Post by clarinet361 on Nov 30, 2005 0:16:25 GMT -5
For those not yet seniors in high school (or for those who are), here is some handy info. I wish someone had beaten me over the head with (most of these points weren't made as important as what they are).
VISIT all colleges that you're interested in during your junior year, or within the first month or two of school your senior year (this can be extrememely hard to do if you're in marching band, so plan accordingly). Summer is a good time to go visiting as well. Though the campus won't be like when school is in session, you will still get a feel for the college.
TALK to your parents, directors, private instructors, guidance counselor, and any and all helpful adults about colleges to look into that offer and are particularly strong in your considered major. Find someone who is helpful in guiding you along the college application and/or audition process. Have a pretty good idea of where you'd like to apply by the end of your junior year or at the very beginning of senior year (I had a good idea of what I wanted to major in, but very little idea of where I wanted to go).
Private colleges seem to offer free online applications. State colleges don't seem to- a major heads-up for planning your finances.
Prepare your audition material during the summer before senior year (this I was wise enough to do). Before you go getting too ambitious, check the audition requirements of all colleges you're interested in and know well what each requires. Go to your director and/or private instructor for help in choosing appropriate materials. (All major, minor, and quit possibly chromatic scales are your friends- get to know them very very very very very very well.)
Begin applying for scholarships (look in places such as fastweb.com, collegeboard.com, and many other places that offer free scholarship searches) over summer vacation before senior year. This holds especially true if you're in marching band. WATCH DEADLINES and plan your time accordingly. It is also a good idea to check out the applications for the colleges you're intersted in and see if they require some kind of writing sample (you don't have to fill them out to do this).
Do you want to stay in state, or move out? This helps in narrowing down your seaches; the cost of going out of state may narrow your choices as well (private colleges will probably help you find (more) money better than the state schools, or that is what I'm told by my guidance counselor).
Register for your FAFSA pin before Jan, or Dec. for that matter. The system gets very slow once everyone starts applying for financial aid (which you should apply whether you think you would get any or not). (A helpful hint from my guidance counselor.)
Overall, get things started and done early. This prevents anxienty attacks and stress that would otherwise be avoided if you had planned your time better.
Some colleges may not consider your application complete until you audition (saying this applies to you), so it is regardless of when you send in your application material (though you still need to audition before the last deadline for regular admission, and have everything in well ahead of time). For example, you could send in all application material before Dec. 1 and not audition until Jan. and be considered Regular Admission. If you want Early Notification or Early Decision, then plan your audition accordingly to those deadlines (this makes it imperitive that you begin preparing audition materials before the summer, in order to allow yourself ample time to prepare; most auditions would be held in Nov. if you wanted to be considered Early Decision or Early Notification, deadline for those typically being Dec. 1).
When you visit a college, introduce yourself to people so that they have a face to go with the name and application and any correspondence you have with them. Don't be afraid to e-mail them with questions (small colleges will get back to you within a matter of a couple days; it may be a couple weeks before you hear back from a large college, so if the question is time sensitive, ask well in advance (depends on what time of year it is, regardless of size, though)).
Above all, know when deadlines are.
I'll post my findings should I discover anything else. In the meantime, anyone else with helpful info? (those going though the college application process, those who have)
VISIT all colleges that you're interested in during your junior year, or within the first month or two of school your senior year (this can be extrememely hard to do if you're in marching band, so plan accordingly). Summer is a good time to go visiting as well. Though the campus won't be like when school is in session, you will still get a feel for the college.
TALK to your parents, directors, private instructors, guidance counselor, and any and all helpful adults about colleges to look into that offer and are particularly strong in your considered major. Find someone who is helpful in guiding you along the college application and/or audition process. Have a pretty good idea of where you'd like to apply by the end of your junior year or at the very beginning of senior year (I had a good idea of what I wanted to major in, but very little idea of where I wanted to go).
Private colleges seem to offer free online applications. State colleges don't seem to- a major heads-up for planning your finances.
Prepare your audition material during the summer before senior year (this I was wise enough to do). Before you go getting too ambitious, check the audition requirements of all colleges you're interested in and know well what each requires. Go to your director and/or private instructor for help in choosing appropriate materials. (All major, minor, and quit possibly chromatic scales are your friends- get to know them very very very very very very well.)
Begin applying for scholarships (look in places such as fastweb.com, collegeboard.com, and many other places that offer free scholarship searches) over summer vacation before senior year. This holds especially true if you're in marching band. WATCH DEADLINES and plan your time accordingly. It is also a good idea to check out the applications for the colleges you're intersted in and see if they require some kind of writing sample (you don't have to fill them out to do this).
Do you want to stay in state, or move out? This helps in narrowing down your seaches; the cost of going out of state may narrow your choices as well (private colleges will probably help you find (more) money better than the state schools, or that is what I'm told by my guidance counselor).
Register for your FAFSA pin before Jan, or Dec. for that matter. The system gets very slow once everyone starts applying for financial aid (which you should apply whether you think you would get any or not). (A helpful hint from my guidance counselor.)
Overall, get things started and done early. This prevents anxienty attacks and stress that would otherwise be avoided if you had planned your time better.
Some colleges may not consider your application complete until you audition (saying this applies to you), so it is regardless of when you send in your application material (though you still need to audition before the last deadline for regular admission, and have everything in well ahead of time). For example, you could send in all application material before Dec. 1 and not audition until Jan. and be considered Regular Admission. If you want Early Notification or Early Decision, then plan your audition accordingly to those deadlines (this makes it imperitive that you begin preparing audition materials before the summer, in order to allow yourself ample time to prepare; most auditions would be held in Nov. if you wanted to be considered Early Decision or Early Notification, deadline for those typically being Dec. 1).
When you visit a college, introduce yourself to people so that they have a face to go with the name and application and any correspondence you have with them. Don't be afraid to e-mail them with questions (small colleges will get back to you within a matter of a couple days; it may be a couple weeks before you hear back from a large college, so if the question is time sensitive, ask well in advance (depends on what time of year it is, regardless of size, though)).
Above all, know when deadlines are.
I'll post my findings should I discover anything else. In the meantime, anyone else with helpful info? (those going though the college application process, those who have)