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College applications: apply early and often
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photo by bjearwicke, used by permission
Parents are often concerned about the cost of applying to multiple colleges. This is one area where costs have not kept up with inflation. Fifty dollars remains a typical application fee, up little, if at all, from the seventies. However, colleges often reduce or waive the application fee altogether if the student applies online. College admissions counselors often agree to waive application fees when they speak to students at the high schools they come to visit.
It’s a good idea to talk to your child before they talk to college admissions counselors. Make sure they have some questions to ask. First and foremost, they should get a handle on what kind of college it is. If your kid is an English whiz contemplating a career in journalism, schools with “Polytechnic” in the name might not be first tier choices for them. Does the school even have a program your child would want to study? How many applications the school typically receives, and how many it accepts, is a valid question. How much the school costs, and tuition isn’t the only expense, along with how much financial aid is available, is something they can, and should, ask. How the school’s graduates are doing in the current job market is something they might want to know. The availability and types of student housing may be important. Some schools require freshmen to live on campus unless they’re living with their parents. Thing is, room and board cost money. You need to know how much.
The application forms are frequently not that intimidating, and the student should be able to fill out most of them themselves. Many colleges rely on the online Common Application form, which can reduce the number of times a form needs to be filled out, although some of these schools may require a supplemental form.
In addition, colleges will require the student’s SAT scores and high school transcript. The College Board will automatically provide your student’s SAT scores to whatever schools they designate. Your student should stay in touch with their guidance counselor, who is probably in charge of making sure transcripts are sent to the schools applied to. Students tend to stress over the essay portion required by many colleges. They shouldn’t. They aren’t that bad. And some schools will allow an applicant to submit a graded essay that’s already been used for high school coursework. If the teacher wrote lots of positive comments on the essay, that can work to your student’s advantage. Most schools want letters of recommendation from at least one teacher. The teachers who write the most glowing letters usually have a lot of requests. Your student should ask nicely and early.
Your student may or may not be interested in early decision or early action. Some schools offer both, and it’s important to understand the difference. In both cases, the student applies to the school early in their senior year of high school. For early action, this usually means by the middle of November, and for early decision, anywhere from November to January. In both cases, the school makes its decision and notifies the applicant within five to six weeks. With early action, the student is not bound by this acceptance, and has until May to make his or her decision. In the case of early decision, the student signs a contract at the time of application agreeing to attend that school if accepted, and must withdraw any other college applications at that time. Some schools have an admissions procedure called “rolling admissions,” in which a college evaluates applications as soon as the complete application is received.
Don’t worry about at this early stage about whether or not you can actually afford the colleges you’re looking at. Financial aid, which I’ll deal with in an upcoming article, can and does vastly affect the actual cost you may be looking at. Ivy League schools in many cases actually waive tuition altogether for students from pretty middle class families. The main thing is start looking early.
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