Hey Juniors! Welcome to the GW College Coach Blog. The Seniors have agreed to not only let you
read this, but they also have advice for you on things that were helpful to
them in the college application process as well as things they would have done
differently. Eight delightful seniors
were interviewed and graciously offer you some tips.
NAVIANCE
Jordan says he
really liked Naviance for comparing schools.
He used Super Match to put in his preferences to get a list of schools
that he could then compare. He liked
applying to schools electronically, especially Common App, which made access
easy.
Allison thought
looking up colleges that are visiting West and being able to register for the
visit through Naviance was most helpful.
She liked the ease of the Activities Resume under the About Me tab. Max liked that by putting in your GPA and
rank Naviance could recommend colleges to you.
STRESS
Mary Ellen thought
that October was the most stressful because of early action deadlines. She said that she recommends the early and
priority deadlines (November 1, November 15) because the competitive pool is
not as tough and she found out if she was admitted in December. So, it was worth the early stress.
Molly credits
College 101 that she took at West for two mornings last summer. She worked on her Common App and wrote the
first draft of her essay so it was all set before the school year started.
Justine thought
that late November and early December were stressful. Then she was fine for a
while, but was majorly stressed at the time of this interview because she was waiting
to hear from her No. 1 school.
CRYING
Justine admits
there was crying involved--Jordan agreed. So did Sarina. Others nodded.
ESSAYS
Molly suggests
keeping ideas/drafts organized in folders on the computer. She didn’t want to show her parents her essay
because she thought it was so personal.
Mary Ellen says
don’t delete your essay ever--never. She needed it for so many other reasons and
had to rewrite from scratch.
Jordan tackled the
“So where is Waldo, Really?” essay for his college. He actually enjoyed it.
HOW TO BEGIN
Samantha suggests
knowing what you might want to major in helps narrow down colleges. Allison agrees. Sarina picked a general major, so she
wouldn’t have to put “undecided.”
Mary Ellen advises “visit
colleges this summer, and then it will help you decide where to apply.” She wanted to make sure she could “see myself
there.” She suggests to start
application, essays and visits early.
VISITING COLLEGES
Getting on campus
is crucial. Just call the admissions
office to set it up. Admissions people
are very friendly and want you to be on campus. Most visits are fun and
informative, but not always!
Sarina agrees
visiting is most important. She survived
a SIX-hour college visit in the pouring rain.
(She did not choose that school.)
Allison visited a
school with her mom where the student tour guide had FLUNKED out of the school
and was making up the answers to the questions they had. Yikes!
All the seniors
wish you luck and if you see them in the hall, you can ask them questions. They are EXCITED about their new
adventure. It was all worth it. Keep reading the GW College Coach Blog!
T.T.Y.L
GW College Coach
Contest!!! The first three juniors who tell their
Guidance Counselor what essay Jordan enjoyed writing win a college prize.
