Too much info!! Please help!

Applying to College
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Well I’m finished with most of my major exams, and I have a small break until I finish the final ones and then school is out. I know junior year is so hectic with college applications and what not, so my dad advised me to get a handle on the SAT I and II subject tests now, this summer, since I’ll be staying here this summer. And since I’ll have 4 APs also next May, I can seriously see myself totally freaking out because I’ll have 4 APs, 3 subject tests, and the big, bad SAT. And then next summer I’m leaving the country for 2 whole months with my family. Since this summer will be a pretty lax time for me, I decided to take advantage of it rather than cramming everything at the last minute next year. So…I’ve been looking into college advice for the SAT and essays and admission books and prep books and I’m already getting a headache trying to search for all this stuff!

There are like 1000s of possible colleges I might be interested in, and the dream college I want to apply to starts sorting through applications next November!! Keep in mind I’ll be out of the country all summer next year, so I’ll have to do all of this application stuff abroad while trying to enjoy a family trip. What I’m asking here is how do you all sort through all of those colleges and prepare for all of these tests in 1 year?? I’ve been online for about 5 hours and I’m already about to give up! My parents immigrated here so they’re new to this whole college process…I mean, I’m doing everything all on my own here, with nothing really but books and the internet at my fingertips. The guidance counselor has no idea what the heck she’s doing, so no help there. And there is really good advice on here, but sorting through all of these sophisticated posts on long threads is, well, hurting my head. I really want the full picture though since all of you have been there and done that. I know I could find excellent advice for every question I have…the process is just so…long and tiring. Am I the only one like this? And can anyone tell me how they searched for colleges, especially if they did it all on their own?
Goodness, sorry for such a long post. Thanks in advance though if you can help. :slight_smile:

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<p>I don't have much advice for you because I'm in the same predicament, even down to the immigrant issue (what country did your parents come from, by the way?)... Taking the SAT early is a really good idea. I took it without preparation in March, which took care of some of the stress because I know what my abilities are and that I can retake to get a better score. On the other hand, I'm having huge trouble putting together a list... hopefully this thread will answer some questions.</p>

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<p>There are over 2200 four-year colleges in the US. Most of these are not selective. By this, I mean that if you apply, you get in. However, the top 400 are selective to some degree and the 40-50 are unbelieveably selective. From the way you are looking at the process, you can no doubt limit yourself to the colleges in the Fiske Guide to Colleges or the Princeton Review's Top 357 Colleges. Both of these guides (and others) will give a short 2-3 page summary of each college including selectivity and type of campus life. That is still a lot of colleges to look at. Look at the US News and World Report rankings just to get names of schools and some idea of how difficult they are to get into. The USNWR rankings are broken down into two categories: National Universities and Liberal Arts Colleges. The USNWR rankings are available online. I would recommend going back and forth between the Fiske/PR guide and the rankings and pick out what appeals to you. You will be making decisions such as Public or Private, Big or Medium or Small, Urban or Rural or Suburban, and Mid-size University or LAC. You can visit local colleges that you have not intention of actually applying to in order to get a feel for different kinds of colleges.</p>

<p>I wasn't clear what year you are finishing up. You said that junior year is hectic with applying to colleges. That isn't true. It is senior year that is hectic. By the beginning of senior year, you should have a fair idea of what colleges you are interested in. You probably took the SAT I once at the end of junior year. You can take the SAT I again at the beginning of senior year. By XMAS break of senior year, you should have all of your applications done and mailed. As soon as possible after Jan 1 of senior year, you finish up you financial aid applications. You get the responses back by April 1, and you inform the college that you want to attend by May 1.</p>

<p>AP tests are taken at the end of the class, and so you take them at the end of junior year. Colleges don't all require SAT II tests. If they do, they normally require Writing and Math IC/IIC and another one of your choice. The current thinking is that they will stop requiring the Writing SAT II since that has been rolled into the New SAT.</p>

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<p>I have some advice for you: don't bother with any of the guidebooks until you have thought about what YOU want in a college or university. This summer, do a tour at a local larger public university, a private liberal arts college, and perhaps a mid sized private university. They do not have to be schools you will ultimately be interested in, right now you just want to get a feel for what you like and don't like in a school.</p>

<p>Then, sit down and think about which environment feels right for you - do you want large, small, medium, which part of the country, what type of people are you friends with in high school --- do you want to be with similar people in college, a whole different type, or maybe a mix--- which classes do you enjoy most in high school: ones that are mainly lecture, mainly discussion, or some combination. Do you want the same or something different in college? Just keep thinking about all of these things and write down your thoughts. </p>

<p>After a while, between visiits and thinking, you will find a picture of the type of school you want most emerging. That will make it much easier to sort through all of the information in those guidebooks and here online.</p>

<p>As for the sATs and APs, a little summer prep wouldn't hurt but don't panic! I recommend that you order the collegeboard's own "real SATs" book for the new SAT and use that over other books. </p>

<p>Don't worry, there is plenty of time to get this all figured out!</p>

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<p>Thank you all for the advice!
Alright, well, I'm finishing up my sophomore year now. </p>

<p>I want to apply ED to one specific college which starts looking over applications in November, and asks for an interview during rolling decisions from December to May. I know 4 APs is a lot, although it might not be too demanding to the kids on this forum, it's certainly a lot for me and with an addition of the SAT I & IIs..well I'll definently be busy. I'm thinking the earlier I start the better. This is the only college I'm positive I want to attend, I've been looking at it since like middle school. But of course you need other matches and safeties and I don't really know anything...so I'll try all of your advice!</p>

<p>I haven't taken the SAT yet "officially". I took the old SAT 3 times before high school started, and I know those don't count..hopefully I can start now, and get a decent score the 1st time. It's unfortunate they changed it, especially after I already had a "feel" for it even before high school. </p>

<p>Oh and the SAT IIs, well I'm definently taking Math IIC, and I'm taking Biology & Chemistry since those are the APs I'm also taking next year. That's why there are 3, even though most colleges probably won't require that many. </p>

<p>I do have a couple of questions, if anyone can help me out.
Why do admissions start beginning of senior year? Shouldn't they wait so they can see the high school diploma, the official rank, ALL of the APs taken, etc? I'm sure more people would benefit, especially if their rank went up during the year, or if they took demanding APs that year. Or even if they won some nice awards or got a job..there is quite a bit you can add after senior year, I don't know why admissions start so "early". </p>

<p>And is community service one of those "musts" you add to an application? The community service around here, while it will give you hours, it's not very useful. Much time is wasted, and you don't learn a lot.</p>

<p>I bought a couple of books to read too, and to let my parents read, such as The College Admissions Mystique, A is for Admission, The Gatekeepers, and some others. Oh and thisyearsgirl, my parents immigrated from North-Eastern Africa, from Sudan, but I've got some European blood in the mix too! </p>

<p>And roughly, how many colleges should one apply to?</p>

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<p>Since you're starting early, this is what I would do:</p>

<p>Take carolyn's advice and find out what YOU want in a college. Maybe visit some, look at websites, etc. Find out what colleges in your area appeal to you. Then go to the guidebooks, look them up, and find similar ones. I know Fiske gives that. Put yourself on all the mailing lists of colleges that you think you might like. Read through the literature, look at the pictures, etc. Pay attention to each school's individualities. Eventually, some will stand out and others will drop off your list. Keep your mind open because you've got over a year for your interests to change. Don't limit the number of colleges on your list now. Save that for senior year.</p>

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<p>I echo Carolyn's advice. It can be confusing to sort thru 2000+ colleges, but that's not the way to do it. That's a bottom-up approach.</p>

<p>What Carolyn is suggested, and what I suggest too, is the opposite. First decide what you want in college. You don't need to figure everything out at once, and you have plenty of time to revise your opinions. But like Carolyn suggested, take a first crack at it and also visit some schools to get a first-hand idea of what they're like.</p>

<p>Next, once you've given yourself some criteria, the selection process becomes much easier. If you can't stand rural areas that immediately rules out a lot of schools as you flip thru a guide, same if you don't want to be in a big city. Want small classes? Again, that narrows the field. The more carefully you can describe what an ideal college would look like, the easier it becomes to find a basket that matches that description.</p>

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<p>Quote from dufus5321:
You will be making decisions such as Public or Private, Big or Medium or Small, Urban or Rural or Suburban, and Mid-size University or LAC. You can visit local colleges that you have no intention of actually applying to in order to get a feel for different kinds of colleges.</p>

<p>By reading the Princeton Review and Fiske guides, you can vicariously see what it would be like to be on different kinds of campuses. By visiting local campuses as Carolyn also suggested, you can get a feel for whether you want a big, mid-sized, or large campus. The practical problem with the guides such as PR and Fiske is that they list so many colleges that you don't have time to go through them all. (I have, but I'm not in high school.) Because of this, I would use the USNWR rankings to pick out names of colleges. Everyone deploys the rankings, but they can be used to identify names of schools that you can then investigate.</p>

<p>In answer to your later questions:</p>

<p>It would be better to not apply to college until senior year was over and all of the grades were in. However, there isn't enough time. The decisions have to be made sooner and so the admissions process starts for most people halfway thru senior year. You are talking about applying ED. The original purpose of ED concerned people who absolutely knew what college they wanted to go to, and wanted to get the whole process over with early. ED has more recently become an application strategy since college make it easier do be accepted during ED than Regular Admission. Some colleges accept 40% of the ED applicants and only 15% of the RD applicants. To make it worse, they also can fill around 40% of their freshman classes with ED acceptances. The downside of ED for you is that you have to make a decision early that you might regret later. Also, if you are applying for financial aid, ED will limit your opportunities since you won't be able to compare the grant/loans ratio from different colleges. The upside of ED for you is that it is easier to be admitted during ED and you can complete the whole process early and enjoy senior year.</p>

<p>Concerning community service, it is not supposed to directly help you. It's supposed to help other people. Most people don't learn anything from it. It is more often just physical labor. I would have some community service on the application, but it doesn't have to overwhelm the extracurriculars section. I think they do care more about the other stuff.</p>

<p>Being a URM, under-represented minority, will help a lot. When you mark off the racial boxes, try to get as much ink there as possible.</p>

<p>Most people apply to between five and nine schools. You, of course, want to have safeties, matches and reaches. You should have both a financial safety and an academic safety, although both of these can be the same. It is an irony that the best students applying to most selective schools have to apply to the most schools. This is because the admissions process for the most selective schools can be like a lottery. For every applicant accepted, there can be 4-5 statistically identical applicants who are denied. There are simply more people applying than they have room for. It isn't a question of getting enough qualified applicants. It is a question of having room for everyone. Therefore you have to apply to more schools just to be safe. In a lottery, you buy more tickets.</p>

<p>You must be one of the best prepared sophmores ever. The books that you mentioned for your parents are excellent. Don't worry; you have plenty of time. As suggested, spend your time deciding what type of school you want to attend.</p>

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<p>Thank you all for the responses! You've given me a lot of ideas, I'll definently plan some college visits this summer to try to narrow the choices. And you've helped answer a lot of my questions.</p>

<p>Just a few more things, when you say, dufus3709, that you want a lot of ink in the racial boxes, that doesn't necessarily mean that if someone marked off "African-American' they would get less consideration than someone who marked off "African-American", "White", "Hispanic", right? They all get the same consideration?</p>

<p>And the community service, it's not that I don't want to help others, it's that the volunteering oppurtunities in the local hospitals don't allow you to do much. I heard the volunteers kinda chat a lot with the nurses and some of the doctors, wheel a couple of patients around, but that's essentially it. There isn't much help for the patients, but rather the volunteer is getting hours. I think I'll just find other ways to help though, it seemed many here had plenty of hospital volunteer hours so I was wondering if it was just one of those things everyone puts down.</p>

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<p>take a gap year!</p>

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<p>I have read that there is a tendency nowadays for people to mark more than one ethnicity box. I remember from "The Gatekeepers" that the author talked about people having certain heritages being particularly interested in applicants sharing their own heritage being admitted. </p>

<p>Colleges try to build freshman classes that represent society as a whole. In order to do so, they select people from different categories in the applicant pool. However, qualified URW's (under-represented minorities) apply to colleges in lesser numbers. When the college tries to pick people from their categories, there are less applicants than there are in other categories and this improves their chances. However, the whole affirmative action process is not done in a systematic way and it is difficult to gauge the actual effect in individual cases. Ultimately every person in every admissions committee in every college is going to handle individual applications differently. It can't hurt to mark more than one box, but the "white" box won't help you.</p>

<p>Incidently, when I said that there were 2200 four-year colleges and recommended that you look at the PR/Fiske guides, I meant that the guides narrow the field down to only a few hundred schools. The guides do demonstrate the types of schools and I think you can get a feel for different types of colleges (big/mid/large, public/private, university/LAC, public/urban/suburban) by looking through the guides. I would not emphasize the USNWR rankings except as a starting point into the guides. I agree that college visits are the best way to get a feel for the different types of colleges. Visits to local schools that you have no real intention of applying to can serve this purpose.</p>