![\"\"](\"http:\/\/mymajors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Bored.jpg\" "\\"College")
The process can be overwhelming, but it can also help you think of yourself and your life in terms you hadn\u2019t previously considered.\u00a0Look at your application as the opportunity to celebrate who you are.\u00a0This is your opportunity to shine!<\/p>\n
Following these guidelines will help you put your best foot forward.<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0Find out if the college or university you\u2019re applying to uses an online application.\u00a0If an online application is available, use it.\u00a0More and more often this is the preferred method of applying to college.\u00a0If you are applying to several schools and they are part of Common Application or another similar program, applying online will save time because you enter your information once and it will automatically be sent to multiple schools.<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0 Read the application completely before entering any information.\u00a0 This means read every word of the application.\u00a0Don\u2019t skim it, don\u2019t assume you know what it is going to ask, actually read it.\u00a0More errors have been made on applications because students thought they knew what was being asked instead of actually reading what was going to be asked.<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0 If you have questions, call the university admissions office yourself.\u00a0 Don\u2019t ask your parent or guardian to do it; they are not the ones going to college.\u00a0You are.\u00a0It is time for you to take care of business like this.\u00a0 It\u2019s OK if you want them in the room cheering you on, but you\u2019re the one who has to take the initiative. This is your life, live it.<\/p>\n
4.\u00a0 Use proper grammar and capitalization.\u00a0Ignoring the details, such as the simple act of capitalizing words that should be capitalized, is a huge mistake. That conveys carelessness, and you know you\u2019re better than that.<\/p>\n
5.\u00a0 Request your transcripts and letters of recommendation at least two weeks in advance of your deadline.\u00a0Remember, you are not the only student in your school applying for admission to college, so be kind to your school\u2019s registrar or record keeper and submit your request early.\u00a0 Also, ask yourself if you want a letter that shows you in your very best light, or do you want one put together hastily and under a significant time crunch?\u00a0Which would you prefer to have sent to the people deciding if you get into college?\u00a0Providing a self-addressed, stamped envelope is a kindness that needs to be given to the people you are asking the favor of.\u00a0 Please do that for them.<\/p>\n
6.\u00a0 Use your essay to show your personality.\u00a0Be certain you are writing on the requested topic, but relax and write from your heart.\u00a0This is your chance to let your literary voice be heard. If it is an open-ended writing sample, choose to write about something that captures your enthusiasm.\u00a0What are you considering studying and why?\u00a0If you haven\u2019t decided what to study, what are the options you\u2019re contemplating and what moves you about the subject matter.\u00a0Don\u2019t worry that someone might think your ideas are silly, the majors you are considering exist because there are other people in the world who feel the same passion you do.\u00a0Show it!<\/p>\n
7.\u00a0 Ask an adult at school to read over your essay.\u00a0Sometimes it takes \u201cfresh eyes\u201d to identify areas that may need additional editing or that may not convey the thoughts you had intended.\u00a0Asking your English teacher may seem to be the obvious choice, but consider asking someone who works in the field you may be studying.\u00a0He or she may help you convey your excitement in your essay because they share a similar passion.<\/p>\n
8.\u00a0 Make a photocopy of your application materials.\u00a0This will serve two purposes.\u00a0First, if you are completing multiple applications chances are good each one will ask for the same or similar information.\u00a0If you have it handy already then you won\u2019t have to continually look up details or recreate statements.\u00a0Second, if something happens and your university needs you to resubmit a part of the application, you\u2019ll have it ready to go at a moment\u2019s notice.<\/p>\n
9.\u00a0 Know your deadlines!\u00a0Get your application materials submitted well in advance.\u00a0That way if there are any errors or accidental omissions, you have time to correct them.<\/p>\n
10.\u00a0 When you\u2019re done getting your applications submitted, celebrate!\u00a0 One year a group of students decided to set a deadline for getting all their college applications completed and submitted even though they were applying to different colleges.\u00a0When one student was feeling overwhelmed, the others were there to help her keep going. When their deadline came they all sent their online applications from their own homes, they then went to the post office in a group to drop off the paper applications. Finally, they celebrated a job well done by going to a movie.\u00a0 The spirit of collaboration carried them through, and they had a great time helping each other over the weeks it took to put the applications together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The process can be overwhelming, but it can also help you think of yourself and your life in terms you hadn\u2019t previously considered.\u00a0Look at your … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[118,117,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-search","category-majors-careers","category-student-bloggers"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Bored.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7JFoP-52","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6972,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312\/revisions\/6972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}