November 1st is one of the first college deadlines, typically for early action and early decision, though many colleges have deadlines later. While there are still many options if you don’t submit now, here are some tips if you are.
#1-What should people do to improve their application before Nov 1.?
“They should have someone read over their essay, preferably Mrs. Rusk, me, or someone from the Literacy Center or an English teacher. They should make sure that everything looks accurate in their common app and that they have filled in everything that needs to be filled in and that they requested their transcripts and that they requested their letters of recommendation and Naviance so that their teachers can upload their letters,” said Amy Bogseth, CCRC assistant.
“Visit the CCRC for personal essay tips, sometimes having a second pair of eyes look over your essay can get rid of unnecessary details or fix grammatical errors. For school specific details find weirdly specific details about the college (ex. For my application to Carleton, which is the school I currently attend I wrote about Project Friendship – a program which pairs school age kids with a college mentor). The weirder/more niche and the more references/personal details the better!” stated Ava Mcquain, a 2023 MHS Graduate who currently attends Carleton College and is a recipient of a Questbridge scholarship.
“So to improve their application really starts freshman year. So if you’re looking to have the best application possible, it begins as soon as you’re setting foot in the building, focusing on classes, getting involved, keeping your grades up, making good use of your free time, those are things that lead to an application that you’re going to be proud of,” said Andrea Rusk, college counselor.
#2-What should people be double checking in their application?
“[Double check] literally everything even things like spelling the names of the clubs correctly in your activities list which might seem really small but there’s nothing that should be reviewed you have in the common app an option to review your PDF you hit review and submit and it pulls up a PDF of everything you’re about to submit go through that with fight to pump really make sure that everything’s there that you want to be there you can even print it out if you want to just make sure it says everything that you want it to before you actually press that submit button,” stated Rusk.
“ESSAY. ESSAY. ESSAY. Many people will be applying to the same colleges as you, make yourself stand out by providing insight into your life in your essay. It can be as “boring” as the lessons you learned from drinking tea with your grandfather to as wild as how you overcame your fear of heights by going on the biggest rollercoaster in the USA. As long as your essay is well written and answers the prompt, you’ll definitely make an impression if it is very unique to yourself,” said McQuain.
#3-What should people with later deadlines (e.g. January or Rolling) start doing?
“They should start their application now. They shouldn’t wait just because their application is due later. They’ll feel much better if they start it now because everything takes time, like writing an essay and requesting letters of recommendation, just because the deadlines later doesn’t mean they can’t submit now,” stated Bogseth.
#4-What should you do right before you turn in your application?
“Make sure you aren’t missing any important details about your life. Take care of a sibling or grandparent? That can be put down in you extracurricular activities. Had a unique situation come up that may have harmed your school work? Add that to your additional information,” said McQuain.
#5-What should you do right after you turn in your application?
“After students submit applications now, they will frequently within about 24 hours get an email that provides a link to a portal. The answer portal for the school. Some of these colleges will have additional steps required. So really paying attention to those emails, logging into those portals and seeing what additional documentation is required in any,” stated Rusk.
#6-How should you keep your mental health up this final month?
McQuain said, “You’ve got this! College application season is a scary and stressful time (can’t sugarcoat it if I tried) but it will definitely be rewarding if you put the effort in. If you ever need help with your applications, recent MHS grads are happy to help. If you have questions about applying to reach schools, what liberal arts colleges are like, and going to school as a low-income student, feel free to shoot me an email at [email protected].”
