Mrs. Levi’s Senior English Blog

As seniors, you are embarking on a life-changing journey this year. Albeit an exciting journey, it can often be quite confusing, too. I have put this page together in the hopes that it might help you to make this quest slightly less confusing. Please use this information to your full advantage. And don’t be afraid to ask me or any other person who’s experienced the trauma of applying to college for help. That’s what we’re here for!!

On this page, I’ve included an application checklist, a list of tips on applying to college from the University of Arkansas’ website, questions you should ask yourself about colleges in order to help you make a decision on which to choose, tips for writing a senior resume, and tips for writing college entrance essays. All of these headings are listed in bold so that you can find them easily as you scroll through the page. I would, however, set a moment aside to review all parts of this information. For your convenience, I’ve uploaded Word documents of each section.

Application Checklist:

college-path-checklist.doc

-Compile a senior resume (We will do this in class).
-Retake ACT or SAT, if necessary. Also take achievement tests (AP, SAT II).
-Apply to colleges early (consult your counselor):

• Acquire application
• Fill out and keep a copy of completed application

-Follow your high school’s procedure and send:

• Applications and fees
• Transcripts through high school (Contact Ms. Chisum for these. Each transcript sent costs $3 to cover expenses.)
• Test scores (ACT, SAT)
• Essay (or essays, if required)
• Recommendations (as specified by college)

-Follow up to check that all materials arrive at your colleges.
-Visit or revisit colleges. (AHS allows for 3 excused absences for college visits; however, these most be requested in advance through Ms. Chisum in the Guidance Office and the necessary procedure followed. Otherwise, visits will be considered “unexcused”.)
-Investigate scholarships that may be available at your colleges:

• Academic
• Music
• Theatre
• Sports
• Others

-Fill out additional forms required for scholarships
-Look for local/private scholarships (A great website to help you do this is http://www.fastweb.com.)
-Fill out required financial aid materials after January 1st, including this FAFSA found at http://www.fafsa.com.
-Select your college by May 1st.
-Send necessary deposit(s) and secure housing.
-Notify other schools not selected to decline acceptance.

Tips from the University of Arkansas:

tips-from-ua.doc

The Application
The Freshman Scholarship Application, when complete, should include the following:

• Online Registration Form (or the Student Report Form on the paper version)
• Counselor Report Form
• Resume
• Two Essays
• Official High School Transcript and ACT/SAT scores

Only the materials listed above will be taken into consideration when evaluating a student’s scholarship application. Extraneous materials such as letters of recommendation, portfolios, certificates, photographs, etc. will be removed from the application before being reviewed by the committee. It is not necessary to place the application in a folder or binder.

Tips for the Resume
The resume is a chance to help your application stand out, but there is a good way and a bad way to stand out. Give your resume a professional appearance. Do not include photographs, clip art, or oversized or inappropriate fonts. Do include information about organizations in which you have been involved or played a leading role, academic achievement, service, and other important activities. The general length for the resume is one to two pages.

Tips for the Essays
For many students, the essays can be the most challenging part of the application. The essays are the best opportunity to help the scholarship committee get to know you. The most successful essays engage the prompts and reveal something about the applicant, not just the writing topic. Proofread your essays a number of times and ask your English teacher to review it as well. The essay lengths are limited to around 600 words. Essays cannot be updated or rewritten once they have been submitted.

Questions You Should Ask About a College:

questions-you-should-ask-about-a-college.doc

• How many students attend?
• Is it a diverse group?
• Do professors teach undergraduate courses, or do you use teaching assistants?
• What is the average class size, and what is the student-to-faculty ratio?
• Will I graduate in four years?
• Who will be my academic advisor?
• Are faculty members easy to reach outside of class?
• How many students participate in foreign study, and where do they go?
• How many students do an internship?
• What computer and other specialized facilities are available for student use?
• What do students do for fun?
• Do you have the extra-curricular activities that I’m interested in?
• What are admissions’ requirements and important deadlines?
• What types of housing are available?
• What are some special features of the campus?
• Do most of the students stay on campus during the weekend?
• Do you offer the academic majors or programs that interest me?
• How much does it cost?
• What types of scholarships and financial aid are available?
• Do you accept Advanced Placement Tests?
• What percentage of your students attend graduate or professional school?

The Senior Resume:

the-senior-resume.doc

Writing a senior résumé is a rather new trend, but a very helpful one. One student relates, “I never have enough room on those applications to put all my extracurricular activities and leadership experience. This gave me a way to say everything I wanted to say in a small amount of space.” The idea is to include this in every application you send. The following are the sections that should be included, and how to write them. Also included is a sample resume.

Objective
This is where you state what you are looking for. It should not be too general, as in “I want to go to college,” but it should not be too specific either, as in “I would like to attend Harvard, and graduate with a degree in political science, then go to Cambridge for law school, etc.” It should merely reflect your basic ideas about what you expect from the next four years.

Education
Here is where you list the high school you attended, any college preparatory classes you may have taken, and your GPA, ACT/SAT score, class rank. If these numbers are rather low, however, they should not be included. If you have been on the honor roll, mention that in this section.

Special Skills
This section should include any skills that don’t fit under any other category and might include computer skills, language fluencies, job experience (if in a specialized field), organizational skills, or specific hobbies (maybe you have a vast knowledge of Midwestern birds). Also include other competency skills such as working well with others.

Leadership Experience
This section typically includes any leadership positions you have held within school organizations or jobs such as a camp counselor. Here is your opportunity to describe what you did, and to really show your true strengths. If you have little experience as a leader, then talk about where you have experience that you are interested in becoming a leader. Also you could talk about endeavors that you have done successfully by yourself.

Activities and Honors
Don’t have enough room on applications to list all your activities and awards? Here’s your chance. Just don’t go overboard. No admissions counselor needs to know that you got the blue ribbon in the science fair in 4th grade. Keep your list current and relevant. Try to use activities in the last four years, unless there is something of special note. You may also want to add how many years you were involved in each activity.

And there you have it! Send this document with all your applications, and admissions counselors everywhere will be impressed with your organizational and creative skills. Remember though, that as with any college entrance document, you should not lie or even exaggerate. The point is to find the college that is right for you. If you present yourself accurately, that is what will happen. Good luck!

The College Entrance Essay:

the-college-entrance-essay.doc

Ok, so you have to write an essay. You’re probably dreading it, and that’s natural. It’s always hard to write about yourself. However, it is possible to actually enjoy writing your essay. Or if not enjoy, at least be proud of what you’ve done. That is, if you do it right. So here are some tips to help get you started:

Don’t worry so much!
Your essay is not going to be graded by evil judges with red pens; it will be read by a very busy admissions counselor who is only trying to discern who you are, not how perfect your essay-writing skills are. This is not to say that you should write an essay with terrible grammar, but obsessing over it is not helpful. The idea is to establish an emotional connection with the reader. You want the reader to come away saying, “How interesting, I really like this guy,” instead of “that was a perfect essay, but boring as can be.”

Don’t lie or exaggerate.
This may sound like common sense, but many students, when faced with the daunting task of trying to impress admissions officers, will pad their essays with tales of missionary trips to Bolivia, or their selfless service to orphans. If you did indeed do these things, then by all means, include them. If you did not, however, do not write about them. Truthfully, admissions counselors would rather read about the skills and values you developed bagging groceries at the local supermarket. That is, if grocery bagging is what you did. The idea is to paint a clear picture of yourself that is unique and straightforward. This is the only way that the admissions officers can determine whether the school is right for you. Remember, if you are not accepted to a particular school, it may be a blessing in disguise. You don’t want to attend a school where you don’t fit in, do you? Your essay may be the best way for the admissions office to figure out whether or not you will fit in on campus.

Use your own voice.
This advice is two-fold. First of all, under no circumstances should someone else write your essay for you. College admissions offices recognize that the essays are written by high school students, and an essay written by a high school student, no matter how intelligent, can always be distinguished from an essay written by an older person. Also, having someone else write your essay is not helpful at all in finding the right school for you. If a college admits you because of an essay that someone else wrote, it will quickly be discovered when the writing you do in classes does not match up. Secondly, write with your own style and personality. Do not try to sound stiff and pretentious (of course, if you are stiff and pretentious then this style is perfectly acceptable). Simply write the way you would talk, or the way you would write a letter to a friend. In fact, writing a letter is an excellent way to get started. Your thoughts can easily be reorganized into an essay form later.

This advice is fairly basic, but there are a lot of good websites dedicated to college entrance essays. Use your favorite search engine, and you should be able to find some really useful information. Just be sure you don’t use one that writes essays for you. Here are a few we particularly recommend:

http://www.bluemoon.net/~watson/college. htm — A really excellent example
http://www.essayplus.com — A college essay editing service