It’s time to start thinking about the ACT and SAT. The ACT and SAT are both college admissions exams that are designed to assess your academic readiness for college. If you’re planning on attending a four-year college/university after graduation, you’ll want to start taking one of these tests during the spring of your junior year. Even if you’re worried you may not get a great score, you can choose up to four schools to send your scores FOR FREE at the time of registration. If you do so after the test, it will cost you $12-13 per college!
Students will need to research the testing schedule for the Accuplacer at the school of choice
Step 2: Apply
You must decide when you are going to apply. There are five different deadline most colleges have:
Regular Decision- This deadline is non-binding and widely available. Regular Decision deadlines for fall admission usually occur in the preceding January or February, and students receive a decision by April.
Rolling Admission- This deadline is non-binding and are usually as late as April and through the summer. Students who choose schools with Rolling Admission Deadlines should consider applying by the Regular Decision deadline make sure they do not miss out on Financial Aid and housing opportunities.
Early Action-This deadline gives students the opportunity to get applications completed early and is non-binding. Students who are looking to earn merit base scholarship should consider applying to their college choice Early Action.
Single Choice Early Actions-This deadline is non-binding, but is exclusive. It functions much like the typical Early Action deadline, except you can only apply to one school.
Early Decision- This deadline also give students the opportunity to get applications completed early but is binding. This means, if admitted, the student agrees to enroll. If a student decides to apply Early Decision, they should be completely sure they are prepared to attend. This means take into consideration majors offered, the cost, and etc.
There are several benefits to applying early action and early decision:
Higher acceptance rates. Acceptance rates tend to be higher for the early action and early decision application pools. This might be partly due to self-selection, since early applicants tend to have strong academic profiles. Also, applying early is a form of demonstrated interest. Colleges like early action and early decision because it lets them fill their classes sooner.
Stress reduction. Although applying by an earlier deadline can be stressful, getting accepted early can reduce stress because you’ll know you’ve been accepted by at least one college.
More time. Students who get in early have more time to consider their options and might make better decisions about where to enroll.
There are several drawbacks to applying early action and early decision:
Binding commitment to enroll. Applying early decision may be problematic for low-income students, since you can’t compare college financial aid packages to find the college with the lowest net price. Students who apply early decision agree to withdraw applications from other colleges if they are accepted early. If the financial aid award is inadequate, some colleges will allow applicants to back out of the early decision acceptance.
Less financial aid. The average financial aid package is lower for students accepted through early action and early decision. This may be because students who apply earlier tend to be wealthier. Generally, colleges do not award less financial aid to early decision applicants because of the binding commitment. In fact, there’s more financial aid available to early applicants, because the college has not yet exhausted its financial aid budget.
Senioritis. Getting accepted early may contribute to senioritis, where your academic performance declines. However, colleges can and do revoke offers of admission if your grades drop.
There are several different platforms colleges use for admission application. Check the school's admission page to know which platform you will need to use. These include: Institutional applications, Common App, Coalition, and Common Black College App. If you are applying to more than one school, using the Common Application, Coalition, or Black Common App will save you some time in the application process.
NOTE:
If your college requires an essay, make sure to have some read over it before submitting
Make sure you ask the right person to complete your for Letters of Recommendation
Give your teachers and/or counselors a minimum of 10 business days to complete your Letter of Recommendation
If your college requires an interview, make sure to see you counselor to set up a mock interview
Make sure you have an appropriate email address for your college application and check your email on a regular basis.
PAY ATTENTION TO DEADLINES!
Step 3: Financial Aid
1. Complete the FAFSA. This free application opens Oct 1st. This application is the single most important thing you can do to get money for college, because your federal and often school-specific financial aid absolutely depend on its results.
Click the image below to watch a video on tools to help you fill out the FAFSA.
4. Decision Time
College will give one of four decisions:
Admitted
Waitlisted
Deffered
Denied
Once a student is admitted, it is important to figure out which college is the best fit. Make sure to go on a campus visit if at all possible. Visiting a college campus can be the deciding factor in a student's decision. Check out this article to help you get through to the final decision.