College applications pose challenge

October 27, 2009 • Leah Weston  
Filed under Feature, People and Clubs

It is around this time every year that students start applying to college and applying for grants and scholarships. Selecting and applying to a college can be a very intimidating process.

“My biggest concern about applying to college is not getting my applications in on time and meeting deadlines, especially for specific programs that I’m applying for,” Senior Alyssa Banda said.

Every college has different deadlines for their applications.  Some are due as early as November, and others not until February.

“[Applying to college early] gives you an earlier decision.  But there are schools that will close applications early.  As soon as they fill their quota or number of applications, they will close,” Guidance Counselor Jo EllenArnett said.

Most schools have online applications, which makes it easier for students to fill out their applications.

“The majority of what’s asked on applications is majorly data driven.  I feel the most important thing that students can put in there is something that makes the student unique,” Arnett said.

Essays also another big part of college applications.

“Writing the essay [is the hardest] because I’m not good at talking about myself,” Banda said.

Online applications allow for less stress about writing essays because one can copy and paste their essay, which makes the process moremanageable.

“I am applying to every college possible.  I want to keep my options open,” Senior Josie Nielson said.

In the past, the first things college admission officers looked at on applications was GPA and class rank.  Now things have changed.

“[The first thing colleges look at] varies from college to college.  They used to look at strictly GPA, rank, and ACT scores.  Now colleges are saying they look at everything.  They are looking at students who can balance academics andother things.  They are looking for unique students,” Arnett said.

After one has applications under control, scholarships can be considered.  There are many places to find scholarship opportunities.

“Fastweb.com is the greatest thing ever.  I didn’t even know those scholarships ever existed,” Nielson said.  Fastweb.com is a free scholarship search engine.

It is designed for students to find all the scholarships avaliable to them.  When signing up, one must make sure that all of the questions are answered honestly, because otherwise the scholarships might not be avaliable.

“We have a lot of [scholarship related] things that come into our office.  They are mostly state and national scholarships.  Then we have a local scholarshp program.  Mr. Brockmier coordinates that.  A lot of colleges will offer incoming freshman scholarships.  The more scholarships you apply to the better chances you have of getting something from each.  They ask for a resume, and a personal statement,”  Arnett said.  School specific scholarships can be found on the college’s website.

Tags:

 Email This Story        Print This Story