1>
<h1>grads</h1>
<p>student-faculty ratio
SAT M
SAT CR
SAT CW
ACT Composite
Rank
Acceptance Rate
Core/Distribution Requirements
Classics Dept Rankings
Computer Science Rankings
EA/ED/Rolling
RD Deadline
EC Importance
Demonstrated Interest Importance
Interview
SAT II requirements
Undergraduate Jewish population</p>
<p>Our spreadsheet has tuition, # students, M/F ratio, OOS %, live-on-campus %, acceptance %, avg GPA, avg ACT, fraternities %, religious affiliation, 4 yr. graduation rate, freshman retention, setting (urban, rural, sub.), and sports division and ranking in son’s sports. </p>
<p>Admissions selectivity by intended major could be very important. Thanks for reminding me about it, ucbalumnus. And core requirements, mentioned by Sop14’s Mom, can also vary quite a bit. I better add two more columns. Do you notice how these spreadsheets keep getting longer and longer?</p>
<p>Toledo- you make me laugh, yes I do notice how they keep growing! However you guys are great. Thank you so much, voices of experience are fabulous!</p>
<p>Wait there’s more!</p>
<p>I think the spread sheets for college search are different than the ones for college applications.</p>
<p>This is what our column headers were after we selected the schools she was applying to:
Common app due date
Common app complete
Profile due date, profile complete date
Fafsa due date, fafsa complete date
Extra financial aid forms required? due date, complete date
Transcript request to HS guidance office
Recommendations complete, extra recommendations?
Extra merit app due date, complete date
SAT scores sent date
Does NMF status matter yes/ no (This is just for NAtional Merit)
Interview required? Interview date set up? Interview completed</p>
<p>Portal log in username
Portal password
Admissions office contact info, fin aid contact info</p>
<p>We also had a tab that ranked each college that my D was interested in. She gave each category that was important to her a weight from 1-11 (Major= 1, Campus Facilities= 2, Study Abroad options =2, etc down to Distance from Home=11)
She then ranked the specific category from 1-5 for each college, so she had a weighted average. It was also color coded (red= low score, green= high score, yellow= medium).</p>
<p>At first, she dreaded filling out the spreadsheet, but learned to embrace it as the process moved along.</p>
<p>In the end, it turned out that the first college that she fell in love with had the highest score, and she is currently attending.</p>
<p>oooooh! Color-coded. I’m envious.</p>
<p>toledo- I am an engineer, and so is my D. She actually was very excited when Google calendars added more colors, so she could more accurately track her life in living color. :D</p>
<p>Well, just be glad it’s not the spreadsheet for a music major. With my first, the application process spreadsheet had the following:</p>
<p>School
Application (Common, Unified Arts, or School’s Own)
Supplemental Application
Essay
Supplemental Essay
Arts Supplement
Application Fee
Prescreen (CD or live)
Music Recommendations
Academic Recommendations
Guidance Recommendations
Artistic Resume
SAT
Transcript
School Report
Midyear Report
Senior Grades
Application Due Date
Auditions</p>
<p>College name
Location
25%-75% SAT & ACT range (color coded - if all of D’s scores fall above the 50% mark, it is green; if all fall at least above the 25% range it is yellow; if all are above the 75% range, it is blue. Would be red if any scores fall below the 25% range, but she does not have any of those)
Is SAT Writing Considered?
ED/EA?
Tuition
Fees
Room & Board
Total of All 3
Last Year’s Total
% Change from Last Year
Visit Status (did we/will we visit?)
SAT Subject Test Requirements
Merit Aid/NMF Aid Comments
Need Blind?
Size
Strength of Key Programs (D is interested in Chem, Bio, English, & Studio Art, so comments on those)
EC Status (do they have her favorite activity? Is the sport she enjoys a team, club, or not there at all)
Other Key Info (general comments)
Acceptance %
App Type (Common, etc.)
Interview Type (informative, evaluative, required, recommended, alumni, etc.)
Signed up on website?
Last Year’s Essay/Supplemental Questions
US News Ranking
Forbes Ranking
All Scores Required?
Test Scores Sent?</p>
<p>The list started with about 20 colleges, but we have moved some off to a separate tab that she thinks she is not interested in now. We also keep a separate tab tracking every standardized test score, planned date, etc.</p>
<p>We will have a separate tab starting in the fall with all the colleges she is applying to with deadlines and status for everything required.</p>
<p>Ours is pretty much the same as bernesemtnmoms except we also have a column for whether the association for writing programs has them listed. D has each school color coded (green for an absolute yes; yellow for a maybe and when she was still doing her due diligence, red for no way.)</p>