Tip 1. College essays are fourth in importance behind grades, test scores, and the rigor of completed coursework in many admissions office decisions (NACAC, 2009). Don’t waste this powerful opportunity to share your voice and express who you really are to colleges. Great life stories make you jump off the page and into your match colleges.

Tip 2. Develop an overall strategic essay writing plan. College essays should work together to help you communicate key qualities and stories not available anywhere else in your application.

Tip 3. Keep a chart of all essays required by each college, including short responses and optional essays. View each essay or short response as a chance to tell a new story and to share your core qualities.

Tip 4. Look for patterns between colleges essay requirements so that you can find ways to use essays more than once. This holds true for scholarship essays.

Tip 5. Plan to share positive messages and powerful outcomes. You can start with life or family challenges. You can describe obstacles you have overcome. You can reflect on your growth and development, including accomplishments and service. College admissions officers do not read minds, so tell them your powerful life stories.

Tip 6. Always write in the first person. Remember, these are autobiographical essays, even when you talk about other people. Remember the colleges are looking to accept you, not your relatives. So use the one third and two thirds rule. If you choose to write about someone or something else, you must show how it affected you for the majority of the essay. Your essays show colleges why you belong on college campuses and share how you will enrich diverse communities.

Tip 7. Tell unique stories that only belong to you. Follow Dr. Joseph’s Into, Through, and Beyond approach. Lead the reader INTO your story with a powerful beginning—a story, an experience. Take them THROUGH your story with the context and keys parts of your story. Make sure the reader understands your initiative, leadership, development, and continuity. End with the BEYOND message about how this story has affected who you are now and who you want to be in college and potentially after college.  The beyond can be implied in many pieces that are so strong that moralizing at the end is not necessary.

• It is not just the story that counts.
• It’s the choice of qualities a student wants the college to know about herself

Tip 8. Use active writing: avoid passive sentences and incorporate power verbs. Show when possible; tell when summarizing.

Tip 9. Have trusted inside and impartial outside readers read your essays. Make sure you have no spelling or grammatical errors.

Tip 10. Most importantly, make yourself come alive throughout this process. Write about yourself as passionately and powerfully as possible. Be proud of your life and accomplishments. Sell yourself!!!

1. Register for fall testing! SAT, SAT Subject Tests, ACT. Take a test again or twice this fall. See below for additional testing notes.

2. Take the most challenging classes possible. Clear up deficiencies by the end of the school year at the latest.

3. Begin college application complete. Begin completing the Common Application which comes online August 1. The UC and CSU applications come online October 1. Other public colleges come online soon.

4. Visit or contact colleges. Contact admissions and diversity admissions representatives. Schedule fall visits. Visit classes. Take tours. Spend the night. Always take notes and send thank you emails or letters.

5. Begin writing college essays. See my essay tips. http://getmetocollege.org/hs/application-essay-tips/application-essay-writing-tips

6. Find scholarships. Begin researching scholarships at particular colleges and for particular groups. See my scholarship tips. http://getmetocollege.org/hs/financial-aid/scholarships

7. Develop a master chart. Put together a master chart of your colleges with info about deadlines, passwords, requirements, interviews, and local campus visits in your area. THE UCs and CSUS are due November 30, drop dead last date.

8. Continue with leadership and initiative in activities, jobs, and service.

9. Make a resume. Make a resume to bring with you to interviews. See my resume tips.

10. Contact teachers and counselors in August. Ask your teachers and counselors early to write you recommendations for applications, scholarships, and EOP.

Additional testing notes:

Anyone planning to attend a California State University campus next year, must take English (EPT) and Math (ELM) placement tests before starting. You need to take the tests now. If you’re not accepted to the campus of your choice, take the tests now!!!

1. You can take them at any CSU campus regardless of whether you are planning to attend that CSU campus. Go to the ETS site to get more info.  http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.1488512ecfd5b8849a77b13bc3921509/?vgnextoid=e9a72d3631df4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=bc41e3b5f64f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD

2. You can only take the tests once. They are very important as they place you in your freshman English and math classes.

3. The tests are $36 and you must pay with a check of money order made out to ETS on the Saturday morning test date. Your entry ticket will provide more info about what to bring on the test date.

4. Here is a link to test dates around the state. You can also go to your local CSU and find its test dates. You need to sign up in advance.

5. Here is national information site. It has free practice tests on it.
http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.1488512ecfd5b8849a77b13bc3921509/?vgnextoid=e9a72d3631df4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=bc41e3b5f64f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD

6. Here is a site for English placement practice tests and other readiness materials. http://www.csuenglishsuccess.org/exam_prep_esw

7. Here is a site for Math placement practice problems and other readiness materials.
Math test readiness
http://www.csumathsuccess.org/exam_prep

8. Please register online and keep track of
Entry ticket
User Name and Password
Scores
And make sure scores are sent to the CSU they choose to attend..

9. You can waive out of English  if you get 550 or higher on  Critical Reading SAT scores. Same with Math. Check ETS for other ways to waive out.

10. Here are more great links.

Readiness Materials!!!!!!!!
Here is great link with activities to help prepare kids for EPT.
http://www.csuenglishsuccess.org/eshome
Activities by grade level.

The Roadmap is awesome for seniors and tells them what to do!!!!!!!!!!
Great link with activities for kids for EPT
http://www.csuenglishsuccess.org/english_roadmap/english_roadmap?time=1266444889

Two practices tests
http://www.csuenglishsuccess.org/exam_prep_esw

Great resources for counselors
http://www.csuenglishsuccess.org/esw_counselor_eptreq

Great Math Help and Info
http://www.csumathsuccess.org/mshome

Roadmap for math
http://www.csumathsuccess.org/my_roadmapintro?time=110241

Here are practice sites for tests
Math-http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.1488512ecfd5b8849a77b13bc3921509/?vgnextoid=e7a72d3631df4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=9531e3b5f64f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD

English-http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.1488512ecfd5b8849a77b13bc3921509/?vgnextoid=eba72d3631df4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=a461e3b5f64f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD