The application

Deadlines

Pay very close attention to deadlines. Unfortunately, every college has its own unique set of deadlines. These range from very rigid early deadlines for some of the most selective colleges to no deadlines for colleges that have an open admission policy. Some colleges have several deadlines, depending on whether you apply early decision, early action, or regular admission.

Types of admission

Early decision

If you are certain that you want to attend a specific college, that college may allow you to apply early decision. Deadlines for early-decision candidates are usually in either November or December. If you are accepted under this plan, you are committed to that college, so you must be careful when applying early decision. Some colleges have early and late early-decision deadlines.

Early action

Some colleges use a non-binding early-action plan. Using this plan, the college will tell you that you are accepted early in the year; however, you are not required to make a commitment until May.

Rolling admission

Many colleges will inform you of whether you are accepted or rejected within weeks of receiving your application; this is why it is so advantageous to apply early. It's always reassuring to have an acceptance in your pocket while you are waiting for an acceptance from another college that may not respond until March or April. Schools that use rolling admission will not require you to respond until the common reply deadline.

Some schools, especially state universities, with rolling admission may run out of spaces or housing options earlier than you expect, so do not delay just because there isn't a specific deadline. In addition, some colleges may be harder to get into in January than in September.

Regular admission

Except through early decision and early action, the more selective colleges will not inform you of your acceptance until late March or April.

Applications

Some applications are very easy to fill out while others, requiring multiple essays, will take hours to complete. Give yourself plenty of time to fill these out. We would like all applications turned in by the end of Thanksgiving vacation, although many are not due until January or February. These must be turned in to the counselor three weeks before they are due. Remember that we may have as many as seven hundred counselor reference forms to complete, and so you must give us plenty of time to complete your counselor recommendation. At Episcopal, we send out the complete application, transcript, and recommendations in one packet.

A few colleges use a two-part application, requiring you to send in the first part earlier than the second. Some schools will not even send you the second part until they have received the first part from you. Just think that there are as many different procedures as there are colleges, and you will be safe!

Test scores

During the 2001-2002 school year we will be sending a second sheet attached to the transcript that will list testing results (SAT I, PSAT, ACT, SAT II). This will only be done if you authorize it. This can serve as a backup. You should still have your scores sent directly from the testing agencies because many colleges require this or because sometimes, for a variety of reasons, your school testing records may be incomplete.

Common application

Many colleges accept a common application. This same application can be used for scores of colleges. After submitting this application, some colleges will then send you some additional essays to write. You can find the common application at www.commonapp.org/.

Filling out the application form

It is best to photocopy your application form and use the copy as a first draft so you can submit a 'clean' application. Unless your handwriting is very good, type or word-process your application. Most colleges now have an application on-line. You can download these and fill them out, or some sites will allow you to fill them out online to be printed. We ask you not to send the application in electronically. There is a program run in partnership with the College Board called CollegeLink, that allows you to download applications from 1,000 colleges or to use a software kit to apply to hundreds of colleges; their web page is www.collegelink.com. There is no cost for the first application and only five dollars for each additional application.

The key is to start your applications early. A college can tell when an application has been completed hurriedly.

Recommendations

Many colleges require recommendations. Most often a college will request a recommendation from any teacher; however, others will specify an English and/or math teacher. Some colleges will allow you to send recommendations from other people who know you well (minister, coach, boy scout leader, etc.). Make sure you provide an addressed and stamped envelope to the person writing your recommendation.

The interview

Interviews are more important at smaller and more selective schools. Large universities will not even allow interviews because they just do not have the personnel to conduct interviews for each applicant. Some selective colleges that do not allow on-campus interviews will require or encourage alumni interviews conducted by someone in your home town.

If you can schedule an interview, do so. It is your opportunity to shine, as well as a time to ask questions. Some admissions representatives have told us that a poor interview is not usually used to deny an acceptance, but a good interview is often used as a reason to accept a marginal candidate.

When you go into an interview, be prepared. Do your homework. Know something about the college so that your questions will reflect a genuine interest in the school. Although we have done mock interviews in class, it is a good idea to start your college visitation process at a school that is not your first choice so that you can perfect your interviewing technique. Look at the list of interview questions in the Appendix. It is important to be well-read and current on world affairs. A good interviewer is able to determine which students are intellectually alive. After each interview, be sure to write a thank you note to your interviewer.

A site with some good hints for interviewing can be found at www.collegeapps.about.com/education/collegeapps/cs/interview/index.htm .

Essays

Essays are required by both the smaller and the most selective colleges. During your junior year you were required to start an essay in your college counseling class. This essay may still be relevant; however, it is possible that the writing topic required by your college will not coincide with the essay topics on the Common Application. Make sure you save whatever essays you write on a disk because essays required by other colleges may be similar.

Make sure you write a first draft of your essay. Give it to your college advisor and to an English teacher to proofread before it is sent.

The college essay enables the admissions office to evaluate a student’s thinking and writing skills as well as to learn more about a student as a person. The essay can reveal a great deal about an applicant's values, attitudes, imagination, and creativity. The following advice was given in a pamphlet prepared by the admissions office at Randolph-Macon College concerning the writing of the college essay:

Do:

• Do think small and write about something that you know about.
• Do reveal yourself in your writing.
• Do show rather than tell. By giving examples and illustrating your topic, you help bring it to life.
• Do write in your own voice or style.

Don't:

• Don't write about what you think others will want to read.
• Don't exaggerate or write to impress.
• Don't use a flowery, inflated, or pretentious style.
• Don't neglect the technical part of your essay (grammar, spelling, sentence structure).
• Don't ramble. Say what you have to say and conclude.

A site that may give you some good ideas about the college essay is www.essayedge.com/.

Activities lists

Most colleges will require that you list activities that you have been involved in both here at school and in the community. You should build this list over a period of time. Believe it or not, many students forget some of their most important activities when, pressured by time, they fill out their applications at the last minute.

For many schools, such as the University of Florida, it is much more effective to send a separate resume than try to fill in the forms provided.

That special talent

Colleges certainly like well-rounded students; however, often what they are looking for even more is the student who has a special talent or displays excellence in one area or another. In other words, the student who has volunteered 1,000 hours for a local agency, the all-state trumpet player, or the junior editor for a local newspaper has a significant advantage over the student who has done a little bit of everything.

It is important to make sure the college to which you apply is aware of your special talent. Write about it in your essay, submit local newspaper articles that focus on it, or have adult advisors write about it in their recommendations. Although we know each of you very well, don't assume that we will remember everything that you have accomplished.