About Honest talk about the process of applying to college. When to start? What to do? How does it all work out?

TRANSCRIPTION DONE BY MYTONOMY

Hi, I’m a graduate of the class of 2008. I’m a 3rd year at UVA majoring in foreign affairs, spanish, and education. And i’m gonna talk to you about applying for colleges. I had a crazy experience, I’m the oldest of 3. My parents are from out west so we knew nothing about the colleges here.

So we had that stereotypical, 5 people in 1 tiny car, road trip up and down the East coast visiting multiple colleges in a weekend. So I would definitely recommend to you to take it a little slower and start early. we started the sumemr beoer my juinor year, I would definiltey start sophomore year.

Don’t try to cram too many colleges into one trip because then they’ll all blur together in your mind. I would definitely bring a notebook to jot down notes about some highlights, what you liked, or what you didn’t like. Always collect pamphlets from the schools you go to, and the trick I learned from my counselor was to always take a newspaper because you can really get a sense of the school from it. And you can always remember which ones you go to.

So I’d start visiting around sophomore year, narrow down your list by junior year at the latest. And then, start taking your tests early, probably around junior year. I know that they say it depends on what colleges you apply to in terms of SAT IIs or the ACT, but I would just hedge your bets and be safe. I only took two SAT IIs and then applied to a college last minute that wanted 3, so I had to take the test last minute, speed my scores there, and they almost didn’t get there in time.

So it’s better safe than sorry with those, and I would probably finish up those tests by the spring of your junior year. This way if something goes wrong you have the fall of your senior year to make up for it. Don’t let your parents nag you too much, they’re gonna want to be involved in the process, My parents were over-involved in my process, almost wrote of my essays.

Let them read a final draft but nothing more than that. Because it’s your essay and colleges can definitely tell when parents are writing an essay. Make sure you get your essays written the summer before your senior year. It’ll make your break and your senior year so much more enjoyable. I would definitely apply to a lot of colleges early, as many as you can because it takes so much pressure off. When I already had three answers by the time the holidays came around, it just made the break that much better.

I would try to get everything done early even if it’s regular decision, treat it like it’s early. Make sure that you don’t save everything until last minute. Once you get everything in, don’t stress and enjoy the rest of your senior year because it’s never going to get as good as that.