11 College Admission Tips for Your Students

Today recently interviewed the President of the Princeton Review and he gave them 11 tips that you can share with your students:

  1. It is never too soon to start talking and thinking about college: Starting the conversation early can defuse some of the angst about leaving for college.
  2. Even if you think you can’t afford a certain college, don’t cross it off your list if it is one of the school’s you would like to attend: Some of the most expensive schools offer the most aid. See what type of aid is offered before eliminating a school based on “sticker price”
  3. Students, you have a job. Be awesome!: Taking challenging classes and making good grades, then taking the SAT and/or ACT and scoring as well as they can on them can help get more financial aid.
  4. Parents, you have a job too. Be fearless!: Don’t slack off on filling out all the applications and forms (including the FAFSA). You won’t be rewarded with the maximum amount of financial aid unless you do this.
  5. Take the SAT or ACT, but take them no more than 3 times: Scores typically don’t improve after the 3rd time taking one of the tests and confidence tends to drop.
  6. Test optional colleges colleges and universities really are test optional, but scholarships might not be: There are approximately 900 colleges that no longer required SAT or ACT test scores to apply, however, merit based scholarships at these same schools often times require those scores to be eligible. Be sure and verify that before applying.
  7. The perfect college might be the one you have never heard of before: Students should open their minds to researching many schools in their search. There are lots of great schools out there that have many unique things to offer.
  8. Applying to 30 colleges is nothing but ridiculous: Researching different colleges is smart and a good idea. Applying to 30, not so much. On average, students apply to between 7 and 9 colleges which is a good average. Any more than that is overkill.
  9. Know the difference between Early Action and Early Decision: Early Decision colleges require a student to commit to matriculation if they are admitted; Early Action is a non-binding process that allows students to submit their applications by November and receive answers by mid-December with no obligation to accept an offer until the regular date of May 1.
  10. Colleges do see students Social Media profiles: So clean these up and don’t post anything yo wouldn’t want a family member (like your parents) to see.
  11. Deferred early applicants can help their chances: If a student applies early and receives a “deferred” decision, they should use the extra time to make sure their additional grades will be as high as possible.

Some great tips! Here is a link the the story on Today – https://www.today.com/parents/11-college-tips-editor-princeton-review-t107623