College Advisor

 

While it is still early into the school year, it is time for high school seniors to take their guidance counselors’ advice and prepare for applying to college:

Apply early your senior year. The pool of applicants is smaller. It increases the likelihood of acceptance.

 

Hannah Wyman asked Pittsburgh-area guidance counselors for their best advice for college-bound teenagers. Preparation begins early (a point the College Advisor made in 2016):

Q: When should high school students start thinking of college?

As early as their freshman year. My advice is: Get to know your school counselor. They are a wonderful resource. Course selection — i.e., college prep courses, AP classes — volunteer work, extracurricular activities, etc. are all extremely important.

Q: How should high school students make their application stand out?

I strongly advise students to take college prep and AP courses throughout their high school career. Volunteer work is also important. Colleges and universities like to see students participating in extracurricular activities outside the normal school day. Also, students should choose the teacher(s) that will write a glowing recommendation and that know the student best.

 

Another counselor adds:

Colleges sometimes indicate that certain parts of the application, like an essay or submitting a résumé, are optional. However, students should take every opportunity they can to provide positive data points and create a positive mental picture of themselves to the admission committee. It’s easy for admission committees to turn down a brief collection of numbers (GPA, SAT, etc.) — but it is more challenging for them to turn down a person once they read about their thoughts, dreams and accomplishments.

 

Speaking of optional, what about taking standardized exams?

Q: Should students still take the SAT even though more colleges are test-optional?

Students should absolutely take the SAT or ACT, as many scholarships are still connected with the scores. Also, a good SAT may be needed to get into certain programs at the university, as some SAT-optional admissions are limited to certain majors. And if your score isn’t what you wanted it to be, then you at least know more about your testing skills, and College Board provides a personal study guide to improvement.

 

Read more helpful college advice from high school counselors here and from The PediaBlog’s College Advisor here.

 

(Google Images)

 

source http://www.thepediablog.com/2022/10/13/college-advisor/