Your College Applications are Finished! Now What?
Are you done with your applications? Congratulations! Let the celebration begin!
AND... you are actually not done yet...
What's next? Keep the following in mind over the next few months to ensure that you complete the application process successfully:
1. Keep your eye on your email! Too many times students forget to check their email and miss important messages from the office of admissions at colleges that they have applied to. Many times something might still be needed - a transcript, a missing grade, a teacher's recommendation - and the office of admissions will notify you via email about this! These small details can make or break an application, so keep your eyes posted and even check your spam mailbox for these important messages.
2. Keep your grades UP! It is not time to let go of the reins and stumble toward to finish line of graduation. College admissions officers keep a keen eye on seniors' grades, especially during the second semester of their senior year. If a student's grades drop, admissions officials will give due note to this and choose the student whose grades have improved over the student whose grades have plummeted during their last few months of high school.
3. Apply for Financial Aid: Create your FAFSA profile and CSS profile now before the open filing date closes in the early Spring of 2017. The earlier you file, the better chance you have for receiving financial aid to cover tuition and living costs during your Freshman college year.
4. Scholarship Search! Begin your search for free money! And maintain the momentum you have created by writing your college application essays to apply for scholarships. Scholarships are available in a myriad of areas. Hundreds of scholarships are awarded each year for a hundreds different reasons; from excellence in academics, to children of deceased parents, cancer survivors, students of color interested in technology, descendants of Irish immigrants - you name it, a scholarship for it likely exists! You just need to take the time to look for it and apply. While some of the awards might be small ($250 - $500), every bit adds up and support you to exit college with a lighter load of debt.
There are a host of websites listing college scholarships out there, with some of the best being:
5. Stay patient and be positive! College Admissions offices have thousands of applications to go through - and you are just one in the pile. Keeping patient, responding to them when asked and generally being open and positive through the winter and spring will help everyone - you the most! Relish this time as much as you can before you fly off to college. Enjoy your friends, enjoy your home, enjoy your home cooked meals and bed! Your world is going to change drastically in just a few months time, so savor what you have for it will be gone before you know it.
