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In every high school, junior year is a pivotal year in terms of academics and preparation for college. Even though students don’t apply to college in junior year, preparing for college—which includes figuring out where you want to apply, the supplement essays required for your schools and which common essay prompt you will to write about—is a necessity. Understanding all these components of the “college process” allows students to jump straight into their applications, as opposed to only beginning to understand the college process during their senior year. As a senior myself and someone who had a very clear idea of where I wanted to attend college, I understand the importance of knowing all this information and what allowed me to focus on school work instead of stressing over my college applications last minute.
‘The Common Application’ is the portal which most schools receive the student applications from. Typically, schools in the US always use the common app as opposed to different portals such as ‘The Coalition’ or the schools website. One of the most important component of this portal is the fact that it requires a prompt to be chosen and an essay to be submitted. Most colleges require this essay, which is called the personal statement. In many cases, you find students rushing to complete the essay and their application or even writing about something completely irrelevant; however, these are the type of things that should not be done. The common application essay is a place for the colleges to see who you are and get a miniscule glimpse into your life. Although not all the essay prompts are related to academics, some students choose to write about academics as a way to connect with the school they are applying to a little more. As a student who went through this process, one of the greatest challenges I found was sticking to the essay prompt. I tended to have too many ideas in one paragraph, which inevitably made my story less personal. Although the UK doesn’t use the common app, they do have similar portals in which an essay is to be written. Applying to the UK typically has more of an academic focus, where your main essay will be focusing on your academic aspirations. UCAS.com, which is the portal used for UK applications, also mentions that you are to explain “why you are applying” and why you would like to pursue your further education in the first place. Is college something you are being forced to attend, or are you applying for yourself?
One of the other large components of applying to college is supplement essays. Supplement essays are not required in all schools; however they are required heavily in the United States and the UK. It was interesting to hear from Nina Y (a senior), that none of her schools required supplements. When I asked her how she felt about this, she mentioned that she didn’t mind because her personal statement covered most of what she wanted colleges to know already. She also didn’t have time, saying that “[she] spent most of [her] time working on [her] personal statement.” As opposed to telling a story, supplement essays tend to ask what appeals to you about the school you are applying to. Some supplement essay prompts have more of an academic focus such as the programs and majors you are interested in, while some ask where your interest in the school came from. In supplement essays, sounding knowledgeable is very important. Although you want to still tell somewhat of a story, you also want to demonstrate your own knowledge of the school. Whether this be what programs they offer, or their teacher to student ratio. These little bits of information really show your interest to the admissions officer.
Lastly, attending college fairs is the way to do it. It is a very good way to interact with the representatives of the schools and allow them to get to know you on a personal level. It’s not always the most interesting way to spend your time; however, asking questions to the representatives of the school here and there will allow you to begin to understand what you want in a school. Things such as size, location, diversity, programs and extracurriculars are all factors that should be considered when applying to college. A little thing that you may not like about a school could drag you down during your 4 years at college!
The process of applying to college isn’t easy; however, once you get accepted to your dream school, the endless essays and rigor will be worth it. It is important to come up with drafts of what you are writing and stick to what you know and are proud of. For further questions, reach out to the current seniors!
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