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.

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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

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

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

*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.

^ 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?

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?

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???

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.




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

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

keep up the good work everyone!

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

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're welcome



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.

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

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.

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

Most people are probably looking off last year's UC applications. I don't think the application changes every year, so you could start preparing for them now, I guess.

Are all college applications in California due by November?

I only took my SAT's once in March and I didn't like my score but the next SAT date is on Oct 14 so does that mean I most likely won't be able to send an application to schools in CA?

has anyone received something frm the educational assistance council for financial aid? i have a question abt one of the things they ask you to fill out... this is what it says: "organization affiliation (student, parent & grandparent; civic, professional, volunteer, club, activity, union, fraternal, religious.)" what in the world does that mean and what am i supposed to fill out for that??

Stanford EA is November, and I believe UC's are November, but a lot of other schools accept up to January or so. Check out each school and see what their deadlines are.



I've never heard of it... I think in general, you shouldn't fill out those forms from weird organizations of financial aid/scholarships. Instead, apply for financial aid at the school you apply to (most schools are need-blind), so you can be SURE that it is legitimate.

^ i googled it and some say it's legit, some say it's not.. so now i have no idea if i should do it =T but my mom wants me to fill it out

hm well i have another question... does applying early mean less competition/more lenient acceptance?

If some say it's not legit, don't take the chance.

Honestly, I don't think applying early means less competition. In general, the people who apply early have stellar stats; that's why they're applying early. The acceptance rate for those who apply early is higher because there are a lot of qualified people who apply early. In my opinion, it does not help at all. However, if you really want to, go ahead. There's no harm in applying early. You just have to get stuff together a lot quicker.

For the common app under the EC section, they have this:

Select Category (drop down menu with list of activities)
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Describe Activity (blank box)

What if you have to put down the specific name for that activity? Can you put it in the Describe Activity box? For ex. I volunteer at a hospital and I've counseled at a named program, don't I have to put the name of those somewhere? Common app doesn't give a whole lot of room for description, so I'm a bit confused. Do names not matter?

I put the name of the thing and what I did in the "Describe Activity" box, I'm pretty sure that's what you're supposed to do.

^thanks for the reply! I know that's what I should do... but they give us NO ROOM at all. I had to resize/cut some words from the name of the camp program and then I still didn't have enough room for a description. But I guess that's the only way... I'll think of shorter words and look up some short words as well! Thanks!

I'll ask more questions along the way, you are so helpful, thank you ;_; this is such a scary process!

Yeah I remember I had to put really really short, vague descriptions in mine, which kind of sucked. But I did get into colleges obviously so don't worry about it ruining your chances or anything lol

Yeah I remember how scary the process was last year, I'm just glad to help some others

^ Misoobishi, I realized that you're answering most of the questions in here well, I was wondering I'm a senior this year (class of 07!!) and I'm only taking 5 classes, they're rigorous but I still dont know if I should take a 6th class. I want to get involved in some clubs and extracurricular activites but we mostly have sports and I dont like sports lol...would colleges frown upon the fact that Im only taking 5 classes this year? And what clubs do you think colleges will be impressed in seeing in your college app???

lol Yeah, the pre-college forum is my "rest" time between classes, after classes etc.

I don't think colleges will look down on your 5-class schedule as long as your classes are very rigorous. And by very rigorous, I mean all AP's and honors. Otherwise, if you've been taking 6-7 classes before and all of a sudden you have 5, they might think of it as a somewhat slacking year, and colleges HATE Senioritis, so be careful. I took 6 classes my senior year, mostly AP's and honors, and one community service-like class, which was tutoring people who signed up for a class to get learning skills help and such. If you pick an extra class that is rewarding personally, I don't think there would be any problem. You would learn something new and colleges think of it as "good" as well.

I think the most important thing that people have to remember is to NEVER pick an activity because they think a college will like it. Trust me. Know why? Think of all the activities you think colleges will like. Marching band. Playing the flute/violin/piano, going to lots of competitions, and getting in a state band. Community service in a hospital. Speech and debate. Yeah. Now think of all the hundreds of thousands of people who are doing those activities. By picking activities that you think colleges will like, you're actually screwing yourself over, because trust me, playing in a band is not going to help you stand out in a pool of thousands of other applicants who did the same thing unless you are some prodigy at whatever you do. (Which applied to a couple kids in my school.. they were both nationally in the top 10 for debating. But really, how common is that?)

It is a bit hypocritical of me to say that stuff, since I personally was in a flute ensemble and I volunteered at a hospital. But I KNOW the activity that impressed the colleges was my tutoring at elementary schools for underprivileged children, and in my interviews, very few schools even mentioned common things like flute/hospital work, and focused mostly on my experiences tutoring. I'm just lucky I had that activity, which actually was my favorite out of all my activities.

I've been giving fairly vague answers. If you're a bit like me and you need specific answers: pick something not many others are doing. Discover passions that not many other people can say that they have, whether it's ballroom dancing or designing clothes or whatever. You have to make sure you're not just "one of those kids" in a huge pile of applications. You need to stand out, not just in test scores, but in extracurricular activites that show an aspect of your personality that SAT scores and GPA cannot convey.

BUT do not just pick a bunch of random activities your senior year. Colleges prefer that you have a few things that you are truly passionate about than a lot of random stuff that you don't really do anything with.

^ I have 3 AP classes and Physics and Spanish 3 lol not really rigirous compare to your 6 AP classes. Actually, my counselor said I didn't need the 6th period because with the 5 classes I'll graduate with more credits needed. Do you think colleges are going to think I have senioritis? lol I was actually thinking of using my last period to volunteer in our special ed class. You see, my school is the only school within the 3 small schools that has special ed classes...what do you think?

So basically, you want me to stand out? But what if all I know do to is tutor and usher and volunteer in parades and help out teachers...those are very common things...how do I stand out with that?

I think 3 AP's sounds all right, that should be fine. Volunteering at a special ed class would be awesome, not many people have the mental strength to do that. THAT should be your "different thing" that you need to emphasize in your apps. Either write an essay on it, or get the teacher/coordinator to write you a rec letter. But make sure that you're doing it to actually get an experience out of it, not just because you think colleges will like it. College admissions officers have read hundreds of thousands of applications over the years. They can smell an insincere one that you're overexaggerating for brownie points from miles away.

misoo, go study some more

but really. she's cool. and she's really awesome for spending the time to answer all of your guys's questions. after all, she is an expert

omg im SOOOOOOO confused
hahaha
so basically
im re-taking the SAT october 14. And I want that score to be sent to Stanford for EARLY which is due NOVEMBER
the thing is, online, when u sign up for recipients (cuz u get 4 free reports), there's no RUSH button available.
And the only way to rush is after your scores have come out...
and it takes like 3 weeks for scores to come out. So I'm confused...
how do I rush the report? o_O
do I call them after the test or something? ....................

T_____T

^ Yeah, I think you rush your report to them as soon as your scores come out but call CollegeBoard just in case and double check. I never had to rush my scores so I'm not really an expert on that point.

of course besides, it's not as if this is my first time helping out fellow students in my community...I have experience, it's just this is the first time for me working with special ed students...

thanks alot missobishi, you've helped me alot. When that college acceptance letter from UC Berkeley comes rolling in next year, it's partly thanks to u lol...don't mean to exaggerate but yeah...I think I got a better understanding of what I'm gonna be doing next year because of you.

You're very welcome Glad I could help!

when u do early action your app must be in but do the scores have to be in too? kus i did priority deadline at a few schools last yr but sent in my test scores later. you should double check stanfords rules on that

i have a q. One of my awards i got is right before 9th grade. Like a month before lol. Can i still write it in? Or is it only awards during my highschool career?

^ I think summer before 9th grade counts as high school.

Is is like a big award? If so, then you should definitely put it on there!

When colleges see your ranking do they see your ranking you have after 2nd semester junior year or first semester senior year?

for my school it was the latter, unless you were doing early decision/action i suppose. they'll eventually see your final class rank anywho

WellI did crappy my 2nd semester Jnr year so my ranking dropped, so I was wondering if I raised it first semester senior year, if the college would take that as the final ranking?

^it's probably going to be whatever ur counselor writes on the applications
so it might be 2nd sem jun/1st sem senior depending on deadlines of apps

^
exactly, and the grades are unweighted so it probalby won't change drastically

^those grades are unweighted??!!

It depends on whether you want your grades weighted or unweighted.... I asked my counselor to send my weighted transcript so everything in my transcript (that counted for the extra point) was weighted...

Er if that answered your question...