Caitlin's Tips
- Create a new email for college admission-related things.
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- Have solid safety schools, and then apply to as many reaches and targets as possible, because you'll get accepted and denied from places you'd never expect.
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- A lot of schools have the same or similar supplemental prompts. Always research the specifics for each school, but you can reuse essay layouts for different schools' supplements.
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- Even if school asks an essay question that's weird or simple like University of Marylands "What did you do last Friday?" try to in some way relate your answer back to your streanghts or your major.
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- Colleges will almost always give you a space to explain a drop in your grades. This tip is going to be controversial, but unless you had something like a direct family member dying or a life-altering injury, do not write anything in these sections. Colleges don't want to hear that you had depression or anxiety that caused a grade drop, or they won't trust you to be able to handle college-level work. I personally had a rough freshman year, which resulted in very low grades. I very subtly mentioned it on some applications, but overall, I didn't really mention it. You want colleges to focus on your strengths, so why would you highlight a weakness?
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- Don't get lazy and not send a test score to a school just because it's a safety, and you already know you'll get in. By sending a test score, you may get a much higher scholarship.
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- Keep in mind not just the look of the campus but what the surrounding area looks like. Penn State and U of I were great campuses, but they are hours from actual civilization.
Julia's Tips
- Start early - the earlier you begin planning and completing requirements for applications, the easier it will be when your Senior year actually starts. Especially for essays, I finished a majority of my essays over the summer, and that saved me the stress of having to complete handfuls of essays in the fall while also balancing academics
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- Check your portals - this is where all of your information regarding your application will be, and where you can see if you have any missing materials. It’s also where your decision will eventually come out, so make sure you are checking regularly to be sure you don’t miss anything important information
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- Don't be discouraged by a deferral - Caitlin and I both got deferred originally from the schools we are attending, so don't think it's over if that is what happens!
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- Make sure you visit the campus of the schools you 'love' - you could get on campus and realize it's not at all what you thought, and change your mind about the school.
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- Keep up with your grades even after you are committed to a to school. You may think that it doesn't matter anymore, but schools can and will rescind your admission if they receive your final transcript and see major drops in grades.
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- Remember that everything will work out in the end - it's easy to be stressed and overwhelmed about college decisions, but just remember that even though rejections hurt, and you may not get into the school of your dreams, it is not the end of the world. Most people end up loving where they are going, even if it wasn't necessarily their top choice.