If you are proactively thinking about your college plans now, no doubt you’ve heard about applying “early”. In an early plan, you apply to a college in the fall of your senior year, and receive a decision during the winter. Sounds like a great plan, right? It can be, but there are definitely variables to consider.
Different colleges offer different types of early options. The most restrictive is early decision. With an early decision application, you are agreeing to withdraw any other applications and matriculate at your early decision college if you are offered admission. Under early action, you may or may not (in the case of single choice early action) be able to apply to other early action programs. If you are admitted to your early action school, you are not required attend, and you may take until May 1 to make up your mind where you would like to matriculate.
While early programs sound like a winning situation, it’s important to consider the pros and cons of applying early. At some colleges, it is statistically easier to gain admission in the early round. However, if you are unsure of your first choice, committing in the fall of your senior year could leave you with doubts as spring approaches. While an early decision college will give you a financial aid package with your acceptance, if finances or merit scholarships are going to be critical to your decision, you will benefit by having multiple options.
It’s also important to think about the application that you are submitting to the colleges and whether the intervening time between an early evaluation and the regular evaluation will improve your profile. Are your grades on an upward trend? Is your senior year curriculum substantially more rigorous than the previous years? Are you hoping to raise your test scores? A yes to any of these questions might offer a reason to wait for the main admissions round.
Start Early Aiming High and Soaring. 4 Myths About Scholarships
Applying Early To College
3 Mistakes Successful College Applicants Don’t Make
Start Early Aiming High and Soaring.
As a scholarship coach and consultant, I am often surprised about
the misconceptions parents and students have regarding scholarships
and who receives them. With 24 billion dollars available each year,
there are scholarship opportunities for students with almost all abilities,
achievements, backgrounds and aspirations. The key is to separate
fact from fiction early on so you can make strategic decisions right from
the start.
Myth 1- My child’s college placement counselor will decide which scholarships to pursue. College placement
counselors are typically spreaded so thin that it is unwise to expect them to unearth all of the opportunities
your child should pursue. It is true that some scholarships require that applicants have their school’s
nomination but there are thousands of opportunities a student can pursue independently. It’s important
that the counselor knows the student’s qualifications but the counselor should not be a scholarship hopeful’s
primary resource. The best starting point in a scholarship search is the internet. There are many websites
that allow a student as young as 14 to fill out a free profile which is then compared against a database of
scholarships for the ones that are qualified matches. The search results will list the amount of awards,
deadlines and links to the primary website. Schoolsoup.com and Scholarships.com are two of the
most popular and dependable sites for free scholarship searching. But be careful. Some sites run
scams that guarantee scholarship awards if you pay them a fee. Stick with the tried and true sites.
Do not give out a social security number in any of the search profiles.
Myth 2- The best time to look for scholarships is in your senior year. At this point it is important to differentiate
between the two types of scholarships. Full, four-year merit scholarships, such as the Morehead-Cain to
UNC and Park Scholarship to NC State, are awarded during student's senior year and must be used to
attend their respective university. However, there are thousands of non-renewable scholarships available
as early as seventh grade which can be set aside for use at any college or university. These individual
scholarships are usually awarded through essay competition or creative video or audio submissions.
Civic clubs and veterans clubs are typical sources for the one-time awards.
Myth 3- Scholarships are only for students with financial need. Today’s scholarships have become about
more than finances. Many full scholarships often include educational travel, laptop computers, unique
internships and job opportunities. For example, the GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program.
Honoring the legacy and character of our nations 40th President, the GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship
Program rewards college-bound students who demonstrate exemplary leadership, drive, integrity,
and citizenship with financial assistance to pursue higher education. Each year, the program selects
numerous recipients to receive a $10,000 scholarship renewable for up to an additional three years-up
to $40,000 total per recipient. Awards are for undergraduate study only, and may be used for education
related expenses, including, tuition ,fees, books, supplies, room, and board. In addition, scholars are
invited to participate in a special awards program.
Myth 4- Only the very top students get scholarships. Most scholarships do expect the applicants to
have strong academic records. However, other factors play a role too, such as leadership, civic responsibility,
athletic achievement and personal aspirations. A well-rounded, ambitious and articulate student with a
1500 SAT will fare just as well, if not better, as the 1800 SAT student who has few outside interests.
Aside from academic-based scholarships, there is an emerging world of scholarships available to
students based on their community service activities. Major awards are available to students who
have shown particular commitment to a cause or outreach, especially if the student saw a need and
created a service project to meet it. Fastweb.com and Scholarships.com will provide information on
the service-based scholarships as well as the academic ones. Other scholarships are available based
on heritage, financial need, career aspirations, parents employment or union membership.
Interviews are important: Most major scholarships will require an interview in addition to the written application.
It is very important that a student prepare and practice for the interview before the big day. A scholarship
coach or counselor should conduct mock interviews with the student to build confidence and presentation skills.
Parents frequently make the mistake of trying to be their child’s coach but it usually works much better to
have a different adult in that role. Students should study the background of the funding foundation and
university, become knowledgeable on current events, and think through common interview questions
ahead of time. Scholarships can open a world of funding and opportunity for ambitious students willing
to put in the effort to pursue them. Planning ahead and keeping a strong academic record will help the
student make the most of this exciting time in their life.
The preparation for applying to college successfully does not happen overnight. In fact, it is the culmination of years of work throughout high school. The most successful college applicants avoid these three mistakes:
Mistake #1: Blow off essay responses.
Successful applicants know that strong GPA and test scores are simply not enough. They invest time and thought in their essay responses and they don’t wait until the last minute to submit their applications. They keep deadlines in mind. They request letters of recommendation in a timely manner to allow a teacher/counselor time to reflect before writing a recommendation. They use their essays as an opportunity to demonstrate their specific interests, life experience, and aspirations not just to repeat information found elsewhere in their application. They share something that helps fill in the overall picture of who they are and how they can contribute to the overall college environment.
Mistake #2: Neglect to consider appropriate college fit.
Wise applicants’ initial lists might begin with colleges that family members or friends recommend but it doesn’t stop there. They apply to a range of schools that are a good fit for them – they include fallback and dream school options. They invest time to research which schools are the best fit for them on many levels (consider: size of student population, distance from home, financial obligations, academic interests, special programs, alumni ties). They use online resources to provide information and insight into the sorts of programs and activities available at a college. They schedule campus tours and reach out to college counselors whenever possible. They speak with current students and recent graduates. They ask their tour guides/hosts questions about how they selected a specific college and about experiences at the college that matched their expectations, as well as what they might do differently in hindsight. Successful applicants can articulate why each school they apply to is a good fit for them.
Mistake #3: Take it easy in senior year.
Applicants with the best chance of acceptance take a rigorous curriculum throughout high school, demonstrate an upward trend in academic demands, and maintain extracurricular involvement with increasing leadership responsibility. They don’t blow off senior year. Yes, of course they have fun, but they keep future goals in mind as well. They make sure to stay on top of assignments and prepare well for exams.
Although this discussion seems logical, nonetheless, these are common oversights. Successful college applicants just don’t make these mistakes.