13 Tips for College Applicants

1) Please if you do nothing else- take the SAT 3 times. It's 60 dollars and you really never know, you might do better and if/when you do- you have the opportunity for more scholarship or the change to get into a better school.

2) Visit schools your junior year. Trust me; use up those excused absences every chance you get. Go to random schools, schools you never heard of or thought you would never like. You really never know.

3) Visit schools your senior year too, you should have it narrowed down at least a little so you can go back and look at campuses a second time.

4) Start applying to schools early, the earlier you start the process the less stress you will have later on.

5) Narrow it down by the end of September. That may seem early but it really does help in the long run, if you can't do that then at least have a list of your favorites.

6) Whenever you visit a school make sure you take notes on what you like and don't like. Trust me- the schools will start to blend together and you won't remember which had a good dining hall, or which had the best dorms.

7) Get your references early, like the beginning of September. Seriously- teachers have a lot of teacher recommendations to write; the earlier you give them yours the sooner you will get them back. Your request easily gets thrown to the back of the pile if you give it to them along with everyone else's.

8) Get help from your English teachers with your essays. Admission essay's can be difficult, the more help you get the better chance you have at being accepted.

9) Do not make decisions on your top 5 school list based on ANYONE ELSE except for yourself. Do not consider a boyfriend, or a friend, or even your parents. You're the one who has to attend that school for the next 4 years. Make sure you love it.

9) Join clubs, sport teams, anything. Extra circulars really do help when applying to college.

10) It is not a myth- colleges really will ask for your final transcripts at the end of senior year. So, do not let your grades slip... completely.

11) Think outside the box when applying. Do not just think of your typical schools, do some research

12) Do not spend your senior year fixated on college. You have the next 4 years for all of that. Go to the football game, the basketball game, and the baseball game. Go to prom; spend as much time as possible with your friends. Do not let your senior year slip you by. It truly is the best one and regardless of your memories at high school- you will miss it.

13) Finally, take this advice to heart; you are not going to find the perfect school. No school is perfect; find the school you feel the most comfortable at and can see your self spend the next 4 years there. After all- you will be spending the next 4 years there.

Happy Hunting!