This week

Applying to College

• Feature — Applying to college: The basics
• Your turn — Get your facts together
• Stay on track — A checklist of "to-dos"
• Take notice — Important dates
• All about AIEmail — Subscribe, suggest, review

Feature

Applying to college: The basics

All college applications request the same types of basic information. Here is a quick rundown of what you may be expected to provide as you begin applying.

About you
Applications require basic information about you, including: your Social Security Number, mailing address, telephone numbers, and other contact information.

About your family
Relevant information about your family may include your parents' names, mailing addresses, names and number of siblings, and other identifying information.

Often, an application may also ask whether anyone else in your family currently attends or has previously attended the school.

Educational background
Information about your background includes the schools you attended with attendance years, graduation programs, number of classes taken, and other similar information.

Test scores
Schools will likely ask for your scores on the ACT, SAT, or other college entrance, placement, or related academic tests. As you take these tests, you may want to indicate that your scores be sent to your preferred schools so that they have an official record.

Academic experience
Other academic experience may be requested, including:

• Leadership positions,
• Organizations and clubs,
• Athletics and academic awards, and
• Other information.

Essay
Many schools request an essay from applicants. Essays are requested for two reasons — they provide insight into your background and experiences, and they demonstrate your ability to write.

Recommendations
Some schools ask that you submit recommendations, either along with your own application or mailed separately by the person who is recommending you to the school. As you approach your senior year, think about teachers, coaches, family friends, religious leaders, or others in your community that you may want to ask to write a recommendation for you.

Transcripts
Transcripts are a record of your performance in high school. Although some of the information provided can vary, most transcripts offer basic lists of courses taken, grades received, honors and awards given to you through your school career, and other supporting information.

For a handy checklist to help you with preparing your application, read through AIE's College Admissions Checklist (www.aie.org/HighSchool/Applying/collegeadmissions.cfm#checklist).

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Your turn

Get your facts together

• Using information available on Web sites like Adventures In Education (www.AIE.org), start a file that will help you prepare your college applications.
• Prepare a reference sheet that includes most of the basic information you will need repeatedly (names, addresses, telephone numbers, etc.), and once you have checked it for accuracy, use it as a tool to prepare applications.
• Use basic folders or an accordion file to sort and organize applications as they come in.
• Share your folder with your parents, so that they know how to find your information, offer other suggestions that may be helpful, or check on your progress.

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Stay on track

Checklist for this week

For freshmen

• Focus on performing well in the classroom. High school grades are important for your future plans.
• Maintain good grades. Colleges, athletic recruiters, scholarship groups, and future employers will all want to see how well you did in high school. Your grades will also play an important role in college and scholarship applications.
• Start off strong. Do your best work from the very beginning. Your courses throughout high school usually become more difficult with time, so work to your full potential this year.
• Get help from your teachers. Teachers can provide good advice and assist with morning or afternoon tutoring.
• Get peer assistance. Most high school organizations provide tutoring sessions. Peer tutors know your teachers and can offer good insight into the courses.
• Visit your counselor. Counselors frequently keep lists of tutors who can meet with you at school or in your home.
• Get your parents involved. They can help out by quizzing you on vocabulary words and proofing English papers.

For sophomores

• Get together with other students to form a study group. Meet in groups of four to six regularly to review notes and study materials. Study groups often meet before school, during lunch, after school, or at someone's home.
• Make flash cards. Flash cards are a great way to memorize those pesky vocabulary words, formulas, or questions that you may know — but seem to have trouble remembering. Writing the card is also a helpful way to review the information.
• Choose study methods that work for you and have positive results.

For juniors

• Work hard to make your grades the very best you can make them. Colleges look more closely at the grades you make your junior year than in previous years.
• Choose activities that you enjoy and match your interests. Activities can range from school clubs and community service assistance to working at a business establishment.
• Check out the opportunities available at your school and in your community.

For seniors

Pay attention for announcements about college representatives visiting your school. Colleges hire admissions counselors to represent their college. There are a few important things to know about the visits:

• Many times representatives are young, recent graduates of the college who have first-hand experience. They are great resources to answer your questions!
• Meet the representatives when they visit your school. Demonstrate your interest in their college at every available opportunity, and make sure they know your name.
• The college representatives who visit your school are usually assigned to your campus. They work hard to become familiar with your school — including courses offered, community characteristics, and your school's competitiveness.
• These representatives work as "guardian angels" for students. They enjoy interacting with students, and they are happy to answer any questions you may have. They want to build a working relationship with you.
• Many times, the representative who comes to your campus will be the person reading your application later in the year. Meeting you at your school will help them match your application to you.
• Take down the college representative's name, phone number, and e-mail address — or get a business card. Call with questions. If you visit the college later on, stop by the admissions office to see them and ask more questions.
• Ask the representative about special days the college may have set aside for senior visits. These are great days to plan a visit to the college.
• Listen to announcements and watch for postings of colleges making presentations at area churches or hotels. Colleges do this when they do not have enough resources to send a representative to every school in your area. Also, these presentations offer your parents an opportunity to participate and gather valuable information.
• If you normally don't hear your school's daily announcements, ask your school counselor where they post information on college representative visits. Many counselors also distribute senior newsletters full of valuable information. Read them!

For parents

Get to know how your child's high school grading system operates. The school's system of grade reporting plays a role in your teenager's future goals and plans. Your high school counselor or school registrar can answer the following questions for you:

How does the high school determine grade point average?
Most school districts have a written policy regarding the formula used to calculate the grade point average. Things to consider:

• Does the school have a weighted or unweighted grade point average (GPA)? — In other words, do some courses, such as honors, Pre-Advanced Placement, or Advanced Placement (AP) receive more grade point weight than others?
• Is the GPA on a graduated or non-graduated scale?
• And, lastly, on what scale is the GPA — 4.0 scale or some other scale?

These are important items for you to understand about the school's grade point average. This information may also be in the student handbook issued by your school.

How does the school determine the rank-in-class?
Again, the school district usually has a written policy regarding this question. It is important that both you and your child understand how that rank is determined, and how often it is recalculated.

What information is placed on a student's transcript?
Again, a school district may have a written policy regarding the student transcript. A transcript is a permanent record of your child's grades. Usually, for a course taken, a transcript reports only semester averages and credits earned. The transcript also reports other information, and most will show a record of tests taken. Check with your counselor or registrar to fully understand what the transcript will indicate.

Once you know the answers to these questions, check to be sure that your teenager also understands how grading and ranking are determined.

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Take notice

Important dates

To get more information on the SAT or SAT Subject Tests, access useful tools, or register, visit the College Board's Web site (www.collegeboard.com) or call (866) 756-7346.

To get more information on the ACT, access useful tools, or register, visit the ACT Web site (www.act.org) or call (319) 337-1270.

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