[chibifry]

I started my college applications today and it is.so.confusing.

I thought that fellow 07ers would find this thread useful. So post your questions here.

I'm filling out the common app, but theres a section that says "Other secondary schools" - "List all other secondary schools, including summer schools as well as summer and other programs you have attended, beginning with ninth grade." Does this include Korean school? Summer programs?

I also earned college credit from a college and theres a section titled "COLLEGE CREDIT" - "List all colleges/universities at which you have taken courses for credit. List titles of courses taken and grades earned in the Additional Information section on page 3. Please have an official transcript sent from each institution as soon as possible." Theres a checkbox that inquires "Degree Candidate?" What does that mean? And "degree earned?" I dont think I earned a degree there, I just took a class and got college credit. Also for the transcript, do I get a copy of it and send it in myself, or do I get the college to send the transcript?

There's a section for SAT scores, but there's no red required star next to them. Do I just fill them out there? What about sending my score report?

For my father's occupation, what does position/title mean? Does that mean where he ranks in the office? Like manager, assistant etc? Is it better to put down that he didn't attend college? I mean he attended college in Korea, but does that count?

My mom owns a store. I can't find "entrepreneur." Where does this fall under?

Siblings - I have one sister who attends college. They say to state institutions,I'm assuming this means college. but does it include HS as well?

How do I fill out the ECs? Like I am in a club that does community service but I have also done community service on my own. Do I choose community service twice? I also did an internship and had a job. Do I need papers from these places which prove my working there? If I do, how do I send those papers in?

Do I put down the contests I won under "ACADEMIC HONORS" Is it better to describe them like

contest 1 - I did this & that
Contest 2 - yeah I did this

OR

I have won many contests blah blah. One of the contests is Contest 1. In Contest 1, I did this. I have also won Contest 2. etc.

------------
Does anyone know any books that help with applications?

[silhouette]

Does anyone know any books that help with applications?

go to the library and ask the people there, i think there is a college help section, it has books to pick good colleges, fill out apps and more

as for your other questions i dont know as i am an entering senior too
i should get a head start on college apps...even tho i didnt even do any of my summer hw yet

[chibifry]

go to the library and ask the people there, i think there is a college help section, it has books to pick good colleges, fill out apps and more

as for your other questions i dont know as i am an entering senior too
i should get a head start on college apps...even tho i didnt even do any of my summer hw yet

Yeah I go there all the time, I just wanted to know if there were specific books that people found useful.. ^^; Most people didn't start applications cause its only like the first week of July but I'm applying to a crap load of schools and all the seniors in my school stressed so much that us class of 07 should start on apps right away, cause theres a lot to do.

I want to get as much done as possible so that I can focus on my grades senior year hehe

[Voltage]

Hello there,

I think you may be overstressing and overthinking some aspects of the common application. While it may seem that everything you write on the app will ultimately affect your chances at a school, there are only certain things which really are put into consideration. Your parents' occupation, just make it simple. If you mom owns a store, her title is owner.

For SAT score, you need to put in your score if you have one or most colleges now accept the ACT, so either one is fine. If you do choose to send your SAT score, you must send an official score report via collegeboard account to your respective college.

For secondary schools, only list your high school and places where you may have received college credit. Don't bother with korean school etc.

Degree candidate means you were earning credits at a specific institution while pursuing a specific degree such as a Math degree, business degree, etc.

For your sister, just put her college. Schools only look at this just in case for legacy

For your EC, emphasize the community service you do outside of school. For Asians, sports is also a plus if you do compete in one

Academic Awards, make it short and simple:
Award-significance, Award2-significance
Also, significance may not be necessary if you win an award like Valedictorian.

Be careful with how many awards you put down and stress only ones that are truly significant. Winning the inner highschool spelling bee is not something you would put for example.

Finally just concentrate on your essay and your scores.

-Good Luck

[KIM_SAYS:]

*Bumping this thread up because I have a question*

So when you're filling out your applications, do you have to be really formal? Or is it ok if it's a little informal? I'm not talking about like slang or anything, but just to show your voice and personality...

On one of my applications there are questions that aren't essay questions, but just "additional information" questions like "What influenced you to apply?" I don't know if I should answer very formally like "Blah blah blah has influenced to apply because..." I don't usually write like that.

[말라카]

*Bumping this thread up because I have a question*

So when you're filling out your applications, do you have to be really formal? Or is it ok if it's a little informal? I'm not talking about like slang or anything, but just to show your voice and personality...

On one of my applications there are questions that aren't essay questions, but just "additional information" questions like "What influenced you to apply?" I don't know if I should answer very formally like "Blah blah blah has influenced to apply because..." I don't usually write like that.

Well if everyone was formal with those questions they wouldn't ask them. Because then they would recieve 15 thousand replies that would all sound the same. They ask that you write an essay and all those supplemental short paragraphs so they can get to know you.

[litoxshortaii]

^ write how you usually write and be genuine abt it. dont make it sound like ur writing on ur weblog or something but not make it sound all stuffy, boring or fake either.

i have a kind of stupid question.. what does post-secondary mean? like when they ask what grade levels you've done a certain activity for and they list post-secondary, does it mean that ur planning on continuing it after high school?

also, would volunteering (because ive been volunteering at my chinese school's summer school/camp as a teacher assistant) count as a job/work experience as well as an extracurricular activity, or would it count only as an extracurric?

[ddangkong!]

Question! I feel so dumb, but.. what is this "common app"? I know they have like.. "College of __" subsets in universities, so does that mean you have to fill a general app for the university AND another app for the specific department thing you want to get in?

[chdairkld]

ooh I have a question too, thanks guys for being so kind and answering.

I'm planning to apply regular admission, but I also want to retake my SAT's in December if I have to because my scores still aren't what I would like, so on the applications do I put down my best scores thus far and also send an official score report??

And lets say I do better in December, but already sent/wrote other scores down, will they be automatically updated and know to recheck my file???

[clairdeluned]

Question! I feel so dumb, but.. what is this "common app"? I know they have like.. "College of __" subsets in universities, so does that mean you have to fill a general app for the university AND another app for the specific department thing you want to get in?

The common application is a handy little thing that lets you use the same basic application for a ton of schools. A lot of schools are not included in the list, but a lot are. Most schools require a SUPPLEMENT along with the common app, which is basically another form with specific questions/essays that are not on the common app. As far as I know, there is no specific form to apply for the department you are interested in, you just choose your major or "undecided" on the form.

ooh I have a question too, thanks guys for being so kind and answering.

I'm planning to apply regular admission, but I also want to retake my SAT's in December if I have to because my scores still aren't what I would like, so on the applications do I put down my best scores thus far and also send an official score report??

And lets say I do better in December, but already sent/wrote other scores down, will they be automatically updated and know to recheck my file???

Write down your best scores so far, and when your scores in December come out, rush the scores to them. A lot of schools have a "are you planning on retaking the SAT test?" checkbox or something similar to that, so if it has that, just write down when you plan on taking it. Besides, when you send your scores to the school, they update it in their system so they can see your new scores and, if they're better than your old ones, your new scores will replace your old ones.


I hope I helped both of you

[c a t h e r s]

^ OOH that second question definitly helped me. i was going to ask the same thing

[dark_chancellor]

keep up the good work everyone!

[chdairkld]

Misoobishi: Thanks so much for clearing that up for me.

[Sky's Crying]

When is the common application for the UCs going to come out online for the Class of '07? Do we apply on CollegeBoard.com or UniversityofCalifornia.edu?

[clairdeluned]

Misoobishi: Thanks so much for clearing that up for me.

You're welcome

When is the common application for the UCs going to come out online for the Class of '07? Do we apply on CollegeBoard.com or UniversityofCalifornia.edu?

You actually can't use the common app for UC's, but don't worry, it's not too bad. The UC application in itself is kind of like a common app. You fill in basic information, choose the schools you want to apply to, and voila! Some schools have some extra info you might need to fill out (for example, you need to fill out college preferences for UCSD), but it's really quite easy.

[Omphie]

If you're applying to the two (or more schools) and they have the same essay question or the "write on your own topic," is it okay to reuse the essay you wrote for a different college?

[clairdeluned]

If you're applying to the two (or more schools) and they have the same essay question or the "write on your own topic," is it okay to reuse the essay you wrote for a different college?

Yes, it's all right to recycle your essays if you think they're good. (Man, I wrote a KILLER one on Henry David Thoreau last year and I used it for almost every school I applied to ) Just make sure you don't use a school-specific essay for another school's application. I have a friend who used her Emory essay on her Wellesley application on accident ("Going to Emory would be a great experience" blah blah) Needless to say, she did not get into Wellesley.

Also, you may want to consider the feel of the school and revise little parts before sending it. You don't want to keep the sentence "I'd love to go to a big school" in an application to Williams College or another small liberal arts college, or "I'm sick of the city" on the application for Boston University or UCLA. Just use common sense and it'll be fine

[flyaway]

Hi I have a question--
you know for each of the private schools, they ask for teacher recs

So are u supposed to get different teachers to write recs? like wat if im applying to like 6 private schools? @_@ i dont have that many teachers that like me

Or is it ok to just give them alot of envelopes & ask them to do them all? *blink* Cuz alot of the teacher rec stuff is on a form.



Also, I dont have to send AP scores to all the schools do I? They'll trust what I put on there right?


Finally, I"m applying to stanford early action. They said that the latest SAT date is October 14 o_O. Does that mean I absolutely cannot report the one im going to take Oct 31?

[clairdeluned]

Hi I have a question--
you know for each of the private schools, they ask for teacher recs

So are u supposed to get different teachers to write recs? like wat if im applying to like 6 private schools? @_@ i dont have that many teachers that like me

Or is it ok to just give them alot of envelopes & ask them to do them all? *blink* Cuz alot of the teacher rec stuff is on a form.
Also, I dont have to send AP scores to all the schools do I? They'll trust what I put on there right?
Finally, I"m applying to stanford early action. They said that the latest SAT date is October 14 o_O. Does that mean I absolutely cannot report the one im going to take Oct 31?

I only asked 2 teachers to do all of my apps last year. You definitely do not have to (and should not) ask a bunch of different teachers. A lot of my schools were on the common app, so my teachers just filled out the form once and made photocopies of those, which should be fine. Also, be sure to give recs to teachers almost as soon as school starts, give them the deadline of each app (you can write the deadline on a post-it on each envelope), and check up on them every once in a while to see if they remembered to send in the letter. Teachers are busy and can forget if you aren't careful. Oh, I asked a math teacher and a history teacher for my rec letters.. I think most colleges prefer that you get a letter from a math/science teacher and the other from an english/history/maybe foreign language teacher. But make sure that the teacher you ask likes you!

Just write the AP scores and do NOT send them the scores. Only send a school AP scores if 1) they ask for it in the process, but I don't know of any schools that do, or 2) you decide the attend the school. Once you send in your Statement of Intent to Register, the school needs your AP report to give you credits/put you in the right classes. Until then, don't send the scores unless it says you should on the app.

October scores... I'm not sure about that one, I personally used scores from before the deadline to apply last year. However, I believe you can send them an updated report (RUSH the report to them) once your October scores come out (sometime in November) . The only hitch with that is that the scores are sent as soon as they come out and I believe you don't get a chance to see your scores before they are sent. Anyway, if you're still not sure about the October scores thing, call the Stanford admissions office and they'll tell you if you can send the October scores or not. Though I'm pretty sure you can. Last year, the EA deadline was November 1st, I think, so when your scores come out in mid-November, they will still be in the decision making process.

[mangoxbabii]

i have a quick question, where are you doing these applications at? Are you guys doing it at the university of california website, because I only see the applications for the winter of 2007 students