When it comes to building balanced college lists, one thing drives our process: fit.
College fit is how well an institution meets a student’s unique wants and needs for their best college experience. It’s entirely student-driven and entirely individual. If I’m working with a student on their college fit, we aren’t talking about what their older sibling, their friends, or even their parents wanted in a college experience. It’s all about that student. Their unique wants and needs.
We’re big believers in college fit for many reasons, but a few of them are:
Fit gives you a place to begin the college search - There are thousands of colleges out there, and searching can get overwhelming if you don’t know where to start! College fit gives students criteria to look for when learning about different colleges. In that way, fit can help guide college research beyond the admissions website.
Choosing a good fit saves time, money, and resources - Too often, students have a primary reason for choosing a college and haven’t fully considered its other factors. It could be an academic major, a sport (that they will be playing or enthusiastically supporting), name recognition, location, or some other reason. But when they get to campus, something changes. A student may want to change their major (most do!) or no longer wish to continue playing a sport. If the college is not a good fit for other reasons, they may need to consider transferring, which can add additional semesters or years, additional tuition, and so on.
A better college fit leads to happier students - And happier students are more engaged on campus! They’re taking advantage of opportunities, pursuing experience, and having a fulfilling 4 years.
So how do you find this elusive “best college fit?” This blog post will walk you through 3 factors—Academic, Financial, and Social—to find your best college fit.
But first, a disclaimer: the three areas of fit will not be of equal importance to all students and families. And that’s perfectly normal! One student may know that the cost of college is a key factor in their search process, so financial fit may outweigh social or academic fit in this process. Another student may be interested in pursuing a major not commonly available at many colleges or need support from their college with a learning difference, so academic fit may matter more. To give you an experience from my own college search: back in the day, I attended what was then the largest high school in North Carolina. From that experience, I knew I wanted a small college, so social fit was a significant factor for me.
No part of college fit is more important or valuable than another, but just to drive that home, we’ll tackle each piece alphabetically!
When considering academic fit, start by asking yourself how your academic profile matches the average freshman at this school. Is the school an academic fit for you right now?
But don’t stop there! Will the school still be an academic fit for you after you enroll? Do they teach the way you learn best?
Here are some things to consider when you assess your ideal academic fit:
What is your ideal class size?
How much access to your professors do you want/need?
What level of career and/or academic advising would you like?
What major(s) and/or minor(s) are you considering?
Would you like to have academic support or tutoring available?
What’s your ideal class style: lecture, discussion, hands-on?
Are you motivated by a competitive academic environment?
Do you want to pursue research, an internship, or study abroad in your major?
Before you start looking into what colleges offer in relation to these kinds of questions, determine what your unique answers are. Then, when you do your college research, you can assess if a college is a good academic fit.
While college fit is specific to a student’s wants and needs, financial fit is often a family conversation. For many, college is a family investment. Money can be a tricky topic to discuss in some families, and often, there can be a lack of communication about financial fit between students and parents.
These conversations look different from family to family, but I encourage parents and students to talk about how your family plans to pay for college at the beginning of the college planning process and not at the end so that everyone has realistic expectations about how financial fit should play into college fit and, ultimately, into the student’s college choice.
Here are some key factors to think about as part of financial fit:
What is your family’s budget for one year of college?
Will your family qualify for any need-based financial aid?
Are you, or your parents, willing to take out loans to pay for college?
Do you think you might qualify for any merit-based financial aid at certain institutions?
Have you considered what else beyond tuition will cost money (for example: room and board, transportation if the college is far from home, books, club dues, etc.)?
Financial fit can really influence a college list because the cost of college can vary so much from school to school. It can determine if a student keeps their college search closer to home to benefit from in-state tuition at public colleges or how balanced that final college list is. A student hoping to receive a lot of academic merit aid offers should be aiming for more Likely schools.
Here are a few more resources as you find your financial fit:
Scholarships 101: How Can I Get More Merit Aid From Colleges?
Scholarships 101: Measuring a College’s Financial Generosity
We invited family to the table for Step 2, but Step 3 is back to a student’s unique wants and needs.
Many students identify this step as “the fun part” because we talk about football and weekend life. And while yes, these will be some of the most social years of a student’s life, and we do want students to have fun, social fit is important because so much of the growth students experience in college takes place out of the classroom. College is more than waking up, absorbing knowledge like a sponge, and going to sleep. That’s where social fit comes in!
As you consider social fit, ask:
What does your “dream college” environment look like?
Do you prefer a smaller college with a close-knit community or a larger college where you can constantly make new friends?
How important is the college athletic scene?
Do you want to attend a faith-based college?
Is campus diversity important to you?
Do you want many campus clubs or activities to join, or do you see yourself pursuing other social outlets?
Are you interested in fraternities or sororities?
Is the campus environment: Creative? Outdoorsy? Full of school spirit? Political? Social justice-minded? Regional? International?
The complete “college experience” happens in classrooms, dorms, the dining hall, the student center, the football stadium, and beyond. Consider the environment where you want to spend an exciting four years and the types of people you want to be around!
As you go through academic, financial, and social fit, make a running list of the things that are important to you. Once you have a list of your unique college fit criteria, decide which factors are your “must-haves” versus things that would be nice to have in a college but are negotiable.
(A quick tip: if you have too many must-haves, you might end up looking for a college that doesn’t actually exist!)
At the same time, make a note of anything on your “no way” list—criteria your ideal college would not have.
Keep these lists of college criteria—must-haves, would be nice to have, and no way—by your side on college visits and when doing college research. Before you add a college to your college list, compare it to your fit list and ask yourself, “How well does this college fit me?”
So much time and effort go into submitting a college application. It can feel like a celebration and a relief to finally hit “submit” and relax until admission decisions start coming in. But don’t get too comfortable! Even after submitting a college application, there are still a few more steps for students to complete.
Here are 6 things to do after applying to college:
Colleges will contact students after they apply with instructions to activate a portal with their school. This portal is a student’s online account and the main place where they and the college will interact moving forward. Students can find important information in the portal, such as:
A checklist showing a student’s application completion status and that the different pieces of the application (e.g., test scores, recommendations, transcript) have arrived at the college
Any additional steps required to complete an application, like self-reporting grades or test scores
Optional applications like honors program applications or scholarship applications (note: depending on the college, these may be located outside of the portal)
Admissions decisions may also appear in the portal
Activate a portal soon after applying to that college to ensure your application is complete, and check it periodically to make sure everything looks the way it should.
It’s important to stay on top of your email inbox after submitting college applications. Email is often the first place colleges will reach out to students if something is missing in an application or to make important announcements. Students should open every email from colleges to which they’ve applied so they are not missing any crucial information.
Don’t forget that many colleges also track their email open rates as a part of demonstrated interest. Consistently reading your emails after submitting your application shows that you are still actively engaging with that college.
We know your inbox is probably flooded with college emails by now, so it is okay to start unsubscribing from any colleges you know you won’t be applying to at this point. That way, the emails from the colleges on your list won’t get lost in the mix.
A lot can happen between when a student applies (sometimes in early fall) and when admissions results are released (sometimes as late as April). If you have new information that you would like your colleges to know about, consider sending periodic updates. You might include:
Updated grades at the end of first quarter, trimester, or semester
New leadership positions, awards, or accomplishments not previously shared in your application
Any updates that you might have included in the Additional Information section of an application
It’s essential to follow the procedure laid out by each college. If they request that all updates go through the application portal, do not email your admissions counselor instead. Instead of making you look like you went the extra mile, it only makes you look like you can’t follow directions. It’s also important that you only share new information in these updates. It’s up to each college whether they will update your application to include the new information.
If your family plans to apply for financial aid, file the FAFSA and/or the CSS Profile by each college’s financial aid deadline. Some colleges also have additional scholarship applications that students can access once they have submitted their general college applications.
Students considering outside scholarships can also use the time after they’ve submitted college applications to work on other scholarship applications.
Whatever you do, don’t let Senioritis kick in now that college applications have been submitted! This is not the time to coast to graduation! Stay focused in school and keep earning strong grades in your classes. Here’s why maintaining good grades even after submitting an application is a good idea:
Some colleges may request midyear grades, or if your early application is deferred, you may have to send your midyear grade report
Strong grades give you an update to send to colleges (see: Send Periodic Updates)
If your grades drop too much, a college can revoke their offer of admission
Students should also try to maintain the original senior year schedule they submitted with their application. Sorry, but that means you can’t drop AP Calculus for an early release period now that you’ve gotten into your dream college! Some schedule changes may be inevitable at your school, but you need to notify each college on your list about the change (and the reason for it).
This is maybe the most difficult item on this list. I call the period of time between submitting an application and receiving a decision “The Long Wait.” It can seem like an eternity! Sometimes, students start to second guess themselves, their strengths, and all their hard work during this time. Try not to let The Long Wait get to you. Control what you can control (working hard in class, sending appropriate updates), acknowledge that a lot of the admissions process is out of your control, and trust that you’ve done your best and that it—and you—are enough.
Applying to a good-fit college is an exercise in relationship building.
First, you’re introduced to the college. Maybe you’d heard of it beforehand, but because you read this blog, you know better than to make a college decision solely on reputation! You get to know the college pretty well over time through your own research. You make up your mind that this is definitely a good fit for you, and you submit your application. “I’ve decided I like you. Please pick me.”
But wait—that’s not really how relationships work, is it? Relationship building goes both ways, and the scenario I described above is pretty one-sided. You’re getting to know the college, but how and when are they getting to know you? How are they supposed to know you’re interested in taking this relationship to the next level?
You might argue that the college admissions office gets to know you and your interest through your application. But admissions counselors assume that students are applying to more than one college—how are they to know that they are the one? And colleges receive thousands of applications each cycle—admissions counselors can’t always see the difference between one application that’s a token of undying love and another that was submitted because the college has no extra essays and a great football team.
This is where demonstrated interest comes in.
Demonstrated interest is what it sounds like: a student demonstrating an interest in the college of their choice. Consistently, meaningfully, and throughout the admissions process. Essentially, demonstrated interest is any time a student has connected with a college in some meaningful way to show that they want to attend.
A few years ago, I wrote about demonstrating interest during the Covid-19 pandemic when campus visits halted. Today, we’ll look at some other forms of demonstrated interest and how they can be used in the admissions process.
No, not all colleges will use demonstrated interest as a consideration factor in the admissions process. And even if they do, it will not be the most important factor in a student’s application. No amount of demonstrated interest will outweigh a weak transcript.
You can see if a college considers demonstrated interest—and see how much of a role it plays in their admissions process—by looking at a college’s Common Data Set (Google the college name + Common Data Set). Section C7 is a chart that shows the college’s admissions factors. Pretty useful, huh?
Pro Tip: If a college does not use demonstrated interest for admissions purposes, that is not an excuse to forgo this part of the process! Many ways that students demonstrate interest are also the most valuable ways that students can meaningfully earn about a college. By being intentional about demonstrating interest, you’re also helping yourself determine if a college is a good fit for you!
A college that uses demonstrated interest in their admissions process might look at the meaningful interactions they’ve had with a student when determining how likely that student is to attend their school. Admissions counselors know that students can only enroll at one college, and they want it to be theirs!
To have a high yield rate (or the percentage of students who enroll at a university after being offered admission), they may look for indicators, like demonstrated interest, that an offer of admission would result in a new student at their university.
Let’s look at different ways students can demonstrate their interest during the college admissions process.
An official campus visit is a great way to show demonstrated interest. Physically going to where a college is located and spending time on campus not only indicates a certain level of interest but is also an excellent way for students to know whether a college is a good fit for them. Everybody benefits!
But we recognize that official tours may not be accessible to everyone. Travel may not be possible if you are looking at colleges far from home. And many of these tour times are during the school day. Tour schedules around popular school breaks, like Fall Break and Spring Break, fill up quickly, and you may not be willing or able to miss school for a college visit. So here are several ways to think about demonstrating interest through a campus visit or information session:
Official Campus Tours or Information Sessions - Check out our blog post on advice for successful tours here.
Virtual Information Sessions - Many colleges have these listed on the same webpage where you sign up for official on-campus visits. Often, the timing is more convenient for students. These can sometimes include a virtual tour component or may be offered by academic area.
Open Houses or Preview Days - Keep an eye out for these dates in the spring and fall. They are day-long events, usually occurring on the weekend. They’re a great way to dive deeper into a school you’re interested in and get a glimpse of life on that campus!
Self-Guided Tours - Sometimes, a self-guided tour is the best you can do. But it’s not demonstrating interest unless the college knows you’re there. See if there’s a way to register your attendance on the admissions webpage. If not, reach out to your admissions counselor before you come to campus. They might be able to meet with you, arrange for you to speak with a professor in your academic area, or give you some recommendations on what to see based on your interest.
While students can go to a college and meet with admissions counselors there, admissions counselors also travel! College representatives take the show on the road for college fairs (where students can get to know lots of colleges in one event—like college speed dating) or high school visits (where an admissions counselor visits a high school during the school day to meet students and provide information about their college).
Both are great opportunities for students to learn more about a college, have their specific questions answered, and maybe even introduce themselves to the person who could be reading their application. I recommend students attend these events and introduce themselves to the college representatives present. And afterward, follow up with a thank you email. Not only is it polite to thank someone for their time, but that also gives that student a contact moving forward for any questions they may have about the college or the application process. It’s easier to ask your questions if you know where to turn!
Even if you haven’t met your admissions counselor face-to-face during a high school visit or a college fair, there are other ways to communicate with them. Admissions offices often make it easy to search their website and find the person assigned to a particular state, region, or high school. If not, students can contact the general admissions email, and their questions will be forwarded to the correct person.
Admissions counselors are there to support students and to recruit students to their college. They have so much great information for students trying to decide if a particular school is right for them, and if they don’t have an answer to your question, they can almost certainly point you to someone who can. So don’t hesitate to reach out with thoughtful, meaningful questions about the college or if you need help along the way.
After applying, students can also reach out with any new updates or changes (like new grades, awards, or leadership positions) as long as they follow the college’s procedures.
Don’t forget that, even though they read and evaluate college applications, admissions counselors are people too… and they really like students!
Many supplemental essay prompts give students a chance to show demonstrated interest. Any time a question refers back to the college, this is an opportunity. Look for questions like:
Why do you want to attend this college?
Why are you interested in this major specifically at this college?
How do you see yourself contributing to our college community?
How will you contribute to building a diverse community at our college?
How will you go beyond your comfort zone at our college?
If a college asks a question like this, or something similar, a little alarm bell should go off in a student’s mind to let them know research is needed. This supplemental essay is another chance for the admissions reader to learn about the student—but part of what the student should want to express is that they’ve done their homework. That they know this college well and can show why it’s such a strong mutual fit. These types of essays should be thoughtful, specific, and definitely not rushed.
There are some parts of the application process that are optional. Some of these things have nothing to do with demonstrated interest and are truly optional. For example, if a college is test optional, demonstrated interest shouldn’t be a consideration when deciding whether or not to submit SAT or ACT scores.
On the other hand, there are some optional application steps to go the extra mile and show your strong interest. These include:
Early Deadlines: Only apply Early Decision if that deadline is right for you and your family, but consider applying Early Action. If a college has a Rolling deadline, apply sooner rather than later to indicate your strong interest!
Optional Essays: Sometimes, supplemental essays are not required. You should probably write it as long as the prompt isn’t directed at something you haven’t experienced (for example, there may be some optional prompts about disciplinary or criminal history, missing school, or academic obstacles). You should definitely write it if it’s a demonstrated interest prompt like I mentioned above!
Interviews: Some colleges offer optional interviews, usually with alumni. They usually can’t offer interviews to everyone who applies, and it’s not a bad sign if you aren’t able to interview. Check on the college’s admissions website to learn about their interview process—some colleges will reach out after applications are submitted, others have a specific interview deadline, while others let students sign up as early as the summer before senior year. Interviews usually don’t make a big difference in the admissions process, but we still recommend them! If you can interview, I encourage you to spend 30 minutes on Zoom chatting with a graduate about your interest in a college and their experience as a student. You’ll learn a lot, and colleges will see that you’ve taken this extra step.
Current high school students are digital natives. Capitalize on that! Follow colleges on social media. Individual colleges have tons of different social media accounts these days. Everything from admissions and athletics to academic departments and student clubs will have their own accounts. Find what interests you and follow them!
Do the admissions offices cross-reference their list of followers with the applications they get? Well, probably not. But by following the accounts that interest you, you’ll get a glimpse behind the curtain at campus life. You’ll learn things you wouldn’t just by looking at the campus website or in an afternoon visit. You’ll learn if this is the college for you, and just think of the interesting details you’ll be able to include in your supplemental essays and interviews!
The one (kind of weird) thing admissions offices do sometimes see is who is opening their emails, as well the interactions with those emails (Are the emails staying open long enough for someone to read them? Is the recipient clicking on clinks?). Now, students should be opening all emails from the colleges on their list anyway because they don’t want to miss important information or updates. Will opening your email move the needle? Probably not in most cases, but this is something that the college might track.
Like relationship building, demonstrated interest isn’t a box you check. It’s not a one-time occurrence. Consistency is key. Students can begin their initial engagement (like college visits or staying digitally connected) before their senior year and should keep engaging even after submitting applications. If admissions offices see a lot of engagement in early fall of senior year, but then it drops off later on (especially after other admissions decisions come in), they may think that the student has given their heart to another college.
Demonstrated interest is a real part of holistic admissions at many colleges. Please don’t ignore it and miss out on opportunities, but at the same time, don’t overemphasize its importance. Don’t make demonstrating interest a part-time job. If a student is taking the time to thoroughly get to know a college with an emphasis on good college fit, meaningful demonstrated interest usually follows.
Here are two short videos all about demonstrated interest!
There are many steps to completing a college application: writing essays, filling out application questions, creating the activity list, asking for letters of recommendation, setting up an application portal after submitting… and we haven’t even gotten to financial aid!
The financial aid application season runs at the same time as the college application season, beginning on October 1st of each year with the opening of the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). While students are keeping up with their college applications, there are also a lot of steps for students and parents to follow to complete the financial aid process.
Here are some answers to commonly asked questions to help simplify the FAFSA process:
Get organized before you file your financial aid documents. Here’s a list of the items parents and students will need to successfully fill out the FAFSA:
Your FSA ID - An FSA ID is a username and password that allows students and parents to sign the FAFSA electronically. Both the student and the parent filling out the FAFSA must create an FSA ID, and you will need these before completing the FAFSA. You can create an FSA ID before the FAFSA opens in October. You will use the same FSA ID every year the student files the FAFSA, so make sure to keep up with it!
Your SSN - If you are not a US Citizen, but meet certain eligibility requirements for federal financial aid, you will need your Alien Registration Number.
Your Federal Income Tax Return - Parents and students (if the student filed federal income taxes) will use tax information from two years prior to the fall the student plans to enroll in college. For example, if a student plans to begin college in Fall 2023, their family will use tax information from their 2021 tax return.
Records of any untaxed income - For example, child support, interest income, or veterans’ non-education benefits.
Records of your assets - For example, savings and checking account balances, records of investments, stocks, bonds, and real estate (excluding your primary residence).
List of schools you are applying to - You should go ahead and send the FAFSA to colleges even if you haven’t been accepted (or even applied) yet. You can always remove a school if you decide not to apply, but you could miss out on financial aid opportunities if you wait too late to add a school.
Just like colleges set their own application deadlines—and one college can have multiple application deadlines—financial aid deadlines can also vary by college. Check with each school’s financial aid office to see their FAFSA deadline. Keep an eye out for any early “priority” deadlines or FAFSA deadlines associated with different application types like Early Decision or Early Action. Some deadlines can be as early as November 1st!
Make a list of all the financial aid deadlines and determine which college has the earliest. Aim to file the FAFSA and submit it to all colleges on your list by that date. Or, better yet, try to file your FAFSA by Halloween to get it out of the way!
You can only list up to 10 schools at a time on the FAFSA, but there is a workaround for students with longer college lists. Within a few days of filing the FAFSA, you will receive an emailed copy of your Student Aid Report (SAR). The SAR is also sent to the colleges listed on the FAFSA.
To send the SAR to additional schools, log back into your FAFSA and select “Add/Update Schools.” Remove schools from your list—don’t worry, they’ve already received your SAR—and add new schools. Submit the corrections, and the new schools will then receive your SAR. Just remember that if you had to make any corrections to your actual FAFSA that you add back the schools you deleted so they get the updated version as well!
About one-third of FAFSA applicants are chosen for verification to determine the accuracy of what’s reported in their FAFSA. Don’t assume you’ve done anything incorrectly! You will be notified in your SAR about verification and contacted by the individual colleges to provide documentation like items from the list above. Be sure to follow instructions by the college’s deadline!
The CSS Profile is an additional financial aid application that is different from the FAFSA. It is required by more than 200 colleges and is used for institutional aid rather than federal aid. Some colleges will require both the FAFSA and the CSS Profile to be considered for financial aid. You complete the CSS Profile through College Board (yes, the SAT and AP people). There is no limit to the number of colleges you can list on the CSS Profile, but there is a small fee for each college (the irony of paying to submit an application for financial aid is not lost on us).
If your financial situation has decreased since the 2021 tax year, you will still use your 2021 income tax returns when filing the FAFSA. Then, contact the colleges where you have sent the SAR to explain and document your change in income. The college may have a process in place, like an additional form for you to fill out. Officials in the financial aid offices can assess your situation and may adjust your FAFSA form or financial aid award.
If your situation changes after you file the FAFSA, you cannot update the FAFSA itself with new information. Similar to above, contact the colleges on your list to explain your family’s situation and follow any steps to request an adjustment to your FAFSA.
Don’t let the FAFSA process intimidate you! Check out our other free resources to simplify financial aid:
With so many different ways to engage—from official in-person tours to virtual visits to walking around campus with a friend—we get a lot of questions about the “right” way for families to get to know a potential college. What “counts” and what doesn’t? And how can parents help (or hurt) the college visit process?
Today, we have a blog post for the whole family—students and parents—because college visits are usually a family experience! Here are 5 tips to make the most of your college visit experience!
Schedule your visit to campus through the college’s website whenever possible. This way, the college has a record of your visit (which is extra helpful if they track demonstrated interest). We recommend official visits where possible, but these can fill up fast! Especially during popular times of the year like school breaks.
If your family is unable to schedule an official tour, you might consider a self-guided tour. Many colleges offer self-guided tour maps on their website, you might walk through campus as a family on your own, or you might have a connection at that college who can show you around.
If you are doing a self-guided tour, see if there is a way to sign up for one through the college’s website. If this isn’t an option, consider reaching out to your admissions counselor to let them know you will be on campus, tell them a little bit about yourself and your interest in their school, and ask any questions you might have ahead of your visit.
Pro Tip: If you are doing a self-guided tour, I recommend doing a virtual information session if one is available before you visit (you schedule these through the college's admissions page) so you can learn about the college and get the information you would have gotten on an official tour.
Just like your student should build a balanced college list, I encourage your family to visit schools that have a wide range of qualities like: selectivity, size, location, etc... That way, you’ll see a lot of options and learn both what you like and what you don't. Maybe you’ll learn that urban schools are a perfect fit after visiting college outside of a city! Maybe you’ll learn that the large schools that sounded great on paper are actually too large once you have smaller schools to compare them to.
Seeing a wide range can help students figure out their best fit. Remember—it's still a successful college tour even if you didn't like the campus you visited because you’ve learned something valuable for the next one!
And please include likely and target schools in your tour route! So often, families will only visit the most selective schools on a student’s college list and leave out others. Not only does this keep students from getting to know great schools, but it can also send the message that only certain colleges are prioritized, desirable, or acceptable.
It's tempting to try and cram as many college visits in as you can. Especially if you’re taking time off of school and work to fit in a college tour or if you’re visiting an area with a lot of colleges. But think quality over quantity with college visits!
Try not to visit more than 2 campuses in a single day. This will let you prioritize official visits where possible as many colleges only offer 1 or 2 official visit time slots per day.
And any more than that, and they're all going to start blurring together (“Wait, did that college say they had a 3-story rock climbing wall or a 3-story dining hall? And did that other college say they had small class sizes or a small chance my professor will learn my name because class sizes are large?”).
If college visits are a test drive, then students are in the driver's seat!
Parents, sit back and enjoy the scenery!
I encourage you to have family discussions about each college you visit, but let your student react, respond, and share their thoughts first. Respect your student's opinions and try to stay neutral even if you really want your student to feel the same way you do about a particular school!
You make campus visits as a family, so if virtual tours and information sessions are your only option because of distance, availability, or accessibility, treat these like as much like an in-person visit as you can.
Pop some popcorn, and watch the information session and virtual tour together. Ask the same questions and have the same conversations about likes and dislikes that you might have if you were visiting in person. And follow the advice in tips 1-4!
I don’t think it’s a big surprise that seniors get the lion’s share of “college planning” attention when August rolls around on the calendar. It’s the start of a new school year, but the Common Application also opens on August 1st and launches us into a new application cycle. My weekly schedule quickly fills up with senior meetings, all of them in a frenzy to meet fall deadlines so they can (fingers crossed!) have essays and applications behind them by Thanksgiving.
But just because it’s finally time for seniors to highlight three and a half years of hard work in their applications doesn’t mean freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are off the hook when it comes to college planning. As the new school year starts, here are 3 college planning tips for each grade level (yes, even you seniors!) to lead you down the path towards college planning success!
Welcome to high school! This is a year to learn, grow, and (you guessed it!) start thinking about college planning. But don’t worry—there’s no pressure on you to develop a college list and settle on your major all in 9th grade. This year is more about getting to know YOU!
As the school year starts, I encourage you to set some SMART goals (here’s another blog post where I walk you through setting different goals, identifying your potential obstacles, and making a plan for success). At least one should be an academic goal, and I recommend at least one personal goal that’s just for you, but maybe you also set an extracurricular goal for yourself. Share your goals with someone you trust like a parent or college counselor and then review them once a semester or once a quarter. Check in and see how you’re doing, what you might want to adjust, and what you get to celebrate.
High school is a whole new world when it comes to classes, clubs, and activities. Students have the opportunity to chase their curiosity in ways they haven’t been able to before. Exploring new interests, joining a new club, or picking up a new hobby might be easy advice for some students. But let’s acknowledge that it can also require leaving your comfort zone, and that isn’t always easy. I encourage you not to let that discomfort stop you from pursuing something you might love! Look for ways to make it easier, like bringing a friend.
We often hear that students who enjoyed reading for enjoyment in middle school lose that love of reading when they get into high school. The reading assignments change, schedules fill up, and pleasure reading is often one of the first things to fall off the priority list. But reading helps students learn, increases focus and attention span, improves vocabulary and writing skills, and can even build interpersonal skills like empathy. Here’s the thing—it doesn’t really matter what you read. Maybe it’s classic novels, sure, but maybe it’s free verse poetry, manga, sports biographies, or newspaper articles. If you enjoy it, keep reading!
You have a year of high school in the books! You probably have a favorite table in the lunchroom and are counting down the days until you can start driving to school. In the meantime, it’s time to take the next step on your college planning journey and start considering what you might want life after high school to look like.
As you go through sophomore year, think about the classes you enjoyed most from your first half of high school. Make a list and then take your brainstorming session a step further. Think about why you liked those particular classes.
Did you find the subject material interesting? Do you usually enjoy classes in that field? That might tell you something about a field of study that may interest you.
Did you really enjoy the teacher? What about them did you like? Was it the way they taught the class? Did they use lots of discussions? Group work? Projects? How did they bring their class to life for you? Have you had other teachers that taught like that? Did you enjoy those classes too?
Did you have a lot of friends in that class? How did that enhance the learning experience for you? Did you get to work with them on classwork? Do you like working/learning with others?
Other questions to ask yourself: What type of work was assigned? How many students were in the class? How were your desks set up? How was your knowledge tested at the end of the course (ie: test, essay, project, presentation)?
I’m going to let you in on a college planning secret: It’s okay to quit. Sometimes, students will start an activity in 9th grade and, even though they’ve lost interest in it, keep dragging themselves to whatever it is “for their college application.” Instead of getting more involved over time because they’re excited and invested, they do the bare minimum because they’re bored and disengaged. Please don’t do that. Please quit what is no longer adding value to your life so you can make room for something that will! If you enjoy your extracurricular activities, you’re more likely to get more involved at a deeper level because you care about it! That is what can lead to added value on the college application.
It’s a good idea to start getting familiar with different types of college campuses, and you can use what’s accessible to you—even if you “know” you would “never” attend that college that’s 10 minutes from home! Visit these schools anyway so you can learn what a college campus feels like. If you’re near an urban area, you probably have access to larger publics as well as smaller private colleges. Go see both so you can start to understand the differences and get an idea of your preferences. Visit colleges near family or on vacation. You can also interact with colleges in less official ways like attending sporting events, exhibits, or concerts.
I recently heard someone call junior year your “audition for college.” Not only do the academic demands generally increase pretty swiftly in junior year, but it’s also the last full year students will complete before applying to college, so it’s the most recent course and grade history a student has. Students are balancing school with an increase in freedom and responsibility that comes with driver’s licenses, part-time jobs, increased involvement, and maybe even leadership positions. Standardized testing is on the radar. And college planning cranks things up a notch.
Getting to know your teachers (and letting them get to know you!) will set you up for success in junior year. You’ll have a support system should you need it if you find yourself struggling in class. Teachers can also help you connect to your academic interests outside of the classroom, whether it’s through clubs, helping connect you with resources, or giving college advice. Not only that, but teachers from your junior year are more than likely going to be writing your college letters of recommendation. Building that relationship all year long gives your teacher something to write about!
Check out our video: 3 Things You Need To Know About Letters of Recommendation
Listen to our podcast episode: Earning Effective Letters of Recommendation
We’re often encouraging students to pursue the activities that mean the most to them at a deeper level and find ways to make an impact. A lot of people think this means a leadership position with a title they can put on a resume. That’s certainly an option, but at the end of the day, most clubs only have room for one president. There’s only so much “official” leadership to go around. And not everyone wants to be the president/treasurer/historian. Good thing that’s not the only way to lead. Students lead and make an impact in other ways all the time—by showing up early to help set up, by mentoring and including younger students, by taking on the tasks that no one else signs up for, by seeing a need and filling it. So what’s your way to lead? How can you make an impact in your groups?
Junior year is a great time to start building your college list. Start determining what is important to you academically, socially, and financially to narrow down your college search. Go on official campus visits or sign up for online information sessions to get to know colleges firsthand. Spend time on college websites or trusted college research sites. However you learn about colleges, make sure you take good notes. When you go to apply next year, so many colleges have an essay question that’s some version of, “Why Us?” If you take good notes now, you’ll have something to refer back to instead of starting your research from scratch in the thick of application season!
Read our blog post on the importance of Building a Balanced College List
Alright, Seniors! It’s your time to shine! In less than a year, you won’t have to think about Common App essays, SAT scores, or application portals ever again! But for now, keep your head in the game. You can do it!
Yes, it’s your college application. That means no one can want it more than you and no one will work as hard as you. But you are not in this alone! You have a support system at school in your teachers and school counselor. And while we love working one-on-one with students (you can schedule a consultation here if you want to work with us!), we also have a range of free online resources:
It doesn’t matter which college deadline you decide is right for you, don’t wait until the last minute to start on those applications. Not only do you want to give yourself plenty of time to thoughtfully fill out all of the questions and respond to all essay prompts (including some that might unexpectedly pop up depending on how you answer certain questions—surprise!), but application deadlines rarely come at convenient times. Fall deadlines are in the middle of the semester (hello, midterms!) and are staggered every two weeks for a little over a month, so if you procrastinate, you may not come up for air for a while! Regular decision deadlines begin the first week of January, many on New Year’s Day. Do you want to spend your New Year’s Eve working on a college application?
Emotions run high during the college application process. When you’re living it day to day, an acceptance can feel like the highest high while a denial can feel like the lowest low. Older friends, family members, and acquaintances can give you some much-needed perspective. Maybe you know a current college student who had their heart completely set on a college during their senior year… and it didn’t work out. It may have felt like the end of the world at the time—like that was the only college for them. But they went with their second choice, showed up for orientation, and by the time Fall Break rolled around, hadn’t given that other school another thought. Because they love their college that much. Trust that there’s no such thing as one perfect college, and things tend to work out the way they’re supposed to!
You probably clicked on this blog post hoping you would find specific advice about what topics or themes to avoid when writing the college application personal statement.
Let me disappoint you early: we believe that, with work, nearly any topic can make a successful college essay. Yes, even topics that typically top “college essay cliche” lists like athletics, mission trips, moving, or tragedy. One of our personal favorite “yes, you can really write about anything” examples was a successful essay a few years back about chicken nuggets!
But even though students can write about anything, there are some things to avoid. We have a whole webinar about the 10 Things Not To Do When Writing the College Essay, and today, we’ll discuss 5 essay types students shouldn’t write.
And if you’re realizing your rough draft looks an awful lot like one of these types… don’t worry, I’ll give you some tips on how to fix it!
It’s tempting to write about your greatest achievement or your proudest moment. Maybe it’s what you’re hearing from a parent, teacher, or friend that you should write your college essay about. And I get it! If you’re trying to put your best foot forward, wouldn’t it make sense to write about your best moments? You want colleges to know all the amazing things you’ve done.
But really, colleges are trying to get to know you through this essay - not just what you’ve done. They don’t want a laundry list of accomplishments. And only focusing on your crowning glories can come off a little bit boring at best and bragging at worst. Plus, that accomplishment is probably already captured in your application somewhere else (see: The Repetitive Essay).
Think of your favorite stories where the main character has to accomplish a major feat. It doesn’t just happen for them - that’d be a boring story! You learn so much about the character’s motivations and core drivers as you watch them grow over time. There’s often more story in the journey, and the same may be true for you. Try refocusing your essay from this angle.
Keep those “journey stories” in mind as you’re writing. Does it bug you when a story or its takeaways are too predictable? (“Through hard work and the power of friendship, the underdogs managed to win after all…”) Make sure your journey isn’t falling into any cliche traps along the way!
On average, essays are being read very quickly. Many colleges spend just minutes on whole applications (essays included!), so students should make the best use of their time by not presenting the same information in multiple locations of the application. For example, if a student is deeply involved in a particular activity like a sport or academic club, there’s a good chance that something related is showing up in at least one place on that student’s Activity List. Maybe they also asked their coach or club advisor for a letter of recommendation. They may have also needed to include some contextual details in the application’s Additional Information section. An essay on the same topic would just be more of the same.
To use your time effectively, essays should provide new information or, at the very least, give new context that can’t be gained anywhere else in the application.
If it feels inauthentic not to write about something that you know is already well-represented elsewhere in your application, consider ways that you can make it part of your story rather than the whole story.
So instead of an essay solely about what you learned about yourself through playing volleyball, maybe you write about how you grew through a completely different experience, but use a story about volleyball as an example of applying that growth in another part of your life. That way, you’re showcasing more than one side of yourself to your reader but still getting to work in something that’s been important to you throughout high school.
Sometimes, students have a hard time writing about themselves and have a tendency to hide in the scenery of their essays. Maybe the essay is about a family member or a role model. Maybe it’s about a team experience. Maybe it’s even about the student, but it’s a younger version of the student. Whatever or whoever the essay is about, the reader ends up learning more about someone else than they do about the student who is applying to college. And that’s a problem.
No matter what your essay topic is—whether it’s Grandma or chicken nuggets—the real topic of your essay is YOU. Never lose sight of that.
If you’re writing about someone else, make sure that your reader walks away remembering more about how that person has impacted you than they do about anyone else. And if you’re writing about a younger version of yourself, don’t forget to catch the reader up to the present so they can learn about your most current self - the one who’s applying to college!
This is a tough one because students have mostly been taught to write in a very particular way throughout their school years. Things like “five paragraphs,” thesis statement, and topic sentences probably feel like your writing comfort zone. Especially if essay writing isn’t your favorite assignment. But this is not the time to break out the school rubric. The college essay is a different style of writing.
There aren’t as many rules here. It’s much less formal than a school essay. First-person is expected. Contractions are okay—and a great way to cut down on your word count! Even slang is fine if it’s appropriate. And please, don’t use a thesaurus!
You may think that a more academic essay makes you seem smarter to colleges, but really, it’s just more boring to read. And because academic writing generally lacks personality, colleges don’t get to know you which is the whole point of the college essay.
Your essay should sound like you. So write the way you speak… with a few qualifiers. You’re going to want to have a little more formality than you would with your best friend. I tell students to think of telling a story to their favorite teacher. They’re going to have personality and still be themselves. They’re going to speak the way they speak. But because it’s a teacher, there is a line they aren’t going to cross. That’s what we’re going for here.
Also, know that while your essay is almost certainly being read too quickly for things like grammar to be evaluated with a red pen, you do want colleges to know that you put your best effort into this essay. It’s usually pretty obvious when someone hammered out their essay on their phone the night before a deadline. So plan ahead. Run it through a spell checker like Grammarly. Take time to write more than one draft.
Before you start to panic, I’m not suggesting that you need to come up with a topic that no one else is writing about. From a numbers perspective, that might be statistically impossible (I talk more with Arielle on our podcast about this). But the truth is that many essays are written about universal experiences that many teenagers experience. And it’s equally true that many essays are not personal or reflective enough. The results of this combination are a lot of vague essays that could have been written by lots of students.
The easiest way to make a college essay stand out is to add more personal details. Try going through your five senses or giving a glimpse of your inner thoughts to really bring the reader into your shoes.
A personal essay doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily writing about something that’s deeply personal but that you have included enough of yourself (your thoughts, your observations, your reflection) in your essay that no one else could have written it. That’s because no one else has lived your life the way you’ve lived it. No one else has thought your thoughts. If someone else experiencing the action of your story could produce the same essay, you’ve not added enough personal detail yet.
Whenever we talk to students and families about honors colleges, many of the same questions frequently come up in our conversations:
What is an Honors College?
Is an Honors College like the AP/IB version of college?
Why should I (or my child) consider the Honors College at Less Selective University instead of attending the University of the Low Acceptance Rate?
Because there are a lot of questions out there about the different types of honors opportunities available for students (and because honors is often included on a campus visit but isn’t usually deeply explored outside of specialty sessions), we thought it would explore some of these questions.
An honors college is a specialized program within a college or university with specific academic and often co-curricular requirements. Students have to apply and be admitted to the honors college, usually when they are applying to the college. The honors college becomes part of their college experience similar to their chosen major.
Every honors college functions differently, but honors students generally take honors-designated courses (which may be a more rigorous version of a traditional university course or a deep dive into a particular topic). Honors courses are often smaller than the university average so students have more one-on-one interaction with their professors. Honors students may have an honors advisor or mentor for additional support. They may also have access to experiential learning opportunities like study abroad, internships, research, and service-learning.
Is an honors college different from an honors program? What about departmental honors? You’ll run into a lot of “honorifics” on college websites, so let’s unpack what they mean.
“Honors college” and “honors program” are sometimes used interchangeably, but the main difference is the size of the college or university.
Larger universities that house many colleges or schools (ie: College of Engineering, College of Music, College of Arts and Sciences, etc…) will usually call their honors opportunity an “honors college,” and it will function as a separate college within the university. Smaller colleges or universities tend to call their honors opportunities “honors programs.” But just like a large school isn’t inherently “better” than a small school, an honors college isn’t superior to an honors program because of the name difference.
Even smaller colleges may not have an honors program at all. That may be because, in part due to size, typical honors features like seminar-style classes, individualized advising and mentorship, and experiential learning is already a part of the traditional curriculum at that college. Some of these colleges will, however, grant students who perform well in their major courses or meet specific requirements the distinction of graduation “with honors.”
We hear versions of this question a lot, especially from students who have taken demanding high school courses and aren’t sure if they want to take on four more years of the same.
Just like nearly every detail of a college—from major options to quality of housing to financial generosity—how an honors program works will vary from school to school and needs to be researched.
Some honors programs will focus more on the academic components. The curriculum may be more rigorous, and students may have to complete projects before graduating like research, a capstone, or a thesis. These types of programs can be a good choice for students who are looking for a more scholarly environment or who want to prepare for certain graduate programs. Other honors programs still focus on academics but place a greater emphasis on personal development even if the requirements look similar on paper.
The first question you need to decide is whether the idea of “college and” appeals to you.
By “college and,” I mean students in an honors program must complete all the traditional graduation requirements (like major courses and general education requirements) to graduate on top of their honors requirements. At some colleges, an honors program can feel like adding an additional minor or even major. And honors students tend to get involved elsewhere on campus. Outside of the classroom, they’re joining clubs, playing sports, and holding leadership roles.
Honors students are ambitious! And if this sounds like an exciting four years of college, honors might be a good fit for you!
But this may sound exhausting! Or boring! Or limiting! Maybe you have other ideas for how you want to spend your four years. Even the most ambitious students can show that ambition in other ways that an honors program may not make room for.
So first up is deciding if honors is even something you’re interested in. If you are, the next thing to consider is whether or not you’re a likely honors candidate for the colleges on your list. Realistically, evaluate the Likely and maybe the Target schools on your list. Being admitted to an honors college at a Reach school isn’t very probable.
For those Likely and Target schools, see how your GPA and test scores (if the honors program uses test scores in the admissions process) compare to their middle 50%. Strong grades, a strong high school curriculum, and strong test scores will increase your chances of being a good candidate for an honors program.
Maybe you weren’t sold on “take more classes, do more work” and are wondering about the perks of an honors program. I don’t blame you! While program offerings vary, here are some common benefits of honors programs:
Honors programs make large schools seem smaller—Sometimes, students are drawn to a larger university but still have concerns about what it means to attend a school with tens of thousands of students. Maybe you’re drawn to the social aspect of a bigger school or maybe a larger state public institution makes the most financial sense for your family. But few people choose a large school because they’re drawn to classes with more than 100 students where the professor never learns your name. Or where you’ll be taught by graduate students (who get all the good research opportunities).
Academically, an honors program can make a larger university setting feel smaller. Class sizes are reduced. Students are generally working with dedicated honors faculty who get to know them on a personal level. And students are provided with more opportunities to pursue their learning outside of the classroom.
Socially, too, honors programs can shrink the size of a larger university by giving students an automatic social network when they come to college. Honors students often live and socialize together right from the start, forming a close community during their time at college.
Honors students get good housing—Living in honors housing may not be a requirement, but it is almost always a perk! Honors housing is sometimes nicer than standard freshman housing and may include other bonuses like being centrally located. Living together lets honors students form close bonds outside of the classroom.
Honors students may get scholarships—Sometimes, but not always, honors students may receive merit-based scholarships for being an honors student or be eligible for other merit aid. They may also have access to other funding sources to pay for things like research or internships.
Honors students get PRIORITY REGISTRATION—This is the biggest perk that no one realizes is a perk until they’ve lived it. Believe me—this is a big deal. Honors students usually get early preference in registering for classes, meaning honors students are rarely shut out of the classes they want to take. No having to wait a semester to take a major course. No missing out on a favorite professor. And, if a student prefers it, they may be able to arrange their schedule to have no online classes, no morning classes, no Friday classes… The sky’s the limit!
Honors students graduate with full resumes—Because of all the opportunities honors provide and because honors programs tend to attract naturally ambitious students to begin with, honors students make the most of their time in college. And it shows! An honors resume tends to stand out because of its depth and breadth.
Because “how” you go to college is more important than “where” you go to college, the opportunities and experiences honors students graduate with can make an honors program acceptance the determining factor for many students. Especially students in one of two scenarios. First, we’re often asked why a student should attend a less selective college with an honors program over a more selective college. Second, students who are interested in competitive graduate programs (like medical school) ask if they should attend a “big name” school or school with a medical school over another school’s honors program. The answer to both scenarios is the same. Think about your potential resume at graduation.
Potential resume A may have a higher-ranked college’s name on it (but if you read our blog you know rankings aren’t a determining factor anyway). They earned good grades in their major classes, joined a club or two, and had an internship over the summer. But they weren’t able to do any research even though that sounded interesting to them. They almost studied abroad on a really cool trip but found out about it too late. And the professor recommendations they need for grad school applications were taught by a graduate student who’s no longer at the university and a professor who forgot their name because there were 75 people in the class. That college name may catch someone’s eye for a minute, but there’s not really anything else on that resume that stands out.
Potential resume B belongs to an honors student from a lesser-known university. During their four years, they completed all of their major requirements and, through honors, designed their own interdisciplinary minor. Their honors advisor helped them plan ahead so they could spend one summer abroad and another interning. They also spend a semester in DC through an honors-specific internship program. They spent two semesters as a research assistant for one of their professors who wrote them a glowing recommendation. They served on the Honor Council and got involved in campus life outside of honors, holding more than one leadership position before they graduated. In their senior year, they also completed a semester-long thesis project.
Honors programs have many pros, but are there any cons? Maybe, depending on how you look at it.
The benefits may vary, so do your research—Again, not all honors programs are the same, so make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. Maybe there isn’t any honors housing at all when that’s what you were looking forward to most. Maybe you’re looking to maximize financial fit and the college doesn’t offer any scholarships to honors students (or even charges a fee to participate in honors).
Honors students have to do more work—There’s no way around this one. From application to graduation, honors is more work from beginning to end. You need to decide if that’s something that excites or exhausts you.
Just remember - honors programs aren’t the only way to have a fulfilling college experience. Non-honors students still get to know their professors, study abroad, intern, research, lead, and learn at colleges around the country every day!
If you decided you are interested in an honors program, what are your next steps?
First, I recommend that you try to engage with the honors program in some way. Many colleges offer open houses or preview days for juniors and seniors to learn more about the school, and honors programs often have a session at these events. Or if you are doing a general campus visit, see if there is an opportunity to visit with honors as well. This will let you learn more about the program and what they are looking for in potential students.
Each program is going to have its own application process that takes place around the same time as the college application process, but it often involves its own essays and can also involve recommendations, a resume, and/or an interview. Keep in mind that the audience for these essays and other written materials is different than the general application. Usually, honors applications are read by at least some professors (ask if you aren’t sure) and the questions may feel a little more “academic” in nature. They still aren’t looking for a traditional school essay, but you might want to crank it up a notch.
Most importantly, plan ahead! Sometimes, honors applications aren’t accessible until you’ve applied to the college. But the honors program deadlines are often early in November or December - meaning you need to apply early. Plan to apply early action and plan to begin on all of your applications early enough to leave yourself plenty of time to work on your (often longer, often harder) honors essays when you aren’t feeling the strain of other college deadlines.
Lastly, make sure to ask if the decision committee will have access to your general college application as well. If they will, make sure you don’t repeat information. If they won’t, make sure you aren’t leaving out something important that will help the committee get to know you!
Letters of recommendation serve multiple purposes in the college admissions process. They give a new perspective to a student’s application—recommendations are someone else talking about the student and are a great way for colleges to learn more about an applicant’s character and personal qualities. Teacher recommendations, the subject of today’s blog post, shine a light on a student’s work ethic in the classroom. They also let school representatives provide context about a student’s academic journey that may not come across by looking at a transcript.
Recommendations are just one part of the college application—but they’re important to colleges who use them as part of the holistic admissions process. They’re also one piece of the application that students have little control over. Students can pick their recommenders but won’t have input over what goes into those letters of recommendation. Students won’t even get to read them! Letters of recommendation are kept confidential during and after the application process.
And so because students are putting an important piece of their application in someone else’s hands, students should have a plan in place. Here is our step-by-step guide that walks students through teacher recommendations.
We recommend that students choose two teachers to ask for a recommendation and to go ahead and ask before the end of junior year. It may seem early to ask before applications are open—or before you’ve finished your college list—but we have a few reasons for wanting to give your teachers plenty of notice ahead of time.
First, some teachers prefer to write recommendations over the summer when they have more free time. Writing recommendations is not part of your teacher’s job (let’s acknowledge that they are doing something very nice for you!), so they may not have time to write multiple letters during the school year.
Second, some teachers may limit the number of recommendations that they write each year. Maybe they’re “known” for writing “good” recommendations (English teachers often get this reputation just because they’re the English teacher…), or maybe it’s a teacher most students like. If you wait until the fall to ask, the teacher you really want to write your recommendation may have filled up.
Okay, you’re going to ask your two teachers before the end of junior year. But who are you going to ask? Your first instinct may be to ask the teachers in whose classes you have the highest grades. That’s not quite the approach we recommend. Let’s break down the advice we give our students:
Ideally, choose teachers from junior year. Colleges prefer recommendations from teachers who’ve taught you in junior year because they’re getting a look at your most recent self. You may have had a great relationship with a teacher from 9th or 10th grade, but you’ve probably grown as a student and a person since then. Junior year classes are also more difficult, so colleges learn more about how you handled tougher coursework. Few students are “college-ready” academically or personally in 9th grade!
Choose at least 1 core subject teacher. Your favorite classes might be your electives, but try to think of at least one teacher who teaches a core subject (math, English, social studies, science, foreign language) with whom you have a good relationship. Sometimes, colleges will request that at least one teacher recommendation come from a core subject. You may not know this until the fall, but this keeps you on the safe side.
Your recommenders’ subjects don’t have to relate to your intended major. They can, but they don’t have to. So if you want to major in engineering and have a great relationship with your history teacher, don’t feel like you have to ask your math and physics teachers. A letter from that history teacher could provide a great new perspective that would be otherwise missing from your application! It can sometimes be helpful to have one recommender from a class that demonstrates some interest in your intended major (and again, some colleges or majors might ask for it specifically—some selective engineering programs, for example, want a math or science teacher’s recommendation), but for that second letter, consider the next two tips.
Think about who knows you the best. So if you’re not deciding solely based on your highest grade or subject area, how do you decide? Think about the strength of the relationship you have with your teacher. Remember, recommendations are someone else writing about you. You want to choose teachers who have something to say! Think about the classes where you are most yourself. Where you participate and get involved. Where you ask or answer questions. Where your teacher knows a little bit about who you are when you aren’t in their classroom.
Pro Tip: Are you a younger student reading this? Make an effort to build genuine relationships with your teachers. Don’t forget that your teachers are people too! They generally enjoy connecting with students who are engaged in their classes!
If deciding between multiple teachers, consider who will add new insight to your application. College applications are read very quickly, and you have just minutes to make an impression. Something we’re always telling students is not to repeat information—whether it’s in an essay, the Activity List, or a recommendation. You always want to try and provide new information. So even though you don’t get to read your recommendations, imagine what your teachers might say about you based on your relationships with them and your performance in their classrooms. If you’re can’t decide between teachers, choose two who you think will say different things about you to add new information to your application. Maybe in one class, you always ask questions, talk to the teacher after class, and do test corrections and every extra credit assignment. That teacher might talk about your work ethic and determination to earn your grade. Maybe another class is more discussion-based, and you always participate and tend to take the lead in group projects. That teacher would have something completely different to say!
Don’t hide behind an email! Tell your teacher that you’re starting to think about college applications, that you’ve really enjoyed their class, and ask them in person if they would be willing to write a strong letter of recommendation for you in the fall. You can follow up with an email to get confirmation in writing, but make that initial ask face-to-face.
After agreeing to write a letter of recommendation, teachers will often ask for some information from the student to make their task a little easier. They may ask for a resume or something called a “brag sheet.” A brag sheet highlights your accomplishments, experiences, and activities in and out of school and gives your teacher more insight into who you are.
Take your time and thoughtfully fill out anything that’s requested of you. Don’t rush through it! Your teacher is going to use whatever you give them when they’re writing your letter of recommendation, so while you don’t get to control what goes into your recommendation, this is your chance to have some influence. For example, are there certain authentic character traits or classroom experiences that you hope your teacher will highlight? Then write about those if you’re asked about your strengths or what you liked best about that teacher’s class.
Touch base with your teachers once senior year starts in the fall. We recommend reaching back out in August to confirm that they are still writing your recommendation. Do this early so you have plenty of time to ask another teacher just in case you need to make any changes.
Once you have confirmation, you can let your teacher know to expect their recommendation invitation (whether through the Common App or your school’s preferred system like SCOIR). Go ahead and set up your recommenders to give your teachers time and to get that initial task off of your plate.
Then, as soon as your college list is finalized and you know your deadlines, let your recommender know your earliest deadline and any other information they may have asked for. Make sure you give them enough notice before that earliest deadline!
Your teachers have contributed to your college application in a meaningful way. Make sure you thank them for doing this for you! A handwritten thank you note is always appreciated.
April was a transition month for students at Advantage College Planning.
Seniors have their college decisions. And while some have been writing Letters of Continued Interest in hopes of coming off of waitlists, many others have attended admitted student days, made their college choice, and put down enrollment deposits. We’re so excited and proud of what our seniors have accomplished this year!
Juniors are looking ahead and preparing to step up to the plate. Most of our juniors are busy researching colleges and focusing on fit—not name and rankings—to determine their next steps. College lists are a work in progress right now. The goal is that by the time application work begins in earnest, rising seniors will have a balanced college list made up of well-researched schools that fit them academically, socially, and financially.
But what do we mean when we say a “balanced” college list?
We’re talking about selectivity, and given admissions trends over the past few years, a balanced list is more important than ever.
We divide colleges into three (and a half) categories when it comes to selectivity: Likely, Target, and Reach. Let’s take a closer look at each category and discuss our best tips for building a balanced college list.
Likely schools should be the foundation of every college list. These are colleges where the student applying has a high chance of being admitted based on the college’s acceptance rate and the applicant’s academic profile.
Every student should apply to a few Likely colleges that they can get excited about and see themselves attending.
Likely colleges may come with some extra opportunities like merit scholarships or admission to honors colleges.
Don’t overlook Likely schools in the college planning process. Include Likelies on your college tours to learn what makes them unique college experiences!
We recommend applying to at least one in-state public Likely college for financial fit as well.
Parents: What is “Likely” has changed over the years! Just because a school was less selective several years ago (or even recently…) doesn’t mean it’s a Likely school for your student.
Lastly, you may have heard the expression “Safety School” before. I want you to forget that phrase ever existed. Why? Because when someone is talking about a “Safety School,” they usually don’t mean it in a positive way. They mean it in a backup, last-resort way. That’s not what we’re doing here.
It’s important that Likely colleges are just as strong a fit for a student as any other college on their list. Likely colleges are great places to get an education. Students need to like their Likelies and parents need to support them as much as the rest of the college list!
A Target school is a college where a student’s chance of admission is around 50% based on the college’s acceptance rate and the student’s academic profile. The student, academically, falls somewhere in the middle 50% of what the college generally admits.
Because students fall in that middle 50%, it’s easy for students to confuse Likelies and Targets. But Target schools will sometimes admit applicants with a profile similar to the student’s. And sometimes they won’t.
Keep a close eye on changing acceptance rates from year to year. With changing factors like test-optional policies and a rise in applications at many colleges, what may have been a Likely or Target when a student started list building can change by the time they apply to college. For example:
Auburn University had a 155% increase in Early Action applications this year. Their overall acceptance rate for the 2020-2021 cycle was around 81%. We’re still waiting for the final numbers to shake out for the overall acceptance rate for 2021-2022, but the early action acceptance rate was only 24%!
Some schools may appear like Target schools based on their acceptance rate but are actually Likely or Reach schools in disguise. Here are two types of schools to look out for:
Public Universities - Most public universities admit in-state students at a different rate than out-of-state students, and that may give students a slight advantage or disadvantage in the admissions process. For example, at UNC Chapel Hill, 82% of seats in the incoming class are reserved for students from North Carolina. So for UNC’s Class of 2025, the overall acceptance rate was 19.2%, but the difference between in-state and out-of-state was huge. North Carolina applicants were admitted at a rate of 42.2% while out-of-state students were admitted at a rate of 10.5%.
Colleges with Early Decision - If a college has an Early Decision admissions deadline, those numbers can skew its overall acceptance rate and make a school look less selective than it is for students who are applying Regular Decision. Colleges often have a higher acceptance rate for Early Decision because they know those students will attend if admitted (read more about the different types of application deadline types here), and some colleges can fill half of their class or more from Early Decision. Here are a few examples from the Class of 2024:
American University - Early Decision acceptance rate: 83.5%, Regular Decision acceptance rate: 36.4%, Percentage of class filled from ED: 51%
Davidson College - Early Decision acceptance rate: 46.9%, Regular Decision acceptance rate: 16.5%, Percentage of class filled from ED: 59%
Washington & Lee University - Early Decision acceptance rate: 52.6%, Regular Decision acceptance rate: 21.3%, Percentage of class filled from ED: 59%
A Reach school is a college where a student’s chance of admission is low. The college generally admits students with a higher academic profile than the applicant. The college might also have a lower acceptance rate. A combination of the two is often common for reach schools.
If a college list runs into trouble, it’s usually because of reach schools. When students aren’t thinking about building a balanced college list, they tend to add too many Reaches, and the list becomes unbalanced. And when students aren’t thinking about fit, they tend to add more and more Reach schools based on name or ranking regardless of whether or not they would be happy attending college there.
Just like Likely and Target schools should be a good fit for students, so should Reach schools. Students should consider whether the Reaches on their list are an academic, social, and financial fit for them.
Don’t let Reach schools take over the college list. Apply to a few that are a good fit, but this should not be the majority of the college list!
Often, I hear from students that they are comfortable applying to mostly Reaches with one or two Likely or Targets thrown in for “safety” (remember how I feel about that concept?). If that’s you or your student, think for a minute about the spring of senior year. What will it feel like to open up “no” after “no” (which is, realistically, the most probable result from a Reach school)? Even if there are a few acceptances sprinkled in there, that’s a lot of rejection for a teenager to face at the end of a successful high school career. I don’t recommend it.
Financially, families should recognize that even if a student is admitted, they will likely not receive any merit-based scholarships (and many highly selective don’t actually award scholarships based on merit).
Students should LOVE their Reach schools and be excited about learning more about them, researching them, writing about them, etc… If any of these things feel like a drag or you think of an answer to the “Why Us?” essay, ask yourself why you’re applying and if it’s for the right reasons.
At the beginning of this blog post, I said there were three and a half categories when it came to college selectivity. That’s because some colleges are a reach for everyone. It doesn’t matter who you are, what your GPA is, what your test scores are, or what you wrote your essay about. It’s still a reach. I call these Wildcards.
For me, it’s any college with less than a 20% acceptance rate. When colleges are this selective, admission is unpredictable.
Fit is always important. But perhaps the most important when applying to a Wildcard. These colleges have no shortage of applications, so they can really be picky and admit exactly the type of student who’s going to be a great fit for their campus community. Apply to Wildcards where you are truly a good fit and can demonstrate that you understand what makes the college unique.
Can you fake it til you make it? Probably not. These admissions representatives read thousands of applications each year. They can spot a genuine fit for their campus.
Applying to more Wildcards will not increase your chances of being accepted. That’s not how math works. You do not have a higher probability of being accepted by one Ivy League college if you apply to all of them. Find your fit. Find the colleges you truly love.
Your admissions decision at a highly selective college says very little about you, in the end. Let that be liberating! They receive and reject hundreds of applications each year with perfect GPAs and test scores. It’s not about “not being good enough.” It’s about not having enough dorm rooms. Many of them would admit many more students if they could. So much is out of your control with a Wildcard school. Know that you put your best self forward, trust that the process is playing out as it should, and love the colleges who love you back!
On average, students apply to a range of 6-12 colleges.
Students with fewer Reach and Wildcard schools may be more comfortable at the lower end of that range. If a student is applying to more highly selective schools, they should make sure to have plenty of Likely and Target schools as their foundation.
We work with rising seniors in all phases of college list building, from discussing college fit to building suggested college lists to ensuring a student’s self-made list is balanced and realistic. To get support with building a balanced college list, reach out for a free consultation!
This is Part 3 of our 3-part Scholarships 101 series. In Part 1, we covered our thoughts on private scholarships. In Part 2, we covered how students can position themselves to earn more merit-based financial aid.
At Advantage College Planning, we have a thriving work book club. Together, we read about 6 books a year (yes, even during application season). Most are related to college admissions, but some aren’t (we all enjoyed Glennon Doyle’s Untamed), and right now, we’re reading Mindful Admissions by Laurén Carter.
One of our book club picks in 2020 was Jeff Selingo’s Who Gets In and Why. In his book, he coins the idea of colleges as “buyers” or “sellers.” Summarizing from his website, colleges that are “sellers” have plenty of competitive applications to choose from to fill a class. They don’t need to use financial aid as any sort of incentive to attract admitted students into accepting their acceptance. These schools may still offer financial aid, but maybe it’s need-based only or to a very small percentage of students. Simply put: they can be generous with their financial aid (especially when we’re talking about need-based aid), but they may not be generous to all families or to your family.
Colleges that Selingo terms as “buyers,” on the other hand, take a different approach to awarding financial aid. They may award larger scholarships to attract competitive students to attend their college. Or maybe they award generous merit aid to students with little or no financial need, which can be a welcome relief to families who won’t qualify for much or any need-based financial aid but are still facing a hefty tuition bill.
Whether or not you like Selingo’s terminology, an important piece to understanding the financial aid puzzle is understanding a college’s financial generosity. Knowing which colleges award financial aid generously to which students will help your family determine if a college is a good overall financial fit.
Here are some tools for measuring a college’s financial generosity:
Any college or university participating in a federal financial aid program is required to have a Net Price Calculator accessible on their website. Filling out this calculator will give you an estimate of what your family can expect to pay for one year of college at that institution based on individual factors like your family’s income and your student’s GPA and/or test scores.
A net price calculator only gives an estimate, but it’s a personalized one. That’s important because the definition of financial generosity will vary from family to family. Harvard, for example, awards full financial aid packages to students whose families earn less than $65,000 per year. That’s extremely generous for those families and life-changing for those students. Filling out Harvard’s Net Price Calculator would let you see if Harvard is a financial fit for your family too—provided it is also an academic and social fit!
Pro Tip: Sometimes, a Net Price Calculator will let you skip a lot of the financial data entry if you know your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). You can get this number through the Federal Student Aid Estimator.
A college profile’s “Financials” tab on CollegeData.com is my favorite tool for understanding how a college awards financial aid. This page is packed with information and clues about a college’s financial generosity. Here’s just a snippet of the profile for Wofford College, a private liberal arts college in South Carolina:
Let’s look at what we can learn from Wofford’s profile. Around 85% of applicants in the 2020-2021 cycle applied for financial need and around 72% were found to have financial need (meaning their EFC was less than the total cost of attendance a Wofford).
100% of applicants who had demonstrated need received financial aid. That’s great!
Wofford met the full need (not the same as the full cost of attendance!) of around 44% of students. Hmm. Is that good or bad? Let’s see… On the one hand, it could be higher, but if we look at schools that are similar to Wofford, it’s not too bad (Elon University - 19.7%, Furman University - 51.4%, Presbyterian College - 34.4%).
Average percent of need met is 90%. That’s very good! But remember—this doesn’t mean 90% of the total cost of attendance is met. It’s an average of 90% of each family’s demonstrated need (that’s the total cost of attendance minus the EFC).
College Data lists out the average award and breaks it down a step further so you can see how much of it is need-based gift (scholarships, grants, etc… based on financial need) and how much of it is self-help or work-study.
Finally, the profile lists merit-based gift awards so you can see if the college awards merit-based financial aid to students, even students who do not qualify for any need-based aid. And if they do award non-need-based merit aid, how much and how frequently. Compared to many colleges, Wofford does pretty well here!
Further down the page, College Data breaks down the same information for the entire school instead of just freshmen. It also shows the percentage of students taking out loans and the average student loan debt of a recent graduating class.
Like I said, my favorite tool!
I’ve mentioned it in every part. of this series so far, but a college’s financial aid website and their office are a great tool for getting any additional questions answered about financial generosity at any point during the college planning or application process. Here are some financial generosity markers to look out for as you’re learning more:
Outside Scholarship Policy - I covered this in Part 1, but some colleges will reduce a student’s financial aid package if that student is bringing private outside scholarships with them. It’s important to know this information ahead of time! And if the college does reduce a financial aid award, it’s important to know how the package will change. Ideally, they would reduce loans first before grants and other gift aid.
Loan Limits - Some colleges are starting to limit or even eliminate loans from their financial aid packages. If that’s an important factor for you, look for language indicating some kind of policy around loan limitations.
College Financial Health - Understanding the financial health of colleges in an underrated part of the college search process (it’s a lot less fun than seeing the dorms on a college visit or picturing yourself in the student stands on game day!). But a college generally has to have a healthy endowment in order to afford to be financially generous. In recent years, there have been major studies into the financial health of universities.
Edmit does a deep, deep dive for those of you who love data (for those of you feeling a little overwhelmed, it’s a lot of the same information as College Data, but let me direct your attention to the bar graph labeled Average Cost where you’ll see an average yearly cost of attendance by family income range. The section right below it, Financial Health, also gives a nice snapshot.
If I lost you with “bar graph,” Forbes has simplified things and given colleges a Financial Health Grade. Scroll down, and you can search by college name.
Your last tool for understanding a college’s financial generosity—and financial fit as a whole—is to speak with a college consultant. We have years of experience with the financial aid process and can help guide your family through the process from beginning to end.
If you want to take what you’ve learned in our Scholarships 101 series to the next level, look for one of our free 10 Keys to College Affordability webinars!
This is Part 2 of our Scholarships 101 series. In Part 1, we covered our thoughts on private scholarships. In Part 3, we’ll cover how to research the financial generosity of colleges.
College is expensive. Like really expensive. And while there are headlines in the news all the time about tuition costs rising or the student debt crisis, many families don’t think too closely about the cost of college until far too late in the college planning process.
Anyone in this industry will tell you that the hardest conversations about financial fit are with families whose students have been admitted to their dream school only to realize that they cannot afford it. We all wish for a time machine at that moment so we can go back and make financial fit a larger part of that student’s college search.
We begin the conversation around financial fit early because we want families to be prepared and to be preparing! Part of the conversation revolves around need-based financial aid, which is a separate process determined by a family’s income. But part of the conversation is about merit-based aid.
Merit-based aid is not tied to a family’s income but is instead awarded based on something that the student is bringing to the college, such as high performance in academics, athletics, the arts, or other extracurricular involvement. For the sake of this blog post, I’m going to be talking about merit aid determined by academic achievement. Sometimes referred to as “scholarships,” these are the types of scholarships we encourage our students to pursue as opposed to the private scholarships covered in Part 1 of this series. Here are a few reasons why:
Institutional Scholarships are often renewable for up to 4 years—As long as the recipient maintains certain requirements like a minimum GPA
Institutional Scholarships can be for much larger amounts—Up to full tuition, though larger awards will be more competitive
Institutional Scholarships are usually worth the time investment to apply—And many have no application at all because students are automatically considered when they apply to the college
We’re often asked how students can maximize their opportunities for institutional merit aid. Simply put: How can students get more scholarship money from colleges? Here are 4 tips to help students in their scholarship search:
When researching college websites, students and families generally visit the Admissions page, the departmental pages for any majors they’re interested in, the Residence Life page, and so on… but don’t forget the Financial Aid page!
Colleges provide a lot of information about their school’s financial aid policies—including how they award merit aid and scholarships—on this section of the website, and families can learn a lot!
For example, some colleges are very clear that they do not award merit scholarships (like Georgetown with a total cost of attendance of $82,080 for 2021-2022) or only award merit aid to a very small amount of students (like Vanderbilt—2021-2022 cost of attendance of $79,538—whose merit scholarship recipients “represent the top 1% of all freshman applicants”). They focus funds on need-based aid instead.
Other colleges are more transparent about the way they award their merit scholarships. The University of Alabama (2021-2022 cost of attendance for an out-of-state student: $51,398) has a chart showing the automatic award out-of-state applicants can expect to receive based on their test scores and GPA, as do a number of other colleges.
If a college’s policies are not clear from their financial aid webpage, reach out to their financial aid office by phone or email. These knowledgeable staff members can be a huge help to families throughout the application process and during a student’s time at the college.
We recommend students apply to a balanced list of colleges. That means there is a balance of likely schools, target schools, and reach schools in terms of college selectivity and the student’s academic profile.
A well-balanced list is important all the time, but few lists are perfectly balanced. More often, students will add more reach schools onto their lists, and as long as they are applying to enough likely and target schools that are a good fit for them, that’s usually okay! But if the question is “how can I get more merit aid from colleges?”, the college list needs to shift in the other direction.
Merit aid is hard to come by at colleges that are reach or even target schools for a student because the student is generally not in the top of that college’s applicant pool. If financial fit is a driving factor in your student’s college search process, encourage them to consider adding more likely colleges to their list. They have a better chance of being a more competitive applicant for institutional merit aid.
For merit aid awarded based on academic achievement, colleges are looking at academic factors like GPA and standardized test scores. Students hoping to earn merit aid should work hard in the classroom throughout high school, and test prep for the SAT and ACT certainly won’t hurt their chances.
With the rise of test-optional policies, some colleges are not using standardized scores as a factor in merit aid, but other colleges either consider test scores or give students the option to have their scores considered for an opportunity to potentially earn more scholarship money. For example, at the University of Tennessee, an out-of-state student without test scores can earn an award starting at $4,000 per year, but a student with test scores can earn a minimum of $6,000 per year.
Colleges that are more transparent with their merit aid policies (like Alabama mentioned above, Tennessee, and the University of South Carolina) show that hard work can pay! Slight increases in GPA or standardized test scores can earn students several thousand more dollars per year to help pay for college.
For some colleges, students are automatically considered for merit scholarships just by submitting an application for admission, or the scholarship application may be included in the general application. But other colleges have an additional scholarship application that is only accessible once a student has submitted an application or maybe even once they’ve been admitted.
Many students never bother to fill out a college’s scholarship application. It’s easy to skip this extra step because it comes along once a student is out of “application mode.” Students may not want to put in more time and effort if they haven't been admitted to a college yet. Even if they have been admitted, they may not be certain that’s where they want to attend. But this can be a missed opportunity!
Students should also review their college’s scholarship portal each year because their college might offer departmental scholarships to returning students. Students may be able to find additional funding after their freshman year!
The last tip is to look into which colleges are generous with their institutional dollars… and which colleges aren’t. Some colleges, like the ones I’ve mentioned above, put handy charts on their websites, but that’s not exactly the norm. Stay tuned for Part 3 of our Scholarships 101 series as we dive into how to determine the financial generosity of a college!
This is Part 1 of our Scholarships 101 series. In Part 2, we’ll cover How Students Can Maximize Institutional Financial Aid. In Part 3, we’ll cover How to Research the Financial Generosity of Colleges
There’s a ton of college misinformation out there, and a lot of it has to do with how to pay for college.
Haven't we all heard stories about a neighbor’s cousin’s kid who got a full-ride scholarship just for being left handed or being a twin? Do those low effort/maximum reward scholarships really exist?
And each year, new websites pop up promising "exclusive access to millions of dollars in unclaimed scholarship money!" For a fee, of course.
Many families new to the college planning process think their student can apply for private or outside scholarships (that is: scholarships not coming from third-party organizations rather than the college itself or the state or federal government) to make up the difference between a college’s total cost of attendance and the amount financial aid doesn't cover. But it would be a mistake to ignore Financial Fit or rely on outside scholarships to cover that gap.
In our Scholarships 101 series, we’ll cover:
Why applying for outside scholarships may not be worth a student’s time
How students can maximize merit-based aid and institutional scholarships
How to research the financial generosity of colleges
Today, we’ll answer:
Depending on the student, it probably isn’t. Here are a few reasons why:
Embarking on an outside scholarship search is no small feat! Students have to comb through thousands of scholarships to determine: whether a scholarship is legitimate or spam, whether it is still active, and whether the student meets the eligibility requirements.
Let’s mythbust the “millions of dollars in unclaimed scholarship money” claim. While there may be some scholarships that receive few (if any!) applications in a given year, they are often local scholarships for small amounts. More well-known scholarships or scholarships for large amounts of money often receive tens of thousands of applications each year, making them extremely competitive. In some cases, more competitive than your most competitive colleges! The Coca-Cola Scholarship, for example, receives around 100,000 applications but only awards 150 scholarships for an “acceptance rate” of around 0.15%!
Say a student has already devoted hours to their scholarship search and built the perfect balanced list of competitive and less competitive scholarships to apply to. They still have to fill out the applications. That means filling out activity lists, writing multiple essays, sometimes conducting interviews, and… wait a minute… Doesn’t this sound a lot like the college application process?! Applying for scholarships can take as much time, work, and energy as applying to college!
After all the time and effort that goes into the scholarship search and application process, most scholarships are for fairly small amounts (a few hundred to a few thousand dollars) compared to tuition costs and most are not renewable after a student’s first year of college. So even if a student earns several scholarships for their first year, that student will need to “find” that money again for the following years. And there aren't as many scholarships available to returning students. Colleges may also alter a student’s financial aid package based on outside scholarships, so don’t assume that students can “make up the difference” with outside scholarships! Colleges and universities require students to disclose any private scholarships they receive, and many institutions then reduce their financial aid award by the scholarship amount. Every college is different, and some will first reduce loans before reducing grants/scholarships. Families will need to ask each college about their policy.
For the majority of students, outside scholarships are not the best way to pay for college. But for students who are tackling a scholarship search, here’s some advice:
Use trusted scholarship search databases like Fastweb, CFNC (for NC students), or check with the high school counseling department to see if they keep a list. Your school counselor can be a great resource!
Students have a greater probability of being awarded scholarships when they keep the scholarship search local. These awards can often be smaller but just remember: if you’re seeing that website banner flashing with Unigo’s $50,000 No Essay scholarship, so are thousands of other high school seniors.
Check with a parent or guardian’s place of employment to see if they offer any scholarship programs for employees’ children.
Study hard! Doing well in school and even on standardized tests can increase your eligibility for some outside scholarships as well as make you more competitive for merit scholarships coming from colleges and universities!
Before putting in time and energy into applying for scholarships, check with the financial aid offices of each college on your list to see how they handle outside scholarships!
And for the record, from what I can find, there was once a scholarship for left-handed students… but even it was an institutional scholarship!
