Seniors

[2HOT2touch]

this is for all those seniors and even some juniors this year that are going through the college process. Have you looked at schools? which ones did you like, dislike, why? Have you started your college applications? Do you know what you are writing about for your personal statement? What kind of college are you looking for? do you know what you want to major in? This is the place to talk about all the stresses of the college process and to help each other with tips and advice, because this is one of the most pivotal moments in our lives and also one of the most stressfull. So talk about what ever is on your mind about college.(and no, you don't have to answer those questions at the top, they are just their for guidelines. whenever I ask questions like that people seem to think they HAVE to answer them. this thread is to talk about anything you want to talk about that has to do with the college process)

 

[~*Bubbles*~]

Im going to be a junior but I knoq where I am going, because in grades 11&12 we have to choose between University, Mixed or College courses. Im going to UofG to get my Bachelor of Arts.

 

[Sparx]

I'm in 10th grade, but I have an adviser who helps me with college stuff. I want to go to University Of Tennessee in Knoxville.

 

[Darkwing Duck]

I've looked at a lot of colleges but I can't pick one yet because I might get athletic offers.

 

[2HOT2touch]

I really want to go to Stetson or BSC(Birmingham-Southern college) and I want to double major in Mathematics and Political science and minor in pre-law. I also really want to do the Disney College program so that is a big part of my decision for my school picks, but thankfully most of the colleges I am applying to are in florida, and close to Disney.(that's just a coincidence I swear!)

 

[baby<3]

I'm going to be a junior and I've only looked at one college so far. It's Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. I'm in LOVE with the school. It's such a nice campus. I want to major in Media and Communications. Ah! I'm just in love with it.

 

[BabyPiglet]

For my first two years I'll be going to University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. Then I might transfer up to Little Rock. I would really really love to do the WDW College Program also.

I have two major career choices, either a social worker, or a nurse. So that means, I'll either major in one of three things. Education, Liberal Arts, or Nursing.

My major is up in the air right now, because my dream job...well. I work at DCFS almost everyday, and it's really getting to me. I honestly don't know if I could handle seeing the things I see for the rest of my life.

Otherwise, the medical feild fascinates me, but I just don't think I'm good enough at Science, to a be a doctor. Next best thing, is an RN. =]

On the topic of college, I'll be starting early. Next year I will hopefully obtain my high school diploma and start college. Not full time, just a few classes while I work part-time. My parents will be paying for it.

 

[Axel]

I'm going to be a junior in HS and I apparently did really, really well on the PSATs so I got mail from a ton of colleges. That's a good way to get them to notice you, too. Take the tests and allow colleges to send you stuff. Right now I'm head over heels in love with Carlton College in Minnesota. It's a gorgeous campus, a Liberal Arts Centered college, near the Mall of America, they have an all French Dorm for their french students, their french program is amazing (gee, have you guessed what I plan on majoring in yet?), they've got a good education program too, their student to faculty ratio is low (I think it's like 9:1 or something), they offer both Volleyball and Track and Field (I won't normally consider a college without a Track team), and yeah. I just fell in love with it. you can find them here: CARLTON!. just incase you're interested. They've got a really low acceptance rate, though.

My guidance counselor helps me with college stuff. This coming year I'm taking mostly advanced courses, with one college prep because I want to get into a competitive college/university.

I'm also taking: the PSATs (again), the SAT IIs (in French and World History), the NECAPs (state standardized testing), school standardized junior testing, and the AP US History exam. and I'm going to let colleges see my scores and send me stuff.

I'm also looking at the University of Montreal. I'd be majoring in French, so I'd get the tuition rate of a Canadian student (which is only like...$12,000 a year compared to Carlton's $52,000 a year). I'd have to pass the language exam, though because all their classes are taught in french.

sorry for the long post!

 

[I'm a Divaaaaa]

I'm a Freshman going into college this year so I had to go through all of this last year and if I knew some of the things I know now it would have helped a lot.


I HIGHLY suggest you start your applications as SOON as they are avaliable. If they provide it try and do early decision but only if the early decision doesn't contract you to the school like UF does. You don't want to be stuck going to any one place.


Next a lot of people freak out about their majors. Just remember you can always change. If you already know what school you want to apply to you can research and see what majors they're strong for. If different school are strong for different majors you may be interested in, then apply for that major. I must have applied for 3 or 4 different majors.

Next if you have NO IDEA where to apply college board is REALLY helpful. THere is a survery you can take that will ask you question such as the size school you want, rural vs. urban, location, admission difficulty, major etc. It helps you find schools that are right for you. http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/index.jsp


If anyone has any other questions, feel free to ask. Honestly, had I known half this stuff everything would have been much less stressful.

 

[2HOT2touch]

I'm a Freshman going into college this year so I had to go through all of this last year and if I knew some of the things I know now it would have helped a lot.


I HIGHLY suggest you start your applications as SOON as they are avaliable. If they provide it try and do early decision but only if the early decision doesn't contract you to the school like UF does. You don't want to be stuck going to any one place.


Next a lot of people freak out about their majors. Just remember you can always change. If you already know what school you want to apply to you can research and see what majors they're strong for. If different school are strong for different majors you may be interested in, then apply for that major. I must have applied for 3 or 4 different majors.

Next if you have NO IDEA where to apply college board is REALLY helpful. THere is a survery you can take that will ask you question such as the size school you want, rural vs. urban, location, admission difficulty, major etc. It helps you find schools that are right for you. http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/index.jsp


If anyone has any other questions, feel free to ask. Honestly, had I known half this stuff everything would have been much less stressful.

All early decision is a contract. I wouldn't suggest it unless you absolutly know you are going there and no where else. I would suggest sending in your application early because most schools are on a rolling admission process which means they read your application as soon as possible and they admit the first ones that come in, that they like of course. So if you send in your application later there may not be a place for you at the school.

 

[DramaQueen]

i'm going into my first year of university this year (University of Toronto)
and the only advice I can give you guys would be:
PREPARE AS FAR IN ADVANCE AS POSSIBLE!
Have ALL your stuff ready (applications/resumes/auditions pieces/essays) as soon as you possibly can!!
The more prepared you are the easier the process will be.
KNOW exactly what you are looking for, do your research, look into exactly what the programmes your interested in require/consist of to make sure it's right for you.

and MAKE SURE you have all your prerequisites!

Good luck on the application process!


It's REALLY stressful, and I'm not going to say "don't get stressed" because I know that's probably impossible. But just don't kill yourself worrying about everything.

 

[2HOT2touch]

I'm having MAJOR issues with my personal statement. I wrote one in school for an english assignment and I edited that one. But I don't know if I want to use it for all my applications and I don't know if it tells everything about me, I'm not even sure it tells the schools what I want them to know about me. I'm so confused.

 

[xCourxCorex]

Thank you thank you thank you for making this thread.

Major: Nursing

I want to apply to Curry College in MA, but I'm so torn about what to do: early decision or regular. My view is that Curry is the only school I want to go to. It is a practically perfect fit. The one thing I don't like? Price. Which leads me to regular decision because I've heard if you apply ED and get accepted, they sometimes give you a less than stellar fin. aid package, but I need a somewhat decent one.
I know everybody says "you might find aschool you like better" but I've looked at all the schools in my area (I am not living away, and I can't transfer because it's really hard for nursing students to transfer so I'm staying here for 4 years). This is the school for me. So I guess the only problem I have is with the money. Their regular applications have a rolling admissions policy (jan 1st) but what I have yet to find out is if I get my decision on Jan 1st or they look at my application on Jan 1st. ... ED decisions are mailed Dec 15th so it's not a huge wait in between, but that extra month of knowing, yes i'm in, stop stressing would be sooo nice.

And my essay! aghhh. We did "junior statements" last year in English. I got a good grade on it, but I can't help but feel it's not good enough. I wrote about a significant event that changed my life, and what I learned from it. (My dance team going to nationals last year). I guess I have to pick another topic, or get another life changing event asap. haha.

More issues: my rec's. I have a couple possibilities, but I don't know who to ask. Curry only asks for once rec, so I want it to be really good.

English teacher: I got an A in her class last year, we got along really well, but I'm not sure if she knows me enough to write a really great one
Math teacher: I had him for soph & jr year, got a B+ soph and an A- jr years.. We got along great, had a small class last year; I feel like he would be a good candidate, but not sure if the best.
Chem teacher: Did wonderfully in that class, we had a good relationship,etc. I also have him THIS year, but not until 2nd semester (after app needs to be in) I feel like he could write a really great rec, and esp good since chem is a must for nursing.

Then there's the possibility of one of my new teachers .. I have an organic/biochem teacher (that co teaches with my chem teacher .. she does 1st sem, he does 2nd)
and my A+P teacher but I don't know if October is too early to ask for them to write a great one.

Also, maybe 07ers can answer this for me: I know it looks terrible if I dont waive my right to look at the rec, but is there a way I can see it..? I definately want to make a copy of everything just in case something gets lost or misplaced, so is it wrong to photocopy the rec? Ask the teacher to see it? What if it's not good (enough)?

Ahhhhh I hate college already

 

[2HOT2touch]

Thank you thank you thank you for making this thread.

Major: Nursing

I want to apply to Curry College in MA, but I'm so torn about what to do: early decision or regular. My view is that Curry is the only school I want to go to. It is a practically perfect fit. The one thing I don't like? Price. Which leads me to regular decision because I've heard if you apply ED and get accepted, they sometimes give you a less than stellar fin. aid package, but I need a somewhat decent one.
I know everybody says "you might find aschool you like better" but I've looked at all the schools in my area (I am not living away, and I can't transfer because it's really hard for nursing students to transfer so I'm staying here for 4 years). This is the school for me. So I guess the only problem I have is with the money. Their regular applications have a rolling admissions policy (jan 1st) but what I have yet to find out is if I get my decision on Jan 1st or they look at my application on Jan 1st. ... ED decisions are mailed Dec 15th so it's not a huge wait in between, but that extra month of knowing, yes i'm in, stop stressing would be sooo nice.
And my essay! aghhh. We did "junior statements" last year in English. I got a good grade on it, but I can't help but feel it's not good enough. I wrote about a significant event that changed my life, and what I learned from it. (My dance team going to nationals last year). I guess I have to pick another topic, or get another life changing event asap. haha.

More issues: my rec's. I have a couple possibilities, but I don't know who to ask. Curry only asks for once rec, so I want it to be really good.

English teacher: I got an A in her class last year, we got along really well, but I'm not sure if she knows me enough to write a really great one
Math teacher: I had him for soph & jr year, got a B+ soph and an A- jr years.. We got along great, had a small class last year; I feel like he would be a good candidate, but not sure if the best.
Chem teacher: Did wonderfully in that class, we had a good relationship,etc. I also have him THIS year, but not until 2nd semester (after app needs to be in) I feel like he could write a really great rec, and esp good since chem is a must for nursing.

Then there's the possibility of one of my new teachers .. I have an organic/biochem teacher (that co teaches with my chem teacher .. she does 1st sem, he does 2nd)
and my A+P teacher but I don't know if October is too early to ask for them to write a great one.

Also, maybe 07ers can answer this for me: I know it looks terrible if I dont waive my right to look at the rec, but is there a way I can see it..? I definately want to make a copy of everything just in case something gets lost or misplaced, so is it wrong to photocopy the rec? Ask the teacher to see it? What if it's not good (enough)?

Ahhhhh I hate college already

You can apply to a school whenever as long as it is before the deadline. You can apply to that school early just don't mark that it is early decision. since it is on a rolling admission they will get their answer out to you as soon as possible. so I wouldn't stress over that, but just in case I know you want to go there I would still apply to other schools, just in case, as back ups.

 

[xCourxCorex]

You can apply to a school whenever as long as it is before the deadline. You can apply to that school early just don't mark that it is early decision. since it is on a rolling admission they will get their answer out to you as soon as possible. so I wouldn't stress over that, but just in case I know you want to go there I would still apply to other schools, just in case, as back ups.

So do you think if I sent mine in around Dec. 15th which is clearly before they start rolling adm. would I get my acceptance Jan 1st, or they'd start looking at it Jan 1st? I'm just curious


ETA: My "backup" school's deadline is in April, so if I don't get into my program at Curry, I will have all my stuff prepared for UMass, and send it out. But I'm not wasting $40 on an application if I am getting into my dream school and finding out well in advance. So I'm assuming the latest I'd know is late Jan. which gives me plenty of time to finalize stuff for Umass. But I really think I can get in.

I have SAT scores above the avg Curry student, GPA above the avg student there.. Taking challenging science courses, math all four years. Good grades in math & science (and all around). Not a ton, but solid, EC's, and the only thing I need to work on is my essay. So fingers crossed!

 

[2HOT2touch]

Um, I would talk to an admissions counsiler. I know at stetson if I get my application in soon I can get a letter as soon as November. so I would ask someone at the school, they are always willing to answer questions.

 

[xCourxCorex]

bringing it back, now that school's started for everyone!

i have finally made some more choices, crossed more off the lists.. and come up with.....

Curry - would commute
UNH - would live there
St Anselm - would live there
Umass Boston - would commute
was also semi-considering URI and/or Worcester State. both iffy right now.

Best college financially: Umass
Closest & probably smallest: Curry
Best clinicals: Umass & UNH & Curry
Dance Team: UNH
Best dorms: UNH & St A's
Common App: UNH & St A's

set up another visit for curry in november, and unh in october.
Need to get on those rec's and essays ASAP.
also taking sat in october.. hopefully i can improve critical reading (my worst area!!)

 

[Kats~Meow]

The main University I am appyling for is West Virginia University. And I am going to major in Nursing. I have started the aplication process and have jotted a few things down for my personal statement, but nothing in final form yet.

 

[Darkwing Duck]

I applied to UCF ( University of Central Florida)

 

[xCourxCorex]

Help meee please

Anyone who has already asked a teacher for rec's, are you using that rec. for every school you're applying to?
Two out of my four schools have "teacher reccommendation forms" ... I already asked my chem teacher for a rec. but didn't give him a form, so I suppose I'll have to use it for UNH (which uses common app and just says send in rec's and transcripts via snail mail) and Umass Boston, which says only include one if you want to/think it would help.
But St. Anselm and Curry both have forms, so is it wrong/rude to go ask a different teacher to fill out both forms? Should I ask two seperate teachers and have each fill out their own, so I have 3 different rec's?


Also, the essay I am going to use for UNH / St. Anselm is technically a "topic of my choice" .. but then Umass & Curry do not offer essay topics of my choice. SHould I scratch the essay and make one to use for all four, or use my essay for unh/ st. a's, and write another for umass/curry ?????

HELPPPPPPP