The season of forms and files, excellence and essays, applications and administration is here. Juniors have the opportunity to get a jump start on their college preparation, through talking with their counselors to gain information, filling out information on college preparation websites, preparing personal essays during the calm season of summer when there is limited stress and even preparing to apply to colleges early in the fall.
Many students wait until winter break before even thinking about college during their senior year. However, greater success is found in starting early. Scholarships, college applications, career planning and future planning can all be mountainous titans for young adults to overcome; but by starting early, students boost not only their chances of acceptance, but also enhance their work ethic, reinforced by the Army and Navy Academy who state early college prep helps map out an academic plan and creates more active learning.
“I’ve [been] creating my Common App account to start my main items needed to apply to college,” junior Ali Abdelrahim said.
Advanced Placement United States History teacher Amy Bingham has been taking steps at the end of the year to encourage students like Abdelrahim to begin preparing for college, such as having students fill out an information sheet about themselves to help their teachers have an easier time writing letters of recommendation, and providing directions for how to create accounts for systems that aid in college application such as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program.
College and Career Counselor Andrea Fuhrer has worked with many students to help with college readiness, and at the beginning of each school year offers students college workshops after school on Wednesdays. At these workshops students have professional help in applying for college, writing personal essays and applying for scholarships.
Although helpful resources will be available for students for their college process, Fuhrer emphasizes the importance of using the summer for rest as well as preparing for college.
“Early Action deadlines [are] a number one opportunity that students should not miss out on,” Fuhrer said. “A lot of students have this belief that they should hold out on applying to colleges until they get the SAT and ACT score they think is acceptable for colleges. It is better to apply early, even if you’re not quite at that score.”
Early Decision and Early Action are both programs offered by some colleges in the United States. Early Decision is a commitment to one university, where applications are submitted in November and decisions are released around December. This option is good for rising seniors who know which college they want to go to, and takes off stress for the year by completing the application process before school gets busy. Students who seek financial aid or are not sure which college they would like to attend should be cautious about Early Decision programs. If a student uses an Early Decision program to apply for a college, they are unable to apply to any other college or enter other Early Decision or Early Action programs, meaning they cannot compare financial aid offers or have the choice to attend another college if they are accepted.
Early Action is another option students have to begin their college process early. When colleges have this option for students, they may apply early, but do not have to attend if accepted. For students with a set plan wanting to show commitment, Early Action applications allow students flexibility on top of possible college acceptance, making it favorable to undecided students.
To prepare students for these applications ahead of time, Fuhrer encourages students to realize their potential without overworking themselves.
“Students should never bend themselves like a pretzel to get into a school,” Fuhrer said. “Be true to who you are, and be true to what you see yourself doing. Along the way, help elevate yourself.”
To begin college prep, it is recommended for students to create a CommonApp account. Not only does this simplify applications, filling out information helps students understand themselves more, which can help clarify focus.
“I’ve recommended CommonApp to peers because it’s essential to apply to many colleges across the U.S,” Abdelrahim said. “The more we wait to start the college process, the less time we have to think on our essays.”
Students’ counselors are always happy to aid their students, which includes college. Whether a new freshman who has questions about their life years from now, or a rising senior needing specifics to get into their dream school, students will always benefit from reaching out and starting early.
“I’m here for students in nine through 12,” Fuhrer said. “Seniors tend to gravitate to me because they need me more, which is awesome, but I personally want to start helping kids earlier, because if I can get to them earlier, it helps them way down.”
