Open Discussion - 2

Hey guys. It's now December, and college apps are due in about a month!! Unfortunately, I have to start studying for my final exams and won't have that much time to write new blog posts.

However, I'll always respond to any questions you have, and I might create blog posts about any good questions and answers. That said, here is Open Discussion 2.

Post a comment on anything - any questions on deadlines, advice, the application process, anything! You can post your stats (SATs, GPA, activities, schools interested in) and we'll tell you (honestly) what we think your chances are of getting in to the colleges you want, and what direction you should take to improve. Everything is anonymous, so please ask all questions on your mind! Remember, we were in high school not too long ago.

Link to Open Discussion - 1

Q & A - Choosing Colleges to Apply To

Question:
Can the colleges you apply to see which other colleges you are also applying to or is that confidential? I know there is some rivalry among the IV leagues and some of them express that "level of interest" is one of their criteria. Can applying to rival schools cause conflicts? Is it better to apply to all the schools you are considering to increase chances of admission or to pick only top choices in order to show that you are serious and committed to those institutions?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My answer:
This is a great question. I'm not certain whether or not colleges can see where else you're applying, and I'm sure that they probably do have methods to tell, but this should not in any way deter you from applying to schools. You should apply to every college you want, even if you don't think you will accept them or they will admit you. You want to have a good breadth of schools when choosing who you will accept. Applying to rival schools will not cause conflicts, and only applying to your top schools will in fact be detrimental in the long run.

When Ivy Leagues say they want you to express a "level of interest," they want you to visit their school, have a clear definition in your mind of what you like about it, and be able to articulate your interest. Almost every school has that essay "what do you like about our school." This is the best way to express your level of interest, not by omitting other colleges.

Back to The College Guide - Admissions Advice

Winning Scholarships

**Before reading this blog, I suggest you check out the previous posts on this topic:
Scholarships Equal Free Money
Finding Scholarships

So now that you know to which scholarships to apply, here's my final installment on how to make the application process stress-free and rewarding.

A typical scholarship application consists of the following: a logistics section (name, address, school, etc.), an activities/volunteer section, and an essays section. Of course, every scholarship will differ on application requirements.

Tip 1: If you've already done some college applications, then the activities section should be simple. Be sure to make special mention to activities that are relevant to the scholarship. For example, if the scholarship awards students based on the community service activities, then embellish your volunteer work rather than discuss debate club.

Tip 2: Recycle your essays. Scholarship committees (the people judging your application) won't know that you submitted a similar essay to them, other scholarships, or colleges. The essay topics more often than not are similar (see Essays - Choosing a Topic). Additionally, these essays will be your most polished ones, because you're constantly revising and reusing them. I used a version of my common app essay for four different scholarships that I won! This technique greatly reduces the amount of time needed to apply.

An important caveat: An essay topic you SHOULD NOT reuse, however, is the typical "Why do you deserve this scholarship?" question. Make these as personalized to the organization as possible. State character traits and cite experiences that would appeal to the committee.

Tip 3: Cater to the scholarship committee. Remember, these are real people reading your application. They LOVE to see students with an abundance of volunteer hours and substantial community service. In your essays, be sure to sound human. The people in these committees were not English majors at Harvard. Use natural language, but sound articulate; showcase your accomplishments, but remain modest.

Tip 4: The success to winning scholarships is volume. Apply to each and every scholarship you can, even if you're not fully qualified. Committee's don't get as many applications as one would think, and generally the more you apply to the better chance you have winning.

Tip 5: IMPORTANT: You don't have to have a 4.0 GPA, be the valedictorian of your class, or a nationally ranked athlete to win (although it doesn't hurt). You should however, have active participation in extracurricular activities and community service. Some scholarships, especially those in the community, love to see all students take initiative in their future.

Good luck in your applications! ~Sohan

Finding Scholarships

So now that you're convinced that you should apply for scholarships, how do you find them? There are boundless opportunities everywhere, but to which ones should you apply?

The first place to look is in your school. Visit your guidance department / counselor and just ask what scholarships are available. Usually, there are many organizations or memorials in your community that are willing support students' educations. These are the best kinds of scholarships to which to apply because you're competing against a limited applicant pool (just the people in your community). The scholarships you have the best at are the following (in order from highest chance to least, by the scope of applicants):
School > Town/District > County > State > Internet > National

This is all pretty intuitive. If you apply to a scholarship that is only given out to students in your school, you have a significantly greater chance than one that's applicable to students in your state. I wouldn't recommend internet scholarships, like "brickfish.com" and the likes. They generally have one of the biggest applicant pools, and often are not determined by merit. Some internet sites, like "fastweb.com" have potential, because they have scholarships for specific categories.

Make sure to apply to all such "niche" scholarships. For example, if your grandmother is Italian, then you should definitely apply to an "Italian-American" scholarship. Furthermore, apply to scholarships that reflect your activities. For example, there are scholarships for kids who played peewee football or were golf caddies. If you are exceptional at a sport, find a scholarship for it and apply. There are so many scholarships out there; you are most certain to fit the criteria of many.

My final advice is: apply to all of them. Even if you feel you don't fit the "niche" or activity, apply anyways. Even if your GPA doesn't make the cut, but you think that your extracurriculars make up for it, apply anyways. Even if you think your family's need for financial aid is less, apply anyways. Heck, I didn't apply to the "Woman's Club Scholarship" of a senior citizen residential area, because I'm a guy, and the "Male's Club Scholarship" application was for males only. I ended up winning the Male's Club scholarship, but a friend of mine (who is a guy) won them both! It never hurts to apply.

Remember, these applications are handled by ordinary people like you and I. They committees that distribute money are not in any sense like CollegeBoard or Harvard University. They are people who want to help kids in their community.

Also, one of the most important thing to understand is that your peers are lazy. They think they don't have time for scholarships among their plethora of extracurricular activities, college applications, school work, and sports. What they don't realize is how simple scholarships are. In the next blog, I'll tell you how to make the process easy, fast, and profitable.

See also:
Scholarships Equal Free Money
Winning Scholarships

Scholarships Equal Free Money

It's everyone's dream to make money by doing as little work as possible. In the real world there is no feasible (legal) manner in which to accomplish this. Applying to scholarships, however, is pretty darn close.

I can't promise that you'll be able to pay for a full years' tuition by filling out a few forms. I can say, though, that you have a legitimate chance at earning enough for books, the meal plan, or housing. Any amount of money you win from scholarships is obviously better than none.

So while you undergo the college admissions process, I advise that you concurrently apply to scholarships. You may think that it's an extra burden, but there's a lot of common work between the two. And think about it: if you win one scholarship of $500 by working 3 hours on its application, you've made a sizable amount of money per hour. In short, there is no reason to not apply to scholarships. The potential payoff is boundless, and they're not really that much extra effort. Check out the next blog to find out which ones you should apply to and tips on how to win.

See also:
Finding Scholarships
Winning Scholarships

Essays - Choosing a Topic

Quite possibly the most important part in writing a college essay is picking the topic. When applying, you will compose a plethora of essays on only on a handful of topics. I used a modified version of my Common Application essay for most of my other application and scholarships essays, because I spent the most time editing my common app essay.

When picking what you will write about, make sure your essay is relevant to the prompt. While this guideline seems like common sense, we have an innate and detrimental tendency to stray off topic. Therefore, it's a good idea to pre-write and outline your essay, just as you would for any other writing assignment.

The best advice I have is this: make sure your topic is unique and personal, not cliche or trite. This is naturally the hardest part about selecting a topic. Let's see an example. The archetypal essay topic (which I'm sure you've all encountered) is: "Evaluate a significant experience . . . " To brainstorm, write down critical experiences in your life, such as milestones, turns of events, or just strange happenings. You don't have to attach any personal significance to them yet. Next, try to write down more specific, if less significant, experiences. This could include the first time you played an instrument, a personal victory, etc. Next, include anyone who has influenced on your life, and try to associate an event with them, such as an important conversation. Now that you have an array of topics, select a few that do not seem commonplace, but rather unique. For example, eliminate the family vacation, the band camp trip, etc.

In your revised collection of topics, associate a value or characteristic, such as maturity, independence, clarity, etc. that you gained from the experience. This is a pivotal part in choosing your topic. Every applicant will undoubtedly have some sort of interesting experience; what sets your essay apart from others is what you've personally gained from the experience. In short, do not merely sum up how this event influenced other events that happened in your life, but rather clarify how it has helped you grow as an individual.

However, you may feel that none of these events have impacted you in some profound, barely effable way. You need to really analyze the event and construe a personal significance, even if it not apparent at first. In another blog, we will go into writing and editing your essays.

Back to The College Guide - Admissions Advice

"Why So Serious?" When you should start preparing

This one goes out to all the underclassmen. Are all your friends already preparing for college? Do you feel lost in the whole process? When should you start?

Again, I speak from experience when I say this: start extracurricular activities from freshman year. In a later blog, we'll explain which activities you should get involved in, and how much you should participate in them. However, remember that it's never too late to get involved. See the "extracurricular activities" blog for more information.

As far as visiting schools is concerned, I did not start until the summer going into senior year, and even then I only visited about four of the ten to which I applied. This, however, was a big mistake . I advise that you visit schools from the middle of your junior year. Colleges like that you express a genuine interest in them. When you do visit the schools, always take a guided tour, and make sure they get your name. They usually have some sort of sign up sheet for the tours in which you provide your information (name, address, etc). You want a place on their records; this is one way to differentiate yourself from the application pool. There's almost always a place on the application, be it an essay or short answer, where you say what about the school appeals to you, and visiting will definitely help. As a bonus, they sometimes give application-fee waivers for visiting. Visit your reach and match schools.

Make sure you ask for letters of recommendation from teachers before senior year (such as the end of junior year AT LATEST). Teachers have a myriad of these to write, and you want yours to be given extra time; a full summer is copious. You should start the actual applications at the end of the summer / beginning of your senior year. This will give you ample time for early decision / action and essay writing. More about that later.

Timeline Recap:
Extracurriculars: All throughout high school; never too late to start
Visiting schools: middle of junior year; the prime time is your spring break when schools are in session
Recommendation Letters: By the end of junior year
Applying: Beginning of senior year

We'll go in depth in later blogs on all these subjects. Also, feel free to send questions by commenting on this blog, the Open Discussion blog, or by email.

About This Blog...

So why will my friends and I devote so much time to writing these posts? What will you gain from them?

We want you to know as much as possible when applying to college. This is a pivotal point in your life - you'll be deciding how you're going to spend the next 4+ years of your life! (No pressure, really). So you need to know how to optimize your essays, embellish your resume, and apply to schools intelligently. Applying to college is basically one big advertisement of you. Colleges want to see what you can offer them; you have to sell your noteworthy aspects, and they have to want to buy them. We have the advice to help you.

If you ever are looking for any help on a specific topic, check the Blog Archive on the right hand side of the page. Also, you can post in the open discussion threads we will have weekly.