Those late summer senior questions

I have been working with a group of 15 rising seniors and 2 rising juniors for a college essay writing class I designed and offer for UCLA Extension Summer Programs for 7th-12th Grade Students. Each student attends a different public or private school, including LACES, Pacific Palisades Charter, H-W, Windward, New Roads, Flintridge, Hoover High School, Wildwood, YULA, and more. Each student is unique. Each student has great assets, qualities, and personalities to offer colleges.

What stuns me is how few have met actively with their college counselors at schools. So I offered to answer basic questions they raised. Here are some of their questions. Maybe they will help you. Please feel free to ask questions. I can't guarantee I can answer them, but I can certainly find answers.

Question 1: How should my different essays connect?
Answer 1: What a great question. I believe they should connect in ways that show as much about your personality and key characteristics as possible. It is ideal if they complement each other. If one is about something specific you have accomplished on your own, it would be nice to have one that shows how you've accomplished something with others. If one is about how something external lyshaped you, then another should be about your iniatiative, an internal quest. If one is about a struggle, the other can be about recovery and joy. Additional essays should focus on core qualities you want to continue sharing but significantly overlapping essays are not highly recommended. Now, there are caveats. Someone who has had an extraordinary circumstance or experience can definitely have two pieces that explain the process and the outcomes or the inside and the outside. Email me and I'll tell you more.

Question 2. I need financial aid and don't know where to start?
Answser 2. http://www.fastweb.com/ is where I would start. I took a great class on financial aid and this website taught me more than anything I could imagine. It provides great information along with access to resources. I also have a great powerpoint my instructor gave us which I can email you.

Question 3. What is early decision? What is early action?
Answer 3: Early decision and early action are two ways to gain access to a college by mid-December. These applications are due the beginning of November and mean that you need to have great grades already, a strong academic and testing record, and school support.
Early Decision is legally binding. If you get in, you go. (Unless some extraordinary financial situation occurs. You can only apply to one Early Decision school. So this needs to be a match made in heaven.
Early Action is NOT binding. If you get in, you do not have to go. Some colleges have Restrictive Early Action which means you can only apply to that one school but acceptance is not binding.

Be aware that some Early Decision schools do not defer. They accept or reject.

To check whether a school you are interested in has Early Decision or Early Action, check this great website: http://www.nacac.com/college-search/search.cfm

Question 4: Is it too late to start an activity?
Answer 4: Of course, not. Just remember, however, a few things.
1. Colleges look for consistency and develoment. So if this activity is an extension of an interest such as an internship or job, great.
2. Don't do anything to sacrific your testing, academic, and application preparation process.
3. Dont' STOP anything senior year. You need to keep doing what you're doing.
4. Do what you need to show a pattern...If you're on a steady increase, then adding an activity makes perfect sense.

Question 5: What schools don't require test scores?
Answer 5: Ah, a great website exists to help you determine this: http://www.fairtest.org/univ/optional.htm

Question 6: What schools have great xxx programs?
Answer 6: I don't know off the top of my head. But there are many ways to find out.
1. Ask your friends. Ask teachers.
2. Do web searches. The College Board has a great site that helps you find schools based on majors. http://www.collegeboard.com/
Some other sites with great college finders are
Xap Student Center http://www.xap.com/
NACAC's Internet Road Map for the College Bound Student has great links and info on it as well.
http://www.nacacnet.org/MemberPortal/News/StepsNewsletter/An+Internet+Road+Map+for+the+College-Bound+Student.htm


That is all for now. I welcome more questions and desperately seek feedback and comments.