I figured that since now most of us have gotten answers from colleges, we can spread our wisdom to the next year of students. I’ll start the list, but I hope that others will contribute to make this a good resource for juniors starting to consider colleges.
<li>Start essays early and get them corrected often. I don’t mean starting them in August (although I do know some people who did), but make it a goal to be finished at least a week before your application is due. Also find parents, teachers, or friends who can edit them for you. A friend of mine didn’t show us her essays until after she had applied. There were a bunch of things that could easily have been fixed, but didn’t have a chance of change, because she had wanted to “go it alone” on the essays.</li>
<li>This may just be a saying by the math teachers of my school, but it is still true. Assumptions make an “Angle Side Side” (triangle) out of you and me. This is very true in college decisions. It is never certain that you will get into any college. Don’t go around talking about how you would only accept going to an Ivy or Stanford, because you look like a fool if you don’t get in.</li>