This is the time of year when juniors tend to kick off the college process. During their first meeting with us, we college counselors ask them, “have you thought about where you’d like to attend college?” We ask about the size of the school they would prefer, what they’d like to study, etc. And then we ask, “Do you know where you’d like to be located for college? What part of the country/ what state(s)? And, in my experience, around 75% of students say, “Someplace warm!”
It will be here before you know it; you will be handed a booklet, or given a website to view, and told to pick your courses for next year. This can cause the common “deer in the headlights” look. How do you even begin? In this previous blog, we outlined some common questions that students have when selecting their courses for the following year so be sure to read that, but in this blog, we will give step-by-step directions for how to make the best decisions about course selection for you.
As we mentioned in this previous blog, winter and spring of junior year is the optimal time to visit colleges. And, you can click on the “tours and visits” blog category on our blog’s main page for more advice about how to make the most of your visits and why they are important.
During your first winter meeting with your Campus Bound counselor, you will get a list of colleges that fit what you are seeking. But once you get that list, and if you are looking at colleges farther away, how do you go about planning these trips? Campus Bound will attempt to be a travel agent in this helpful blog.
Part of the college process in the winter/ spring of junior year is deciding what kinds of students you want to surround yourself with in college. Which types of students inspire you and enable you to do your best? Different schools attract different students, which influences the culture on campus.
Unfortunately, this happens quite a bit: we’ll have our first meeting with student and then they say the words we dislike hearing, “I wish I had known that…”
We wish the college process wasn’t confusing or difficult, but the truth is, it can be. Here are some of the most common scenarios, by school year, in which we hear students say “I wish I knew that!” Pay attention… don’t let it be you!
While the majority of the college admission world is focused on seniors right now, and understandably so, we don’t want juniors to feel that we forgot about them. There are important items on their to-do list right now as well. Below are 5 things juniors can be doing now to get a head start on the college application and admission process.
I catch myself saying it often to the students I work with, “Early is better!” And, for the most part, it’s true. Admission rates are generally higher for students who apply Early Decision or Early Action, and there are many reasons for this. One of the main reasons is because colleges like students who can show genuine interest in their school by either making a commitment or submitting their materials earlier.
However, early isn’t always better. In this blog, we will go over a few key times when applying Regular is probably the better way to go.
The college application process is complicated, and it’s understandable that families would want to seek as much information as they possibly can. But, we have learned over many years of doing this work that too much advice can actually work against you. Here are a few examples when it makes sense to cut down the outside advice and maybe even trust your own gut.
You may be thinking that a college counselor would tell students to buckle down over the summer months… take extra summer classes, study non-stop for admission tests, work days and nights at an internship, or spend the entire summer doing community service. But, that’s not what you’re likely to hear from us here at Campus Bound!
Leadership is the action of leading others. When underclass high school students ask me the ways in which they can make their college application stronger, one consistent piece of advice I offer is to display leadership.