Common App: It’s Time
Hey Rising Seniors! The Common App updated over the weekend and is ready to go for the 2021-22 application cycle. (Juniors and junior parents-- if you’re wondering just exactly what the Common App is, sit tight. We’ve got a post coming for you next week.) There’s a new essay prompt (announced last February), and a new inclusive question about gender, but other than that it’s pretty much the same.
It’s only August, so why should you care? Because it would be awesome to start senior year ahead of the game and not have to panic in October when the reality of applying to college becomes really time sensitive.
So what should you do?
Gather all the materials you’ll need to create your account and begin filling in your demographic information:
High school transcript
List of extracurricular activities (school and community), work, volunteer experience (there is some strategy to how you write and order your descriptions)
Test scores from the SAT/ACT (more about this in a minute)
Parent/Guardian information
Academic honors and awards
As a senior, you’ll register for a “First Year Student” account
Add your demographic information
Name (make sure you enter your name as it appears on all your legal documents and transcripts so that everything matches up)
Home address
Date of birth
Phone number
Email address (make sure you enter an email address that you check regularly in case colleges need to get in touch with you; we often advise our students to create a gmail account just for college applications and check it daily)
Test Scores? Most of the colleges that went test-optional for last year’s cycle are staying that way for this year’s cycle. If you took the SAT or the ACT and did well, submit your scores (as we said in our earlier post it’s hard to know if this matters to merit aid- some schools stopped using test scores in their merit formulas, some didn’t and for the most part they’re not sharing that info).
What else should you be doing? Probably most important, you want to begin brainstorming ideas for your personal essay (who wants to be stressing over this in October?!), and looking through your college list to see if they require supplemental essays (more on that next week!). Lastly, you want to make a list of people whom you can ask for killer recommendations.
If you’d like help on building your list, writing your personal statement, and all of the other important pieces of your college application give us a call (617.447.0186) or send an email to info@yourmayfirst.com and let’s chat. We’d love to help.
I haven’t started yet! Should I freak out?
Generally, we recommend not freaking out.
The college search process does have stages, though, and the earlier you begin, the less stressful and more productive each will be. Hiring a college admissions consultant (like us!) in the early stages can make the process a little less intimidating and a lot more fun.
Where do I start?
Start with you. What do you know about what a college campus looks and feels like?
By the time she was in high school, my oldest daughter had visited the university where I was a professor dozens of times, so that was her model for college--medium-sized, private, and in the middle of downtown Boston.
In the summer after 9th grade, she went to soccer camp at Williams College, a small college in a charming New England town. Later that summer, on a trip to Washington DC, we toured American University, a college on the larger-size just outside the heart of the city.
She didn’t end up applying to any of these schools, but each gave her an opportunity to imagine herself in a particular environment. She learned she didn’t want an urban campus, but she didn’t want to be in the middle of nowhere either. She didn’t want to be at a school as big as American, but also not as small as Williams.
Thinking about the basics early -- close to home or farther afield? Cold or hot? Northeast or Southwest? -- will make building your college list easier later.
Building a resumé.
In each year of high school, you are building a resumé for college admissions officers. This can sound like a lot of pressure, but it doesn’t have to be. Your classes, grades, activities, hobbies, and interests are beginning to tell a story about who you are that will catch the attention of admissions readers.
A college admissions consultant (us again!) can help you thread the pieces of that story together in a way that best reflects who you are as a student and community member. We might challenge you to join a club you’d be perfect for or to take that additional AP class you’re hesitant about.
Throughout our work together, we’ll help you to think about the connections between your academic and extracurricular activities, and guide you toward a best-fit college list that reflects your interests and potential.
As I wrote in our May 10th blog post, preparing to apply for college is largely about getting to know yourself -- what you love, what you’re good at, what challenges you -- and then telling a coherent story about who that is. The earlier you begin to think about the story, the more compelling it will be.
Give us a call (617.851.9975) or send an email to info@yourmayfirst.com and let’s chat.
Asking the right questions.
Who am I and where do I belong?!
If you’re a high school student and questions like these are keeping you up at night, take a long, deep breath. These are big ones. In fact, you’ll be asking them your whole life, so they’re not prerequisites for selecting the right college.
We get it, though. When you’re beginning the college search process, it’s hard not to consider the big questions. But whether you’re a person who’s wanted to be a marine biologist since your first trip to an aquarium or one who hasn’t quite nailed down your passion yet, we believe you should swap out the overwhelming existential questions for ones you really can answer:
What do I love, what am I good at, and what’s out there for me?
These questions can help you begin building a list of best-fit colleges, ones that are ready to support the amazing person you already are, and that will help you realize the person you want to be.
What do I love?
The best way for you to begin thinking about your best-fit college is to consider your interests. These can often lead you to fields of study or careers you hadn’t thought of. Do you love sports? Love the idea of being a member of a school community that rallies around its athletic teams? You don’t have to be a college athlete for this to be part of your college selection criteria or to pursue a career related to athletics.
The same goes for music, film, hiking, reading, singing, video games, skateboarding, and so much more. The things you love can hold the key to a successful college experience as well as a future career.
What am I good at?
Math? Field hockey? Drums?
Sometimes this can be a hard question to answer and so we sell ourselves short. At May First, our students fill out several surveys from which we begin to build a complex student profile. We want to know if actively contributing in the classroom is your thing, or if you’re the kind of learner who prefers to absorb and reflect before speaking. We want to know if you’re a great team leader or a steady, reliable team member. If you work well under pressure, or if you prefer to start early and work slowly.
The skills you’ve developed in the classroom, at work, at practice, in your community, and in your home can be the foundation for life-long success and help you to build that best-fit college list.
What’s out there for me?
Identifying what you love and the sometimes subtle ways in which you excel both in and out of the classroom can be just as important as your GPA in determining the right college for you. It can mean the difference between applying to schools with 80 students to a class or 15, or to schools focused on coop or study abroad. It might be as mundane as applying to schools in a big city or a rural town.
We think the best part -- the most fun part -- is finding the answer to what’s out there for me? Because the answer is, something great. Something that is your best-fit.
Give us a call (617.851.9975) or send an email to info@yourmayfirst.com and let’s chat.
Hey, high school juniors!
Congratulations! You’re nearing the end of the most important and challenging year of your high school career. And you did it all during a pandemic.
Once you’ve had some time to appreciate all of your accomplishments (even if the major one was just getting through it), you will need to begin thinking about the college selection process. Here are some things to consider as you get started:
Things have changed.
College and university admissions practices looked a lot different in 2021. Applications at many elite colleges were up over 50% from the previous year. As a result, some college acceptance rates dropped considerably. Conversely, applications at colleges with less name recognition were down. Both scenarios provide challenges and opportunities that might seem daunting for the class of 2022; we’ve even heard the current college admissions landscape referred to as “the wild west.” But what does this mean for you?
We think it means opportunity.
Test Optional...for real.
Some of the pivots college admissions offices made during the pandemic are likely to stick. Most significantly, colleges suspended standardized testing requirements for the class of 2021. Although some will inevitably return to required ACT or SAT scores, research conducted by Fair Test, the National Center For Fair and Open Testing, reveals that at least 1,360 four-year institutions "have already announced that they will not require fall 2022 applicants to submit standardized exam results before admissions decisions are made.”
We believe this shift gives the class of 2022 a broad palette of options. If that Ivy League reach feels even more remote now that it’s posting a 4% acceptance rate, you have an opportunity to explore colleges and universities you might not have otherwise considered. This is the perfect time to find that hidden gem or the just-right fit you didn’t know you were looking for.
The Personal Essay takes center stage.
As colleges and universities are increasingly adopting test-optional processes, admissions counselors are taking a more comprehensive and holistic approach to assessing applicants. This means truly considering the whole student, from extracurricular activities to course-building. In this new landscape, colleges and universities are looking to get to know potential students on a personal level. What kind of community member will they be? How do their interests align with our university’s mission and identity? Will they succeed intellectually and personally?
To get the answers, admissions counselors are looking more carefully than ever at students’ personal essays. As a member of the class of 2022, you have an exciting opportunity to craft an essay that reflects your unique personality and experiences, and that convinces that best-fit school that you are exactly who they’re looking for.
https://fairtest.org/university/optional