College applications and essays are fourth in importance on many college admissions officers’ lists of what matters.
Here are 10 tips and then links to tips for essay writing, resume building, letters of recommendation, and more. You will also find ways to get application fees waived.
Tips 1. Applications are one major part of the admissions process still under your control senior year of high school.
Tip 2: Develop a schedule of due dates, requirements, logins and passwords, payments, etc.
Tip 3. Use Naviance, your school has it, to its fullest potential.
Tip 4. Check out all the different applications systems the colleges on your list use. Colleges do not care which form you use if they accept multiple forms. Priority applications are used by colleges and often require less than material than regular applications. They are often free.
- The Common Application
- The Universal Application
- State Application Systems
- Other private colleges, such as USC
Tip 5. Once your look, find out all the ways the parts are similar so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel each time.
- Look for overlapping essay topics. See our essay tips.
- Listen to Dr. Joseph’s audiotape and watch the videos.
- Look for the kinds of graded papers some want
- Look for the different kinds of activities you are asked to report. Always fill in as much information about your leadership and roles as possible.. So develop a resume that you can copy and paste different components from. See our resume building tips.
Tip 6. Find out the ways you can get most of the application fees waived. See our section on application fee waivers.
Tip 7. Please make sure you submit all parts of the application-application, supplements, and payments. Check the applications themselves and then with colleges.
Tip 8. Spend time with the essays, resume components, and letters of recommendation.
Tip 9 Do not wait until the last minute to submit as sometimes servers get overloaded.
Tip 10. Take pride in your work. Go through the applications several times.