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The College Application Process
ADMISSION
BACTERIAL MENINGITIES
Updated Bacterial Meningitis Information
COLLEGE APPLICATION STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS
ApplyTexas (Step By Step Instruction Video)
Common Application (Step By Step Instruction Video )
ApplyTexas-https://goapplytexas.org/
Common Application-https://www.commonapp.org/
Texas Colleges & Universities
TEXAS COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
The Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation has partnered with the Comptroller’s office to provide this list of Texas colleges and universities, so that students can access information about tuition, admission requirements, application deadlines, financial aid data, and scholarships.
https://comptroller.texas.gov/programs/education/msp/schools/
RECOMMENDATION LETTER REQUEST ETIQUETTE
Please remember to:
Print/write neatly!
Give the Counselors/Principals at least one week notice for Recommendation Letters to be composed and ready for pick up.
Complete ALL information on Recommendation Letter Request forms.
Be specific on who the recommendation letter is for (example: name of college, name of scholarship, etc.)
Write down the date letter is needed!
For Counselor Recommendation Letter Request, make sure you have filled out the Teacher Information Sheet and given to two different teachers that know you well. This information is required to write a Counselor's recommendation letter.
THE COLLEGE ESSAY
There are many different websites with good information on writing a great college essay. Links to a few of those sites are listed below, but here are 10 tips for writing your essay that can help:
1. Be Concise - Even though the Common Application main essay has only a suggested minimum of 250 words, and no upper limit, every admissions officer has a big stack to read every day; he or she expects to spend only a couple of minutes on the essay. If you go over 700 words, you are straining their patience, which no one should want to do.
2. Be Honest - Don't embellish your achievements, titles, and offices. It's just fine to be the copy editor of the newspaper or the treasurer of the Green Club, instead of the president. Not everyone has to be the star at everything. You will feel better if you don't strain to inflate yourself.
3. Be an Individual - In writing the essay, ask yourself, "How can I distinguish myself from those thousands of others applying to College X whom I don't know—and even the ones I do know?" It's not in your activities or interests. If you're going straight from high school to college, you're just a teenager, doing teenage things. It is your mind and how it works that are distinctive. How do you think? Sure, that's hard to explain, but that's the key to the whole exercise.
4. Be Coherent - Obviously, you don't want to babble, but I mean write about just one subject at a time. Don't try to cover everything in an essay. Doing so can make you sound busy, but at the same time, scattered and superficial. The whole application is a series of snapshots of what you do. It is inevitably incomplete. The colleges expect this. Go along with them.
5. Be Accurate - Don't just use spell check (that goes without saying). Attend to the other mechanics of good writing, including conventional punctuation in the use of commas, semi-colons, etc. If you are writing about Dickens, don't say he wrote Wuthering Heights. If you write about Nietzsche, spell his name right.
6. Be Vivid - A good essay is often compared to a story: In many cases it's an anecdote of an important moment. Provide some details to help the reader see the setting. Use the names (or invent them) for the other people in the story, including your brother, teacher, or coach. This makes it all more human and humane. It also shows the reader that you are thinking about his or her appreciation of your writing, which is something you'll surely want to do.
7. Be Likable - Colleges see themselves as communities, where people have to get along with others, in dorms, classes, etc. Are you someone they would like to have dinner with, hang out with, have in a discussion section? Think, "How can I communicate this without just standing up and saying it, which is corny." Subtlety is good.
8. Be Cautious in Your Use of Humor - You never know how someone you don't know is going to respond to you, especially if you offer something humorous. Humor is always in the eye of the beholder. Be funny only if you think you have to. Then think again.
9. Be Controversial (if you can) - So many kids write bland essays that don't take a stand on anything. It is fine to write about politics, religion, something serious, as long as you are balanced and thoughtful. Don't pretend you have the final truth. And don't just get up on your soapbox and spout off on a sensitive subject; instead, give reasons and arguments for your view and consider other perspectives (if appropriate). Colleges are places for the discussion of ideas, and admissions officers look for diversity of mind.
10. Be Smart - Colleges are intellectual places, a fact they almost always keep a secret when they talk about their dorms, climbing walls, and how many sports you can play. It is helpful to show your intellectual vitality. What turns your mind on? This is not the same thing as declaring an intended major; what matters is why that subject interests you.
College Essays - Get Tips for Writing an Effective Application Essay - Big Future from College Board, The College Essay - Princeton Review,
The College Entrance Essay: Tips from Admissions Officers at Leading Schools - Huffington Post
College Application Essay Review
WHAT ABOUT ADMISSIONS INTERVIEWS?
The key is to be prepared.
An interview may be required by highly competitive schools. This interview may cover information not found in your application-and it is the chance for students to ask recruiters information regarding their college. View these tips below.
College Interview Tips
Be on time for your appointment. Arrive 5-10 minutes ahead of your scheduled interview. "I got lost," is NO excuse.
Even if you are told to dress casual, wear dress pants and a shirt with a collar. Remember, no jeans, t-shirts, skimpy tops or sweatshirts.
Be well prepared. Research the college prior to your interview. Be prepared to ask questions based on what you read.
Be positive. Answer questions to the best of your knowledge and ability. Do not be afraid to admit you do not know something.
Be ready to talk about yourself. Know your test scores and latest grades. Offer information on what courses you selected, your participation in extracurricular activities, your goals, your interests, and your career objectives. Avoid one-word responses.
Bring your resume
Do not stretch the truth. It is always good to be honest about the things you do.
Be relaxed. Interviews are meant to be informative for both parties.
Turn off the cell phone. (Not just on vibrate, or leave it in the car)
“20 Questions” from Dr. Katherine Cohen, “The Today Show”
Why do you want to go to college?
Why do you want to come to X college? (Be sure to answer this question for each school at which you plan to interview.)
How do you make a difference in your high school community?
What was your most challenging course in high school? Why?
Which authors, books, or articles have had a profound effect on you?
What would you change about your high school if you could? What do you enjoy about it?
How have you changed or grown through high school?
What things do you do well and find most satisfying? What are your strengths and talents?
Which weaknesses would you like to improve?
Are you satisfied with your accomplishments so far?
How do you respond to academic competition and pressure?
How would you describe your family?
What was the biggest obstacle you have faced so far in your life and how did you get through it?
What three adjectives would your best friend use to describe you? Why?
What do you plan to study in college? Why?
What do you like to do for fun?
What do you hope to do with your college education after graduation?
What makes you unique?
In this week’s news, which issue(s) have you been most concerned about?
Do you have any heroes or heroines? Who are they and why do you admire them?
After the Interview
Follow up with a handwritten note thanking the interviewer for his or her time. Mention what you enjoyed about your visit/interview.
TYPES OF ADMISSION DECISIONS
The college admission process has its own language... rolling admission, early decision, early action, and waitlisted. A brief description/definition follows of what each admission decision means.
Early Decision = Binding
This plan allows a student to apply between October and mid-January (generally) for an early determination of admissibility. If accepted, the student is obligated to attend. The student may submit other applications during this period, but only one can be an early decision. If accepted through the early decision program, the student must withdraw all other applications.
Early Action/Notification = Non-binding
These plans invite early application but they are non-binding agreements to attend the college. Please read your college application carefully to understand the guidelines of Early Action programs.
Single-Choice Early Action
Like Early Action, single-choice early action is also not-binding; however, these college and universities preclude you from applying to other schools during the early application process. Notable single-choice early action programs include Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale. Specific terms and conditions may vary between these programs so make sure to read the fin print of each school's application.
Deferred Decision
The college determines that more information is needed to make a final decision. Often the decision is delayed until the sevenths semester grades and/or new test scores are received.
Regular Admission
You submit an application by a specified date and receive a decision within a reasonable and clearly stated period of time. You may apply to other schools without restriction.
Rolling Admission
The college or university will notify the student as soon as the complete application has been processed (usually in four to six weeks). It is to the student's advantage to apply early.
Wait Listed
With high numbers of applications, many colleges now have wait lists. Being "wait listed" is not an offer of admission to a college. If you are waitlisted, it means that you are admissible provided there is room, but do not count on it. The number of students that are waitlisted is up to the individual college and varies from year to year. Some colleges waitlist many students and only admit a few from that list. If wait listed, always make other plans. They are expected to notify you of the resolution of your waitlist status no later than August 1st.
Deferred Admission
This plan permits a student, once accepted, to postpone admission for one year to pursue other plans.