Dear NSHSS Members,
Well the New Year is off to a great start and across the country college admissions officials have one thing on their mind: recruiting top students! This is your time to shine, and I would like to share with you three things you can do this month to help you in the transition from high school to college.
- Go to a college fair … prepared
- Surf the net
- The National Association for College Admission Counseling
- Virtual Campus Tours
- College Board Online
- Kaplan Test Prep
- Careers and Colleges
- Mapping Your Future
- Department of Education Home Page
- Financial Aid Information Page
- Free Application for Federal Student Aid
- My College Guide
- Wake up early on Saturday
The question is not "should I go to a college fair"--of course you should! Fairs are a great way to get in front of all your top schools and make a personal connection with someone on the admissions team. The question is "how can I make the most of a fair"? Let me offer just three tips for you and your family.
Gather information about all of your top schools ahead of time and have a plan. Decide who you want to visit and what questions you want to ask. Be informed. Do not make the mistake of asking an all-girls school what the guy/girl ratio is.
Do some self-analysis and try to find a school that matches who you are now and who you want to grow to be. Do you like the city? Do you play any sports? Is it important that the school have a religious affiliation? Does the school offer your area of interest? Do you meet the minimum criteria that school requires? The better you know yourself the better you will be at finding the school for you.
Use resources that are already out there and available to you! Make sure you check out NACAC's Tips for Attending a College Fair and Faring Well at a Fair.
There are literally hundreds of websites out there with useful information for students in every stage of the college admissions process. From athletics, to financial aid, to test prep, to scholarships, it is online.
To get you started, here are my top 10 favorite sites:
Ok, not every Saturday- but on key dates for SAT & ACT testing! One of the most important things you can do is continually improve your standardized test scores. Most of the top universities still look very closely at these scores. Make sure you sign up today for one of the spring testing dates.
I wish you the best of luck on your college applications!
Sincerely,
Veronica S. Squires
University Relations Manager
veronica.squires@nshss.org