Three More College Application Steps
In my last post I gave three concrete steps to take when “eating the elephant” one bite at a time, making the college applications process more manageable. Let’s explore the next three “bites.”
Bite #4: Make Your College List into a Spreadsheet- Start a spreadsheet (I recommend Google Sheets) and start adding your working list of colleges you plan on applying to. You will want to format your spreadsheet with column titles like College Name, Acceptance Rate, and Application Deadline. The Red Rover spreadsheet I use with clients has 19 columns, and students sometimes add or delete categories based on personal preference.
Bite #5: Fill out the Profile and Family sections of the Common App- The Common Application can be a lot to take on. Even the Common App should be taken on one bite at a time, or else you run the risk of careless errors due to the monotony and fatigue of filling out all of the fields. Sit down with your parents to work on the Family section, which asks for parental educational background in detail. Write these details down in your notebook from Bite #2, you will likely be asked this info again and again.
Bite #6: Add Colleges to the My Colleges Section of the Common App- This bite doesn’t require much instruction. If you completed Bite #4, you’ll have no problem easily adding colleges to your Common App. After you add, double-check your application deadlines from your spreadsheet to ensure you have the correct ones.
I’ve given you the first six bites, which you can certainly do on your own, but questions are bound to pop up as you go: questions like, “How many colleges should I add to my list in Bites #4 and #6?” and “I only have four columns on my college spreadsheet, how could there possibly be nineteen and what am I missing?” College prep with me doesn’t have to be a year-long commitment. I’m available for one-off sessions to get you started or address your inquiries that come up as you plan. That’s what that notebook in Bite #2 is for! Don’t hesitate to email me to find out more: melissa@redrovercollegeprep.com.
