It's October again, and everyone has delved wholeheartedly into his or her studies. It's time for homecoming, meeting new friends, and, of course, college fairs. In the spirit of upcoming, college recruiters handed you or your teenager endless pamphlets and lines about why their college is "the best." I would like to go over a quick preparation checklist. This checklist is great for students that are preparing to go to college next semester, or next fall. It is also applicable to high school juniors and sophomores. It's never too early to become well-informed on topics such as these. With that in mind, let's proceed.
First of all, make a list of the top three schools that you are interested in attending. Base those choices on what is most important to you: academics, financial consideration, special programs, teachers, prestige, or whatever other reasons you may have. Think carefully about each choice, and make sure you have information on the top three choices so that you can compare all aspects right in front of you. Don't worry about what the recruiter said or didn't say, worry about what information is in front of you at the kitchen table when you sift your way through the endless piles of pamphlets, pins, stickers, and application forms.
Second, if you receive a catalog, course information, applications and so on at a college fair, record the date you received it (it's a good idea to get updated information for each academic year, especially if you are starting to look as a sophomore or junior). If you ordered the information directly from a school, record that date of order also. It will give you a good idea of a school's promptness to say the least. It will also give you a good idea of when to order next year's information if that applies to you. Keep all of this well-organized, as you will look at it often when considering your choice. Keep all of the papers with the catalog (I suggest a paper clip, holding all of the papers, and tucking all of it inside the catalog with yet another paper clip).
Next, as you sift through this entire mound of work, determine admission deadlines and check those against the financial aid admission deadlines for each school. Financial aid is different between schools and may not run during the same times one would see Federal or state programs running, and it's good to use everything that you can. The admission deadlines usually give you a good idea of how and when to turn in financial aid forms also.
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