It's time to work on college applications

Q. I am an 11th-grader, and I'm wondering when I should begin the college admissions process.

A. If you haven't already done so, now is a good time to start. Hopefully, you have already begun the college admissions process by taking the PSATs and by taking the most rigorous high school courses you can handle.

Now is an important time to meet with a college counselor to help you with the process. One of the first steps to take is to determine what you are looking for in a college. There are many factors to consider, including location, size, public or private and so on.

Once you have a preliminary list of colleges that interest you, you may want to begin planning college visits. One of the best times to visit colleges is during your 11th-grade spring break. In most cases, your high school's spring break will not overlap with the colleges' spring breaks. Therefore, you will have the opportunity to visit colleges while classes are in session, which will give you a good idea of what a particular campus is like. During your college counseling meeting, you should discuss whether it is worthwhile to attend an information session or set up an interview at each of the colleges you are visiting.

If your spring break is already booked, consider visiting colleges in the summer. Although summer session at most colleges is generally not as busy as during the school year, you can still get an idea of what a college is like. Once the fall of your senior year rolls around, you are going to be so busy with college applications that you may not have time to visit campuses, especially distant ones.

Another planning tool is to keep track of your extracurricular activities, including community service, athletic activities and work experience. In addition to keeping track of your activities, this exercise will help you figure out if more activities will strengthen your applications. By doing this exercise now, approximately halfway through your 11th-grade year, you will still have the opportunity to engage in more activities if you need it.

It is also important to meet with a college counselor to discuss your testing timeline (the SAT, the ACT and the SAT Subject Tests), to begin putting together your college resume, to brainstorm college application essay topics and to discuss when and how to approach teachers for recommendations.

In short, if you haven't begun the college admissions process, doing so now will likely strengthen your applications, give you adequate time to consider this important decision and lessen stress in your senior year

http://www.paloaltodailynews.com/article/2008-1-26-jason-katz
Reprinted by permission, Palo Alto Daily News. Jason Katz ©1.19.2008 All rights reserved. This article may be printed for your personal use, but may not be reprinted in whole or in part in any publication or website without permission. www.jkatzcollegecounseling.com