“There’s a 104 days of summer vacation and school comes along just to end it. So the annual problem for our generation is finding a good way to spend it. Like maybe…”

Phineas and Ferb

Summer vacation is a perfect opportunity to explore and develop your interests. With your months off school, you finally have the opportunity to do the things you wanted to do during the school year but just didn’t have the time. I used my summers well, and now I’m into my top colleges.

Interested in science after sophomore year, I spent my summer learning about stem cell research in a lab in the Texas Medical Center. I enjoyed it so much that the summer before my senior year, I went to Pittsburgh to partake in a cancer research internship. I learned so much about myself and the field of science during those two summers—I was able to see the difference between classroom science and real life science. In a classroom, all your experiments are set up to work—they’ve been done before. In the lab, however, you don’t know what your results are going to look like before you try an experiment. Through my summers I discovered the satisfaction of being able to turn a mystery into a known.

To plan your summer, I suggest you make a list of your interest and priorities. Are you interested in career exploration? Sports camps? Community Service? Animals? Learning a new language? Tutoring younger kids? Once you have that list, do some research online to find opportunities available in your area. You could also ask one of your teachers if they have any suggestions for opportunities. You could volunteer at the zoo, the hospital, or even your favorite museum! You could even do multiple things if time permits.

One thing that I learned early: a lot of these summer opportunities require applications and even teacher recommendations. Start these early! There are a vast number of applications that are due in February and March and some even work on a first come first serve basis—this is no time to procrastinate! These applications will determine how you spend 1-3 months of your life.

Using your summer months wisely could enhance or complement your school curriculum, as my science research complemented my biology and chemistry classes. Summer activities are a great way to learn more about yourself and your interests. What if you also did research in a lab one summer and hated it with a passion? Did you waste your time? Not at all — at least can you rule that career option out. But what if you campaigned for a candidate in a local election and realized you loved politics? All I can say is that the risk might be worth the reward.

Today, I’d like to talk to you about planning your own semester, particularly in terms of testing.

When I was a junior, I took the SAT in March with full intentions of retaking and beating my score in October. After studying and taking the March SAT, I evaluated my scores and set a reasonable goal for the next time I was to take the SAT.

As SAT classes can be expensive, I went to my local bookstore and library to peruse prep books.

If you choose to do what I did and take the SAT in March, be sure to take advantage of the College Board online SAT score reports, which was particularly useful in guiding my studies between March and October. You can use fee waivers to take the test twice at no cost.

The deadline for the March 12 SAT is February 11.  So, you have time. There are no SAT Subject Tests that date.

The other spring dates are May 7 (Register by April 8th) and June 4 (Register by May 6th).

Sign up to take the SAT now!!!

http://sat.collegeboard.com/register/sat-dates

Advice to juniors:

Juniors! Start the college admissions process early! Ignore the friends who call you lame and say that you don’t need to start early, because you do.

Once the Common Application comes out (or any online application), definitely take the time to fill in the basic information stuff. When you are close to the end of your application, the smallest jobs will stress you out, so there’s no reason to add that to your list.

Next: Make a list, with all the kinds of schools you can see yourself at. If that list ends up bringing together liberal arts schools with polytechnic institutes and large, state schools, so be it! As your interests change, the list will become smaller. Eventually, it will reflect where you really see yourself, and it’s totally fine to have that level of diversity in type of schools you are looking for.

Don’t be afraid to set standards for yourself. If you want to be in an environment that is at least 40% students of color, then go for it! Find the things that mean the most to you in a college experience. Out of the hundreds of schools to choose from, some of them will fill your needs.

Most importantly—work on essays, and start them early! Your essays really do hold so much potential. It’s your only chance to create something completely individual to yourself, and your slacking off freshman year can’t ruin it (the way we all claim our GPA was lowered). I know if your school requires five four essays, it might cause you to have a mini freak out, but keep this in mind: the more essays they ask for, the more opportunities you have to talk about yourself. The five essays I had to write for my first choice took me a long way. In fact, I got into my first choice! And since then, my admissions officer has sent me letters quoting parts of my essays. So trust me, when you search yourself and find the motivation and effort to write your essays, they will notice, as long as you write the story that  “only you can write,” something a wise woman once told me.

And here’s one more thing. In the midst of your college application process, find something you love doing—whether it’s singing, dancing, or sleeping, and do it. Make sure that your first semester is more than just stress. Try and make it enjoyable for the times when you aren’t working on college apps. It’ll keep you alive.

Good luck guys!

Makshya

Firs generation college goer

Admitted Early Action to Stanford University, Class of 2015

The Common Application is the free online application system most private and many public colleges use. Use it and you can save so much time. It organizes everything for you. Just read these tips and get started.

Tip 1 Account Set Up. www.commonapp.org. Use an email address you check often.

• Set up an easy user name and password. Your user name and password are okay.
• Text yourself and save in a million places your user name and password.

Tip 2 Left hand column. Learn that left hand column is the links to each core section of application.

Tip 3 My Colleges. Click on it. Add all your college choices. You will see core information about each college. Deadlines. Application. Supplemental. Payments. School Forms. School Details.

Tip 4 Collect deadlines and requirements. Each school has its own deadlines. You will see them under Future Plans. You also need to check for requirements. They differ by college.

Tip 5 Future Plans.  Complete the Future Plans for each college. The rest of the application is the same for each college. The Future Plans page will have the deadlines.

Tip 6 Overall Application. You can keep changing info until the minute you submit the application. So don’t worry. You can go back and make changes. Any requirement with a YELLOW DOT in front of it is MANDATORY to fill in. 

Tip 7 Education and Academics. Education: List your most recent college. You must find a counselor’s name and contact info to add.  You can add other colleges at the bottom of the the Education page. With Academics, most schools don’t require SAT scores for those who have 30 units or more by end of year. If your school does require them, send your scores but you don’t need to list them here. List your classes. Put winter session classes under Fall Semester. Remember to put name and units. English 101 3 units.   

Tip 8 Activities. Put in order of your most important activities and jobs. Make sure to express leadership and initiative in the one line. If you have more than the allotted number of activities, you can combine some common activities or put extras under additional information.

Tip 9 Writing. Start working on essays now. Short: You have 1000 characters for short paragraph about activity or job. Long: You upload the long essay but try to keep it to one page. Remember, this is a great way for you to re-use your UC 1 essay.

Tip 10 Supplements. Click on this tab on left. You will see information about supplements for each college on your list. Start a master list of the supplemental short and long essays. Color code overlapping prompts.

Tip 11 School Forms. These are the forms for your counselor and professors. Transfer students must print these forms out. Each school has different requirements so check to see which forms they want you to use. Contact professors now and make them stamped envelopes so they can send recommendations. Some colleges want your high school counselor to fill out forms as well. Check. Also make sure to send transcripts 1) after fall grades come out and 2) again after winter session grades come out.

Tip 12 Submission. Make sure you submit 1. Common Application. 2. Payment 3. Supplement. The order may differ by school but make sure you submit all three.

I know it’s bittersweet to get deferred from your Early Decision or Action college! But you didn’t get rejected. They just want to look at you in the regular admission pool. Your chances of ultimately getting accepting are somewhat less than regular admissions, but you still have a chance. Here are some tips to help you make it through the holidays and through the beginning of the new year.

Tips to Handle Being Deferred

1. Find other colleges where you will be just as happy as your Early Decision or Action college. You can and will find happiness other colleges. Many, many students do and never look back.

2. Other applications: Work on these applications throughout the holidays.

• Look at your college list and make sure you have a range of colleges on your list. You aimed high for Early Decision, now you need to diversify your college list.
• Go to Naviance, if your school has it, and update your lcollege list.
• Update your original application, including your activities and test scores.
• Revisit your essays and strengthen them. Perhaps a new story or essay idea will come to you.
• Think about your letters of recommendation, can you add a senior year teacher?
• Prepare for alumni interviews for each of these colleges.
• Submit each application as soon as you can.
• Plan to visit some of your top colleges this winter if you haven’t visited them already.

3. Deferred College: Now think deeply. If you know that you are in the range of admissions, then develop a four month self-marketing plan. If you know that you were not in the range, then let it go and work on your other colleges.

4. Campaign for Deferred College: Think back to your application and tell yourself that you did the very best you could. At the same time, think of additional information you can provide to express why you should be admitted. Plan to send one piece of new, significant information to the college each month starting now. Remember regular admissions students get to send in November and December information along with first semester grades. Now, you will too!!!!

• Test scores: If you took additional tests in November and December and like your scores, send them to the deferred college. Make sure to let the admissions office know you sent in the new scores.
• Email: Write a short email to the admissions officer of the college for your region and express your strong desire to still attend the college. Do not restate all that you said earlier in your application. But really express passionately your commitment to the campus. Commit to going there if you get in regular decision.
• Visit: Visit the institution one more time and revisit the admissions office to remind them of your interest. Contact anyone in the admissions office whom you met in person or via email. T
• Additional teacher recommendation: Ask a senior year teacher, who has not already written you a letter to this school, to write you a letter of recommendation. This letter should really emphasize your academic talents and why you will thrive at that college.
• Counselor contact: Get an updated letter of recommendation from your guidance counselor or even have your counselor contact the school personally.
• Alumni or campus interviewer: Contact your alumni or campus interviewer–if you think you had a good interview…Thank the interviewer again and then ask for any advice about moving from deferral to admissions.
• Letter: Write a formal letter in February or early March updating the admissions office with your academic and extracurricular activity performance. This letter will include your first semester performance, exemplary academic projects, and major leadership accomplishments.
• Updated resume: Consider updating the non-academic portion of your application. Though not required, an updated resume can always help. Just make sure anything you add does contribute in a new way to your application. Do not be redundant.
• Outsider letters: If you can think of one major person (non-teacher) who knows you extremely well and can witness to your leadership and initiative, ask that person to write a letter. Do not ask people who do not have major contacts with school to contact school. Do not have anyone other than people who know you personally write letters. A perfect person is someone for whom you did a major project this year…volunteer leader, youth group…only someone who can attest to new work this year and who knows you really, really well.

5. Please do not spend your time dwelling on the deferred school as there are so many other colleges where you will thrive. Understand that you will find happiness wherever you attend college!!!

Low-income, latino males, Arthur and Jesus shares their reasons for applying to private four year colleges. Arthur shares financial reasons, while Jesus shares experiential reasons. Going away doesn’t mean they won’t come back and enrich their communities. Even students with grades that are not the top can great full scholarships to great private colleges. They are looking for diverse students.

Martin gives his advice about going to college fairs. He talked with college representatives, made contacts, and even found the college he attends this way. Go to college fairs and tell your story. Start a conversation!!! They want you!!!

Martin is a sophomore at Villanova college. He has a Presential Scholarship!!!