The college process can make high school a stressful time. Luckily, we at STAR News are here to make that process easier. Here is (almost) everything you need to know about the college search.

Researching Colleges:

1) Naviance: Naviance has a lot of tools that can be used to research colleges. Click on the “Colleges” tab, and start with the SuperMatch College Search. Using its results, you can research colleges and start narrowing your list down. If you know of a college already that you are interested in, you can search it in Naviance to get information. Once you start adding colleges to the “Colleges I’m thinking about list,” you can click on the “College Match” tab for other results.

2) Online: As soon as you narrow down the list of colleges, you can research a school more in-depth through their website and other online resources, such as rankings and Princeton Review.

3) College Guidance: Mr. Gibson and Ms. Hardy are the best resources for researching colleges, hands down. They know you well and can recommend schools that they think would be a good fit.

4) College Tours: Schedule a tour with your schools as soon as you can. You won’t know if you like a school or not until you visit it. Try to picture yourself at the school as you walk around the facilities. Pay attention to all the details.

5) College Visits to SG: A lot of schools (about 80 per year) also come to visit St. George’s. Take advantage of these! Those visits are a great place to ask the admissions representative questions that you need answered. You can sign up for them through Naviance.

Applying to Colleges:

Most applications can be filled out and submitted through commonapp.org. They take a lot of effort and time, so plan accordingly.

1) Managing Your Time: Do not save your applications until the day before. Seriously. Don’t do it. Now is not the time to procrastinate. Do a little bit of the application every day. If you’re tired of doing homework or studying, college applications are a great way to take a productive break. Get your application done sooner rather than later so that you can get the College Guidance team to check it before you hit “submit.”

2) Asking For Recommendations: By the end of junior year, you should have asked at least one teacher for a recommendation letter. (If possible, have two teachers lined up by the end of junior year. It will make your life a lot easier.) You will likely submit two rec letters to colleges. We recommend that one is from an English/humanities teacher, and one is from a math/science teacher. That way, all aspects of school will be accounted for. Choose a teacher who can not only speak to the quality of your work in their class, but also the quality of your character. Teachers who know you well give better recommendation letters. Once you choose a teacher, complete a request form from Ms. Varnon. Write a letter to the teacher asking them to write a rec letter on your behalf. Follow the prompts on the request form for idea. Writing a letter to the teacher helps them to understand why you chose them to represent you, and how their letter can benefit your application. Give the letter and request form to the teacher, and ask them in person. They will give the completed form to Ms. Varnon.

ACT/SAT:

1) Prepping for the test: The idea of taking the ACT or SAT a first time “blind” without studying is a myth. Why waste the money? You might as well study hard from the start. The only way to truly study for the ACT or SAT is to try practice problems. For the ACT in particular, timing will be your worst enemy. Practice beforehand timing yourself so that you can finish on time during the actual test. Then, score your practice test and practice problems from the section that you struggled with the most.

2) Taking the test: Bring a watch! There is a high likelihood that you won’t be able to see the clock from your assigned seat. Bring extra batteries for your calculator. You definitely do not want it to die halfway through. Also, in the ACT, you are not going to have time to read every word of the passages in the reading and science sections. Do your best answering the questions after having skimmed it so that you can finish all the questions.

Activities’ List: Only list activities that you are an active member in. Just because you went to one meeting doesn’t mean that you can list it as an activity on your application. Only list the activities that are the most important to you. Try to accurately estimate the amount of time spent in each club. Don’t try to lie about it. The description box can be a valuable place to describe a club that isn’t common or to explain your position in a club. 150 characters can be more than you think, so use them wisely. If you are an underclassmen, you still have plenty of time to find activities that are of interest to you. Join clubs that you enjoy, and work your way up to a leadership position.

After Submission: Don’t forget to send your test scores to colleges. You can do that through the ACT, SAT, or CollegeBoard websites. Make sure you have requested that your transcript be sent to the school. Fill out the form and give it to Ms. Varnon, and she’ll take care of it for you.

Essays:

1) Finding inspiration: It is crucial that your essay accurately reflects who you are. What is your story? Instead of writing what you think the counselors want to hear, write so that the counselors can get a sense of your personality and story. The most-written-about topic for college essays is about mission trips, so try to steer clear of that. Be original.

2) Writing the essay: This is not an English essay, so it can be informal.  Just like in any good story, open with an engaging lead to grab your reader’s attention. Don’t forget about the word count. We personally are firm believers in writing your full story and then cutting it down afterwards.

3) Revising the essay: Get a couple people to read your essay and honestly critique it. A number of people would probably be willing: a guardian, a friend, a teacher, or the College Guidance team. Make the changes thoughtfully, and continue editing until you are satisfied with the finalized essay.

Interviews: If a school offers interviews and you are able to visit campus, we recommend that you do it. Before your interview, schedule a “practice interview” with Mr. Gibson and Ms. Hardy. They will ask questions that are likely to be harder than your actual interview questions, so if you can ace their interview, you can ace anything. On the day of, dress to impress, and be on time! First impressions count, especially in a one-time interview. That also includes introducing yourself and shaking your interviewer’s hand when you first meet them. Try not to say “um” and “like” a million times. It’s okay to pause to think about a question, but try not to use so many filler words.

Financial Aid: Financial aid procedures will vary from college to college. But, the FAFSA is pretty universal, so fill that out as soon as it is available. Get help from your parents in attaining the information needed to fill out the form.

Looking and Applying for Scholarships: There are generally two kinds of scholarships: school-sponsored scholarships, and corporate-sponsored scholarships. School-sponsored scholarships you can find information about through the school’s website and are relatively straight-forward. Corporate-sponsored scholarships are another story. Fastweb.com and cappex.com are both great tools for finding scholarships that you might qualify for. There are a lot of them – pages and pages – so try to look into as many as you can. Mr. Gibson and Ms. Hardy also can recommend certain national scholarships, so ask them for a list of ones you should look into. It never hurts to apply for a scholarship. Even if your receiving it seems really far-fetched, apply anyway. Someone has to receive it, right? Might as well be you. Scholarship applications are a lot like college applications. It’s not smart to try to do it all in one night, so plan accordingly. Get Mr. Gibson or Ms. Hardy to check it when you’re done.

Deciding on a College: This is probably the hardest part of the entire college process, and we can’t help you make that decision. But, we can tell you that you’ll end up where you’re supposed to. Trust your gut.