understanding the college application process

Parents Forum
1

I am a parent of a rising senior.
This is my first kid going to college and I have no idea about college application process and neither does the kid have much idea.
sending scores, applying on college portal, applying in common app… these are commonly read and heard concepts.
But where to begin and how to send scores from college board to common app or to college is very unclear to us.

example, if applying to engineering, where should we start?
is it the common app or a different app or the college website itself?
at what point should we ask high school to send university the transcript?
at what point should we ask college board to send scores (SAT, SAT subject and AP scores) to college?
what about teacher recommendations? how to send those?
how does someone know if they should apply to main campus or to another branch of the university?

If applying for 8 colleges, then should all scores and transcripts to all 8 colleges be sent at once or can be done separately?

I know that these are very basic questions and probably too late to ask now as college admissions are starting soon.

Parents, can you guide by providing step by step process? Thank you in advance.

2

It’s quite late to be starting this process now; ideally you and your son would have started touring and exploring colleges a couple of years ago.
I recommend going to the Common App website. Create an account and select the name of schools your son is interested in. Each school will have a list of what is required including deadlines. Everything is done electronically and the Common App will give you step-by-step instructions. You can apply to a maximum of 20 schools using the Common App which is convenient.
Your son should visit the college counselor at his school to talk about which schools might be a good fit. The school likely has the Navience program which will help your son choose colleges that fall within the appropriate GPA and test scores.
Best of luck.

3

Some places to start:

Figure out what your budget is. Most students are constrained by their budget, and many students can find an academically good choice which is not horridly expensive.

Many or most students should be looking at their in-state options first, and then considering other options.

If you post your child’s stats here, then folks on CC can suggest schools. However, it would also help to post other aspects of what you might be looking for (location, price, big versus small; “strong engineering” is a helpful goal).

Universities all have web sites which will list what you need to do to apply, along with deadlines. The guidance counselor at your child’s school should also be able to help.

Universities also have a net price calculator that can be used to estimate what each school will cost for you. If you are divorced or own rental property, a small business, or a farm they tend to be much less accurate.

My daughters had their high school transcripts, references, and test scores sent to the universities. I am pretty sure that the first two required that they fill out a form at their high school to request this. I am pretty sure that they went on line to send the college board scores. We provided a credit card for all of the above – and also for the application fees. They also filled out the application forms. One daughter used the common app website for many of the schools she applied to, and also applied to a couple of schools that didn’t use it. The other daughter ended up only applying to schools that did not use it (they are out of the country, but that is another issue).

Do you know where your student will be applying?

4

Thank you for your reply. Student is checking Navience program. But unable to narrow down college list.
Student come up with only 4 college names of which 3 are in-state.

D looking for Engineering major and Math or Computer science minor.

GPA: 4.4
SAT 1570
Out of state colleges are fine as long as there is enough merit scholarship so that tuition fee is closer to in-state tuition fee.

Can you please list some good Engineering colleges. if possible include some colleges with rolling admissions, some with regular admissions and ones with generous merit aid, and good engineering programs.

5

Your D’s stats are good. Does she need merit aid or will your family qualify for financial aid? Most selective colleges do not offer merit aid but they have generous financial aid packages. I recommend googling the NPC calculator of any school you’re interested in. Once you input your financial data, the calculator will tell you approximately how much your family would have to pay. Good luck!

6

Each school has a net price calculator linked to from their website (usual from the financial aid page). You should run it for each school to see if it looks affordable. Also look at the school’s website for scholarship information. But many schools are cagey about who will quality for scholarships, so it can be hard to tell. You can Google the Common Data Set and the school name, and there is a section that gives some information on how many students get need based aid and the average amount; you can use that to extrapolate the % of students that get merit aid and possible amounts if your kid falls near the top of the applicant pool.

I assume you know that state universities are generally cheaper for students who live in those states, and out of state (OOS) students pay higher tuition. There are a few exceptions.

If you give us a list of schools she is already considering, we can provide more help. No one is really trying to figure out who your kid is out here, it is just a lot easier to help if we have specifics.

Regarding sending stuff to the colleges, a lot of it is done through the Common Application, and then your school will have a method for sending transcripts and LORs (usually Naviance, but your son should talk to the school counselor). We sent test scores to schools by logging into the College Board or ACT websites and following instructions there. They do NOT send instantaneously, so I would give sending test scores several weeks of lead time before deadlines.

Many schools have deadlines you have to apply by to be eligible for merit aid, so watch those carefully. Some schools will give a little leeway on the school components (transcript, LORS) as long as the kid’s materials meet the deadline, but a few are stricter. So be sure you get the requests in to the school to send things well ahead of the date.

If he hasn’t asked teachers for recommendations yet, he should do that the first week of school.

Not sure what your home state is, but your state flagship is an obvious place to start. If you tell us your home state, we might have some suggestions for states with reciprocity or where she might get reduced tuition. She’d probably get merit at Case Western. But getting all the way down to in-state costs can be a challenge. Ohio State has given good merit to OOS students in the past, but not sure of the current status of that. Iowa State is another option.

7

Step 1: ASAP have a meeting with your child’s guidance counselor. He or she knows what to do.

List: Make a good, balanced list of colleges that includes safeties (colleges where your kid will definitely get in and that you know you can afford), matches (colleges that he has a a good chance of getting into), and, if he wants, reaches (colleges that would be hard for him but perhaps still possible to get into). He can use the search function on this website and he can purchase the Fiske Guide to Colleges.

Budget: Figure out what you can afford and/or what you are willing to spend. Your budget will have to factor into the college search.

Common App: Find out through each college’s website whether it uses the Common Application. Most do. It does not matter what major or what “school” within the university (e.g., engineering, business, liberal arts, etc.) he is applying to. If the university or the college uses the Common App, that’s all you need to know. Let’s assume that all colleges on his list use the Common App.

He should make an account with the Common App. Read the instruction carefully before starting to fill it out. be familiar with it thoroughly. he does not have to start filling it out immediately after making an account.

Sending transcripts: Talk to the student’s guidance counselor. This is done through the school. Ask what their procedure is.

Sending recommendations: Ask the guidance counselor the procedure at his school. Once the student gets commitments from the teachers who will write his recs, the recommendations are sent directly from the HS.

Scores: As soon as he knows where he is applying, he should arrange to send his scores through the College Board website. It will be self-explanatory when he sees the order form on the website. He’ll have to fill in the names of the colleges where he wants the scores sent. He does not have to send all at once. If he adds a college or two later, then he’ll go back on the College Board website and order a score report to be sent to those colleges. AP: College admissions offices don’t care about AP exam scores. There is a place on the Common App to self-report AP exam scores. When official AP scores are sent from the College Board, in general, it gets directed to the registrar’s office (for calculating college credit), not the admissions office.

Main campus or other branch: He’ll have to research it and choose what he wants. Let’s say you live in PA and he wants to apply to PA state schools. He can apply to Penn State’s flagship campus and he can apply to others as well. Same in NJ – he can apply to Rutgers New Brunswick (flagship) AND to Rutgers Newark. He’ll need to check which campuses have the programs he wants.

8

It may seem overwhelming but things will calm down. Use the high school guidance counselor for help. Go to the common application and set it up.

You can buy various college guides, like Fiske or Princeton review. There is a website entitled Colleges that Change Lives that some find helpful.

In my area, Tufts would be a good choice depending on your finances, or a state university. We don’t know what state you are in but generally speaking, you can start with a state u. The top colleges tend to have aid for families with incomes as high as $150k so don’t feel there is no aid available without doing the calculators.

9

Where do you live? What is your instate flagship?

Agreed with talking to the school guidance counselor as soon as possible.

The common app is very user friendly and will walk your student through what she needs.

As far as sending scores, some schools allow students to self report and then you only send in the official scores to the school where she is matriculating. Your daughter should already have an account since she took the test.

The guidance counselor takes care of uploading the transcript and school report themselves, and in our school, the counselors also oversaw the letters of recommendation.

10

WPI is good for engineering

11

I think the most important thing is to set a budget and make sure your child understands what it is. Run the FAFSA4caster to see if you might qualify for a Pell Grant. The maximum Pell Grant (for families with a $0 EFC) is ~$5900/year. I think the family income has to be pretty low ($40k or less) to get the full amount. The more you earn, the smaller the grant. Families who earn ~$80k may qualify for a few hundred per year, and families who earn more won’t get a Pell Grant.

What state are you in? Some states have need based aid programs for state residents. NYS has several. Families whose income is under $125k get free tuition at our state schools. If the family income is too high there’s a STEM grant that students can apply for if their stats are high enough. Does your state offer anything like that?

Students who file the FAFSA can take the ~$5500/year federal student loan (about $27k total over 4 years). We usually suggest that families avoid personal or PLUS loans for college. If your child wants to be an engineer, then any ABET accredited program will do. It doesn’t have to be an expensive brand name school.

Make sure your child has safeties on their list. Safeties are schools they’re sure to be accepted to, would be happy to attend, and are affordable without loans (other than the federal student loan). What schools are on your list now? Are any of them safeties?

12

My daughter is starting in engineering in a few weeks. Here is the list of where she applied and the outcomes:
Reach: Johns Hopkins (rejected)
Low Reach/High Match: Michigan (wait listed) , Lehigh (accepted)
Match: Purdue (accepted into honors college), U. Maryland at College Park (accepted into scholars with presidential scholarship), RPI (accepted with medal scholarship)
Safeties: U. of Akron (accepted in honors college with full tuition), Clarkson (accepted with multiple merit scholarships)

The big merit scholarships came with the least selective of the schools but all had solid engineering programs that were ABET accredited where my daughter could see herself being happy.

Other schools she considered but didn’t apply:
Notre Dame, Northwestern, Cornell (double legacy), CMU, Case Western, Bucknell, Ohio State U.

With you daughter’s SAT score, she should see merit money at U of Alabama, Texas A&M, Iowa, Pitt, and Cincinnati.

13

Any chance she is a national merit finalist?

She would see significant merit aid guaranteed at University of Alabama.

If she wants to apply to Pitt, she should do so as soon as the application opens up. Earlier applicants seem to get better merit aid if qualified.

What about Case Western?

What is your state?

How much can you pay annually for your daughter to attend college? Answering THIS will give folks a better way of suggesting colleges to you. There are tons of engineering programs…but you need to be able to afford to attend.

Will you qualify for need based aid, or are you looking for merit aid?

Hasn’t your HS guidance counselor met with your daughter about colleges…yet?

14

Possible safeties:
https://www.uky.edu/financialaid/scholarship-incoming-freshmen
https://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.php
http://www.utoledo.edu/admission/freshman/scholarships/2018/out-of-state.html *out of state merit grid

out of state merit grids offer much more in order to effectively waive the out of state surcharge

Knowing your state is needed to provide suggestions because in state options for some states are 12,000/year and for others 30,000/year so we have no idea what ‘bring to in state’ cost means. There are also tuition exchange programs between some states.

15

It is not too late, although it is time to get going.

Is your child in a high school or is she homeschooled? If in a high school, I am surprised the school hasn’t provided you with information on how to request transcripts and teacher recommendations and that the GC hasn’t helped state the list. Check the high school website as you may have missed something like Junior Parent Night and the information may be posted. Our HS now uses naviance for submission of recommendations and transcripts. Gone are the days (as with my oldest) where you sent a stack of addressed envelopes and the right number of stamps to the HS for the letters and transcripts. But your student needs to be sure and check on whether everything is submitted. One teacher kept saying he had submitted the rec but somehow it didn’t upload so he had to do it again.

A good first application to put in is to your in-state flagship or other school, especially if they have rolling admissions.

The bottom line is you/she just has to start. As others have said, not knowing where you live or what your budget is it is hard to provide any concrete suggestions on where to apply. Know that if finances are a factor, she needs to have an academic AND a financial safety. While schools may give some aid to families with 6 figure incomes, it may not make a dent in the cost of private schools that can be over $60K.

Good luck!

16

What to do during HS
** Freshman year:**

  • make sure you do well in your classes and are placed at a level that challenges you (you have to work to get grades of B and above) but isn’t overwhelming (which would be if you have to work really hard and are always borderline C to downright C).
  • take 6 academic classes per year, and each year have English, Math, Social Science, Science, Foreign Language at the highest level you can manage.
  • get involved in everything that sounds good - later, try to get a leadership role. but for now, explore.
  • follow where your interests take you. If they take you nowhere, pick up something you could see yourself doing every day and push yourself. It could be raising pigeons or prize calves, training with the ukulele or the atlatl, poertry slams, MUN, bowling…
  • do NOT cut on sleep to get “more stuff done”. Until you’re 16, your brain needs 8-9 hours each night in order to function properly and not hurt its growth or functions.Keep track of service hours.

** Sophomore year: **
You will take PSAT at your school. This will give you an idea of where you are with regard to the SAT. Study for the SAT/PSAT over the summer. Use Khan Academy online.

  • take 6 academic classes per year, and each year have English, Math, Social Science, Science, Foreign Language at the highest level you can manage.
    If you do well in classes freshman year, then try to take Honors versions if you are not already.
    Continue in your clubs/activities. Drop those you don’t like, and start thinking about leadership positions next year.
    Keep track of service hours.

Junior year
Take the PSAT at school. This one will count for National Merit Scholarships.
Apply for leadership positions in your clubs. Even if you don’t get to be President, take leadership of a project.
Take the SAT sometime in the spring of Junior year.
Start investigating colleges.
Visit some local colleges in the fall.like your State flagship, a smaller private school…see what you like and don’t like about them. Or take a trip and visit more schools.
Come up with a list of what you want in a college…major, location, urban/rural, size, etc etc
Based on that, use Naviance, Supermatch (here on CC), Fiske Guide, etc to come up with a list of colleges
Visit those colleges over Spring break if possible.

Junior year summer, do the following:

  1. Make a list of all your ECs, when you did them, about how many hours a week, and descriptions.
  2. You only get 10 slots for ECs on common app, so start categorizing them. Like you may want to categorize all music ECs together, or split them up somewhat.
  3. Make sure to mention what leadership you have in those ECs, even if not a formal position…and talk about what you did as a leader.
  4. Choose a Common App essay prompt
  5. Write a draft of your essay this summer. Give it to your GC/English teacher to review in the fall.
  6. If you haven’t already, choose who you want to ask to write recommendations for you. If your major is STEM, ask a Math and a science teacher.
  7. See what your HS Guidance office wants you to do for college apps…(look on their website)…Do they want you to complete a brag sheet or something else to help the GC?
  8. Visit some local colleges if you haven’t already…
  9. Find out from your parents how much they can spend on college each year
  10. Run the Net Price Calculator on those colleges to see if they are affordable
  11. If not, look at colleges that give automatic scholarships and see if they are good for you http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html#latest
  12. Try to visit some of those colleges over the summer if possible if you haven’t already
  13. DO NOT APPLY TO A SCHOOL YOU WOULDN’T ATTEND. Also known as “Love thy Safety”. Pick your Safety first. I don’t know how many stories I read about people who didn’t get into an of their reaches and what they thought were matches and are only accepted to the safety and have a fit…find one that you like.

Yes this seems like a lot of work…but imagine doing it when you have classes and ECs too!

Senior Year
Choose a rigorous schedule, but not one so rigorous you will regret it in the spring when you get senioritis.
Take the SAT one more time if you want.
Apply to colleges. Talk to your guidance counselor about what you need to do They may have had a “college night” junior year…get the info from that.
Make sure you have safety, matches and reaches.
Apply to at least one school early action…particularly the safeties so you have an acceptance in the bag.
Continue doing well in your courses.

17

Thank you all for all the posts. I will re-read this thread to get better understanding.

I will find out psat score and post back later today.

But in the mean time, can some one post the complete name of the college:“Pitt”

18

University of Pittsburg = Pitt

19

UDelaware has very strong engineering programs, also offers merit aid to OOS. On the smaller side, Lafayette in PA is a good choice. Some solid programs in the mid atlantic area where your D might get some merit: Temple U, Drexel U, Rowan U, George Mason U, Virginia Commonwealth U.

20

Because it’s daunting to do the Net Price Calculator for all schools, I recommend using College Navigator – a government website. Once you locate a school by name, click on the “net price” tab. That tab will show the approximate amount students of YOUR INCOME level will pay. That will give you a way to generally narrow the field.

Remember that some engineering programs have coop options. Coops can help lower costs because the student will be working for several months and making money during that time.