~*Calling Class of 2012 & College Applicants!*~

Edited by Sweetu.Baby - 12 years ago

 

It is important that the college you choose is what matches your needs. You aren't going for your parents. It will be YOU that will be communting(Travelling to college and back home on a daily basis) or dorming(Staying at college). Therefore, you must be comfortable with everything around. Here is what you should consider in choosing a college right for you:

- Is the college a good location? Not too far from home? If so, is there enough stores, etc for you you outside of campus?

- What about the size? Is the student facility a size that fits you? Is it too much or too little?

- Do a little research. Are the professors helpful out of class? Or do they only care during class and ignore you otherwise?

- This is probably a big one - Does it have the program YOU want? Does it provide the degree you need? (B.A., B.S., etc)

- Any interesting dual degree program that might help you save money(A Dual Degree program provides you two degrees in shorter time. For example, a school I am applying to offers me a chance to get my BA and MA in just 5 years)

- Can you afford it? Being able to pay for college is a very big deal!

- Does it have the food you need? Espically if your dorming! I mean, of course the daily meal of roti and shaak will be missed 😃

- Here is a website where students review the school, and talk about how good everything is: http://www.studentsreview.com/

I'm sure the applications are the most annoying things ever. I mean, they ask you for your life information 🥱 But, there is nothing you can do about it. Lets talk about this dreadful process 😊

- LOOK OVER EVERYTHING. I REALLY MEAN EVERYTHING. One little mistake and POOF your in trouble. Misspell your name by a letter, or type the wrong zip code by a number, your application gets held back and then you can have fin clearing out that big mess. Not a good impression on the admission office right?

- Let me first talk about the Common App. The common app is an application, that over 400 colleges is members with. This application allows you to add the school that are members, fill out one application, upload one essay, and send to all the colleges you picked. Only payments and supplements are done individually, within the Application. This makes it easier. If 6 of the schools your applying to accept the Commonapp, then all you do is fill out one and send it to all six school!

- Check deadlines! When you must send everything in by is very important!

- Applying online? WRITE. DOWN. YOUR. USERNAME. AND. PASSWORD. WRITE!! IT!! DOWN!! Enough Said!

- Sending in SAT and ACT scores? Do note down it costs 10 dollars, and takes about a week.

- Remember Early Decision and Early Action:

The school you choose as an early decision will notify you if your accepted or not. If you are, all other applications get cancelled, and you are REQUIRED to attend that school. Early Action just means your basically sending in stuff early. Early Action can be applied to more than 1 school, and attending isn't mandatory. 

- DON'T LIE. Stating you get an income of $100 won't mean you will get money. They know the truth. THEY KNOW

- Research Scholarships on the school website, as they might be asked if you want to be considered for them.

- The Common App Website is: http://www.commonapp.org

- Its okay if you screwed up on your SATs. Colleges look at other things, like grades, community service, etc.

- Apply for financial aid. Almost at least 80% will receive money from the gov't for college

- Don't be stupid, and apply to one college.

- Apply to the jokey schools just in case. If you got a 2100 on your SAT, and a college takes student that get at least a 1550, apply there, just in case.

- Visit the colleges your applying to. Trust me, it helps a lot deciding whether or not you REALLY wanna go there!

Edited by Sweetu.Baby - 12 years ago

Edited by Sweetu.Baby - 12 years ago

Great topic! Edited by -Shankar- - 12 years ago

Haha Sweetu nice post. I'm posting here, but I'm not a senior in high school. I'm more of a junior in college! 😆 So I've already been through it all. But I thought I'd put in a few words for rising freshman in college. :)

The application process may seem intriguing at first. But it really isn't as bad as most people think it is. You just need to set aside an hour or two for each college you decide to apply to and go through the, in most cases, ONLINE application forms.

I know there is a lot of parent pressure when it comes to going to college. Most desi parents prefer their kids to stay close to home. Let's just say that the choice should be yours & only YOURS. Of course your parents are there to guide you, but you should be happy with the college you decide to go to! You parents can't chose for you (although mine have and trust me it ain't fun). Also its HIGHLY recommended to NOT go to a college close to home. And I'm only talking from personal experience. If you want independence and just want to get out there and do something of your own, go to college away from home. Because it becomes hard to do this by yourself when you go to college from home. Also another good idea is if you're having financial issues start out with community college and then work your way to a 4 year college. The college that matters is the college you graduate from, not the college you attended the first two years! But you chose chose your college based on your intended major as most colleges have their specialty. Like for example in Virginia, Virginia Tech is known for engineering, George Mason is known for Business, Virginia Commonwealth University is known for science (pharmacy, medicine, dentistry, etc track) & arts majors, University of Virginia is known for medical. Of course that doesn't mean those colleges only offer those programs. Just means they are the BEST programs at the college. So chose a college that BEST matches your needs.

The most important thing is to KNOW about the college/university you chose. Don't just go there because your friends do. Do a lot of research on what you'll find there not only education wise, but also the social life there.

If any on you have any questions about college feel free to ask, and I'll gladly help. Good luck to all of you rising seniors or rising freshman in college. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful 4 years in college. All the best. :)


Edited by Cutiepie Rani - 12 years ago

Nice posttt 😃 ,  I have a college interview this friday :/ LOL, Goodluck everyone starting college or applying to college 😃

haha.. well I am gonna be college bound in 2012 hopefully... but to graduate school! 

Originally posted by: Sweetu.Baby

2.) My mom wants me to go to ___ college, but I want to attend another college. What can I do?

- Your not alove my dear friend. Me, including others go through this. Try explaining to your mom its your education. If they can't afford it then tell them your guaranteed to get financial aid and scholarships - which you are! It's important to understand that your education must fit your needs!

Yes, this is big problem desi students face. One thing to keep in mind is that a lot of desi parents go by reputation, name and prestige. Many are unaware of other factors like major, campus and class size and other factors that determine what college is good.

 

I have a friend who got admission in Harvard Law School, but decided to go to Lois & Clark in Portland instead. Would be a shocking decision to many, after all Harvard law is the penultimate for most people. The thing is that my friend wanted to do Environmental Law. The thing is Lois & Clark is one of the top for Environmental law, and while Harvard is a top law school their Environmental law program is not the best.

 

Do your research and find your facts. Parents want the best, but often may not know. Just show them why your college choice is better than theirs. Show them why a college is better for your major than a top college. Show them that a smaller college has better employment rates, more top professors or research than bigger universities. Show them why some colleges maybe a much better value for money than some expensive big name college. Show them why chances of getting aid, grants, work-study is better at one college over another. Try to get them to do campus visits to see the facilities and meet with staff and judge for themselves.

 

College is a huge decision and a lot of people tend to get emotional and argue. Just be calm, collect your facts and present it. Most of the time if you show maturity, that you know what you are doing and see the data – they will be more likely to allow kids to go to any college of their choice.

 

Of course though, whats the fun of being in a desi family without some college bound arguments and drama.

Originally posted by: Cutiepie Rani

Like for example in Virginia, Virginia Tech is known for engineering, George Mason is known for Business, Virginia Commonwealth University is known for science (pharmacy, medicine, dentistry, etc track) & arts majors, University of Virginia is known for medical. Of course that doesn't mean those colleges only offer those programs. Just means they are the BEST programs at the college. So chose a college that BEST matches your needs.

Edited by -sourire- - 12 years ago

Thank you for this post 🤗. I am sure this will greatly help all students who are college-bound.