Seniors: Applying to college this year and unsure where to start?

With competing priorities presented by senior year -- more difficult school assignments, extracurricular duties, homecoming, and spending time with friends, there is a common concern among seniors about making time to complete college applications. While juggling a full load of school work and leisure, along with college applications, upwards to 15 for many students, it is important to have a plan to ensure you meet all looming deadlines.

The urge may be strong to get through the application season as quickly as possible, but staggered submissions allows for more individualized attention to every application. Rushed applications are easy to spot, as they are often filled with misspellings, grammatical errors, misinformation, or the embarrassing reference to college x in college y's application.

The best advice is to slow down. The college application season runs from August 1 to January 1 for most schools. Make a plan to submit applications gradually, determining when by answering these questions: Where does the college rank on your list? What type of admissions - early action, early decision, rolling or regular decision? Are there supplemental essays required? There is no exact formula, but by answering these questions, you know where to focus your attention. 

FAQ: Is it okay to send a deposit to two colleges?

The answer is no. In fact colleges ask students to certify a deposit has been rendered to no other school. The consequence of double depositing may be rescinded admission for both schools. 

Also committing to one school frees up space at the other college for waitlisted students. Do the right thing—choose one by May 1^st and let all other schools know your final decision.

Read why wait lists are so long here.

Seniors: When the First Financial Aid Offer Is Not Enough

With National Decision Day, May 1st a month away, it's time for high school seniors to accept a college offer. Before choosing a school and sending a deposit, I recommend families take steps to negotiate with colleges on funding 100% of their financial need.

Back in February when the FAFSA form was completed, the U.S. State Department of Education provided the family with an index called the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). This amount tells colleges how much a family can afford to pay for the cost of attendance--tuition, room, board, and fees. With this information, colleges formulated a financial aid package comprised of scholarships, grants, work-study, and loans, to come as close to meeting this need as possible.

To illustrate, for a family with an EFC of $2,000, the college offers the family a combination of aid resources to meet this need, withstanding $2,000 in the most ideal scenario. Some colleges are able to meet 100% of financial need, while others do a poor job. A competitive financial aid package is one that covers at least 90% of the family's financial need. When college aid offers are below this range, I advise families to begin the negotiation process.

For help comparing aid packages, visit HESC's College Financial Aid Award Letter Comparison Tool . 

Negotiating a better financial aid deal is as simple as drafting a letter to colleges explaining why the student is deserving of more financial aid. This may seem like an outrageous concept to some, but for excellent students with many school offers, colleges will be willing to work out a better package.

The most effective letters are one guided by these strategies -- 

8 Creative Ways to Start Your College Essay (Student examples included!)

For most students, writing the college essay can be stressful. What I tell students is to look at the essay as an opportunity to share their story with college admissions officers, showing how they stand out from other candidates. But getting started is difficult. Often students delay writing the essay until it is assigned by their senior English teachers. This is a big mistake, as it is too close to fall early application deadlines and the final product does not make a compelling case for acceptance. I recommend students start early by choosing a memorable essay topic to write about.

Why College Admissions is Personal

I subscribe to Paper.li newsletter to keep updated on trends in college admissions. In this week's edition, I noticed an article written by someone I attended the University of Chicago with, Phoebe Maltz Bovy. The article was titled, " The False Promise of 'Holistic' College Admissions." 

Bovy argues that college admissions officers unfairly judge students' character based on a few pieces of information -- standardized test scores, transcripts, essays, activity lists, and recommendations. I agree that using "holistic" is probably not the best term since the average admissions officer spends very little time reading a candidate's application before making an initial decision. Less to do with the assertion that colleges make false promises, what resonated with me about Bovy's article is the question it prompted: is college admissions too personal? If there's not enough time to get to know students on a personal level, with college applications reaching record highs,  then why are students being asked to divulge their most secret moments, many that have never been shared with anyone? Why are admissions officers Google searching students? 

Juniors: Reflect and Re-visit

In college admissions, you have 1000 words at most to convince schools you are worthy of an acceptance letter. Half the battle of a successful sell is applying to the right colleges.

Before you get to fit, you have to know yourself. Start by putting your thoughts on paper that answers the important questions that drive your academic priorities and interests: Who am I? What am I about? How do I learn best? In what type of environment do I thrive? What kind of people do I enjoy being with? What do I do well? What challenges me? Who inspires me?

As you answer these questions, use narrative to demonstrate your growth and personal evolution over time. Also, take inventory of defining moments in your life. Piece together your stories and look for common themes: leadership, discovery, overcoming obstacles, or stepping outside of your comfort zone for example.

Time spent on reflection upon and re-visiting yourself serves a dual purpose of getting you closer to your best-fit school and lays the foundation for next year's college applications.

Juniors: No Mid-Winter Break Plans? Visit Colleges From Home.

Before deciding which colleges to apply to, it is recommended that you visit first. However this can be quite costly and time consuming. These days many colleges participate in virtual tour portals for you to learn about them from the comfort of your own home. Here are three resources where you can experience college without leaving the couch: