College Advice Column

College advice question & answer

Sydney Trieu

Web Editor

The end of the year is fast approaching, and looking back, the year has flown by.

Soon, this year’s juniors will be knee-deep in the college application process in the fall and moving onto the next chapter of their lives.

There are so many questions about both the college application process and experience that have been circling around conversations.

Here are some answers to common questions regarding both the college application process and the college experience itself. Applying:

How do I apply to college?

First, you have to choose which schools you want to apply to.

Then, you write the essays or short answer prompts that the schools have chosen for this year’s application pool.

These can be found on the school website, the CommonApp or the Coalition App. These essays and short answer prompts are used by colleges to get a better sense of who you are and if you’ll be a good fit for their school.

Then, you submit them before the deadline, which can range from November to January.

After doing that, you wait for a response from the school and after receiving their decision in March or April, you have to accept or decline your admissions offer by May 1. As a side note, turning in your application before the deadline doesn’t matter. It doesn’t affect your admission in any way. Where to start?

As someone who recently applied to college, my first piece of advice is that you should figure out where you want to apply.

Maybe you have a dream school, but I would recommend having three categories of schools: safety, target and reach.

Safety schools are schools that you are most likely going to get into.

Target schools are ones that you can still get into but also have a chance of being wait listed or denied.

Reach schools are ones that you are interested in but are most likely to be rejected from.

After figuring out where you’re applying, I recommend looking at their essay or short answer prompts and thinking about what topics or ideas could work for those topics. How to choose the right college to apply to?

I recommend narrowing down your college choices by figuring out what you are looking for in your college experience.

There are a lot of categories you could focus on. Some of these include the size of the school, what academic subjects they’re known for, the amount of research or internships they offer, extracurricular activities (ie: sports) or location.

The options are endless and there will definitely be a college that fits your criteria. When should I start writing my essays?

Start to plan out what you want to write about in the summer before your senior year.

Most people I know started the process in the fall of senior year, but it’ll be worth it to do it earlier. It sounds early, but trust, this will save you so much stress.

You’ll have more time to edit your essays and come up with ideas. It will make the entire process feel less rushed, and you can feel like you put your best foot forward. Where do I find out information about deadlines?

Most schools will have deadlines for when to submit your application and that information can be found on their websites under undergraduate admissions.

However, there are different options for admissions: regular, early action and early decision.

Early decision is applying before most people and receiving your decision before most people.

However, it’s a binding decision. This means that if you’re accepted to the school, you have to attend that school in the fall; only under special circumstances can you decide not attend.

Early action is similar to early decision, but the decision isn’t binding.

Regular admissions are the latest you can apply and the majority of people apply under this category.

What should I write my essays about?

Anything you’re passionate about or topics important to you are great topics. As long as the admissions people can see your passion for the subject, it will give them insight into you as a person and why you’d be a good fit for that college.

How to write about yourself without sounding self-centered?

I think it’s super helpful to focus on how your actions and activities have benefited other people or the community and write enough to convey your achievements to the admissions team. What extracurriculars look good on college applications?

Any activity works, just as long as you’re interested in it, passionate about it and committed to it. To put it simply, if you could write an essay about it, then you’re set. Campus Life:

What are dorms like and is it worth it to live in the dorms?

A lot of incoming freshmen end up living in the dorms their first year. Most of the time, you’re going to be put in a double or triple, which is going to be very cramped. It’s very rare to have a single.

However, the dorms can be super expensive and some choose to live off-campus in an apartment or live at home. These two options are much cheaper, but the commute may be challenging.

Living in the dorms is also very convenient since it cuts down on travel time to and from classes.

Living in dorms is a great way to get to know more people, especially if your floor is very social.

However, it can be chaotic since a lot of people are living in an enclosed space together. How to make friends?

Clubs and organizations are a great way to make new friends that share the same interests as you.

Your roommate(s) is also another opportunity to make friends since you’ll be living with them for an entire school year. Another great way is to get to know your floor mates, if you’re living in a dorm.

Should I take a car?

It depends on the campus, but depending on the college, some of them don’t allow freshmen to take cars or the parking permits are very expensive.

I recommend researching your school, its policies around cars and public transportation options.

Overall, if you want to, you will get into a college. It may not be the one you were hoping for at the beginning of the year, but that’s how life works.

Not getting into your dream school isn’t the end of the world. You can still make your college experience memorable.

As my mother put it, “It doesn’t matter where you go, it’s what you make of it.”