Students applying for financial aid and merit scholarships will be required to complete financial aid forms called FAFSA and CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE. Record the user names, passwords and PINs you create for these accounts on this worksheet.
You’ll need to gather information from your family members about their education history to complete your applications. Store all of the information and facts about your parents and your siblings on the Family Education Information worksheet.
Details about your high school should be noted on the High School Information worksheet. You’ll need to know your high school’s SAT and ACT codes, which can be found on the testing websites, in order to register for your standardized tests. Use this worksheet to write down your high school contact information, as it will be required when you complete the Common App. This same information is also needed for schools that only accept their own applications. Spare yourself repeated searches by looking all this up once and recording it in the designated space.
CHAPTER 2
A SNAPSHOT OF YOUR
HIGH SCHOOL YEARS:
WHO ARE YOU?
College admissions reps work very hard to put together each year’s incoming class. The goal of the admissions office is to build a qualified, well-rounded first year class. Your goal is to find a college that meets your needs and matches your profile. Colleges generally look at applicants from several angles to determine whether they’re a good fit. Your academic performance and test scores are the starting point for admissions, but there’s so much more that will be considered. Think about the person you would like admissions officers to get to know. Reveal your identity through your extracurricular interests and involvement, your social media presence, your essays and the words of your recommenders.
“Both colleges and students have a duty to communicate who they are as effectively as possible to ensure the best possible matches.”
—ALISON ALMASIAN, Director of Admissions, St. Lawrence University
ACADEMICS
Your academic record is the foundation of your application. Colleges view the grades you’ve achieved as the best predictor of your future academic success. The level of difficulty of the classes you’ve taken and your grades are the primary yardstick by which you will be evaluated. You can find a college’s core academic requirements listed on its website. Beyond meeting the requirements, admissions reps want to see what academic interests you’ve pursued. Highly competitive schools are looking for students who have taken the most rigorous courses offered at their high school, such as AP, IB and honors, to name a few. Consult with your guidance and/or college counselors to plan the high school curriculum most suited to you. But, the process doesn’t end here.
EXTRACURRICULARS
Each student brings his or her own identity to the campus. You can show Admissions who you are through your extracurricular activities, including athletics, community service, work experience and summer activities. Colleges look at the breadth and depth to which you have explored your interests. Your choices reflect your values and your personality. Your extracurricular involvement not only tells schools what you’ve done throughout high school, but also conveys how you may contribute to their community as a prospective member. Everyone has different interests and one interest is not necessarily better than another. What’s important is why and how you chose to become involved, and what it means to you. Don’t paint a picture of who you think Admissions is looking for. Demonstrate, with authenticity, the real you. You’ll have the opportunity to share your personal profile with Admissions on your applications, either in the Activities section of the Common App, in an individual school application, or if requested, in an uploaded resume. Whether you’ve just started high school or are an upperclassman, explore school clubs and organizations, volunteer opportunities and hobbies in order to identify extracurriculars you would enjoy pursuing. Once you’ve found what interests you, get involved. What counts is the extent of your commitment, not the length of your activities list. Your engagement outside the classroom speaks to who you are and may be what differentiates you from your peers. Balancing schoolwork and commitments outside the classroom also demonstrates your time management skills.
“Students should consider highlighting the things into which they have poured the most time and effort, finding the things that have meant the most to them and the things in which they have made the greatest impact. Students need to understand that college admissions officers are trying to get a sense of the individual by evaluating how that individual has spent his or her time.”
—PAUL W. HORGAN, Director of College Counseling, Cape Henry Collegiate School, Virginia Beach, Virginia
“Representing all that you do beyond academics with authenticity is very important.”
—DARRYL W. JONES, Senior Associate Director of Admissions, Gettysburg College
This chapter provides seven Who Are You? worksheets to help you easily fill in the activities sections of your applications. These worksheets will also help you to create a resume to submit either as a supplement to the Common App or to individual school applications. Your resume can also be used when you apply for internships and jobs. Identify the worksheets that apply to you and gather the information necessary to compile a complete and accurate profile of your high school years. Although you’ll find some of the categories overlap, list your activities on the worksheet you think fits best. Think about all the things you were involved with outside the classroom and list your activities in order of importance to you. You don’t need to include everything you’ve been involved in during high school, but instead list the things you feel help define who you are. If it’s hard to remember everything you’ve done, ask your family to help you put together your list.