A short checklist for applying to college.

Today’s post is going to be a few overlooked things that everyone should have before applying to colleges! (And luckily, most of these are free!).

1.    A professional email.

This is becoming less and less of an issue as each year passes, but back in the old days of the early 2000s when I made my first email, we made cool “screen names” that still haunt us to this day.

If you’re still using your “CutiebabyjustinbieberjonasbrothersonedirectionXO” email it might be time to get a new one.

I’d recommend a Gmail that uses your real name or a shortened version of it.

(For instance, I use CollegeAppChick@gmail.com for blog related things, and my real name for all other emails).

2.    A cleaned up Facebook.

I’m not going to say that facebook is entirely necessary, but if you have one make sure it’s as clean and professional as you can make it

(See this post for reference (http://collegeapp-chick.tumblr.com/post/40373334508/whats-in-a-facebook-name)

3.    A reliable proof-reader

Even the most English savvy of us can make a few silly mistakes. A reliable proofreader who will get things back to you quickly with good recommendations is extremely important.

For instance, this is a message from grammar-Nazi reader on an essay I recently wrote:

“The [disadvantage, unfortunate result, only detriment, one negative]  of my educational path is that it has prevented me from l formally studying business.<-- THERE IS AN I IN THIS SENTENCE GET IT OUT. Also c'mon, college counselor, you know better than to just outright say "negative" without a qualifier. Sounds evil. “

4.     A recent College/University guide.

If you like the book format you can drop 30 dollars on Princeton Review, Fisk, or any other big book of colleges. If you don’t want to spend any money, check out the schools websites and collegeboard’s website. College Prowler is good for some things (school environment, class environment) but usually their financial/admissions information is outdated.
College Confidential is okay-ish, but shouldn’t be your first source.
US NEWS DOESN’T COUNT. This isn’t just my personal vendetta against the rankings, but US News doesn’t give subjective descriptions of student life or the programs at the schools. It’s not a reliable guide for any of the very important soft factors of a school.

Personally I like the books because they’re well written and give nice overviews of the schools (architecture, food, dorms, student life) and accurate admissions information. Also getting to post-it, annotate, and highlight the sections for schools I liked was really fun (yes, I was always this into college admissions). 

5.    A Spreadsheet

(When I planned this post on Sunday it was a resume template, but jokes on me. Thanks CommonApp!)

This can be in Microsoft Excel, Word, or even pen on paper. Just make a spreadsheet with the following columns:

School (Name of school), GPA (average GPA or GPA requirement), Deadline, Major(s) (do they have your major?), Soft Pros (ex: nice dorms, good food, good location, clubs that you like, small classes), Soft Cons (ex: far from home, too big/small, bad food, big classes, lots of TAs, etc.) 

This will help you keep track of everything in a nice handy place to help you keep track.
When the applications come out and/or you tour I would add two more columns

Supplements (how many), and tour reaction (which can be Positive/Neutral/Negative, and a few small notes as to why).

These are just a few things that will come in handy when you’re applying.