Arrange Your College Search
You've decided to enter the college or university, but are still looking through a variety of such institutions. Having accumulated a great amount of information, you don't know what to do with it. Unfortunately, there exist no shortage of places to gather information about colleges. Therefore, you should know what to do with that information you've got.
Some systems and tools helpful for you are listed below:
High school resources. Applicants should look for college websites which contain many resources for parents and students. Therefore, the learners have an opportunity to get the information about test scores, high school résumé, surveys, and more. Moreover, the website provides a chance to communicate with counselors.
Old fashioned file folders. A lot of college packets, brochures, postcards, and letters are in your mailbox. Some of them may be trashed, but some are kept (especially letters of admittance and scholarship offers) in an organized fashion.
Computer spreadsheets. It will be useful for you to organize two spreadsheets. One of them should contain data concerning number of students, tuition amount, estimated cost of room and board, student-to-faculty ratio, and average ACT scores. The second is dedicated to checking off when these things were sent (application for admission, transcript, ACT scores, counselor recommendation, teacher recommendations, and scholarship application). Thus, comparison of these two spreadsheets will assist with analyzing different schools side by side.
Keep a calendar. Choosing the college, the student faces a number of deadlines and important dates such as deadlines for applications, honors programs, scholarships, and others. That's why, he/she must organize the calendar or day planner and record every school's important dates.
Narrow your choices early. The students should narrow their choices to two or three as soon as possible. Because they will have a lot of other duties before entering: the fulfilling of application, housing contracts or registration for orientation etc.