From Application to Acceptance: The Journey of College Admissions, Part One

​[This is part one of a two part series on college applications.]
Despite the disruptions going on right now, one thing remains certain: College Applications are due soon. For all our seniors preparing to embark on this journey, and anyone else interested in higher learning, we offer the first entry in a two-part guide to applying for college. This entry focuses on how to decide where and how to apply, while the second will deal with the more practical steps of applying.
Part One: Decide Where You Want to Apply
The United States alone boasts over 4000 colleges and universities, but most students only have the time and money to apply to ten or so. Whittling down the options seems a daunting task. Luckily, many great resources can help you make an ideal list of colleges for application. We most enthusiastically recommend the website Cappex; through your free account, Cappex helps you identify realistic target schools based on your grades and scores, connect you to interested programs, and locate scholarships and other sources of funding for your academic future. We strongly suggest you sign-up for this or a similar service, but for now we will detail some of the major themes you should consider when helping your student select where to send applications.

1. Take into account your student's SAT/ACT scores and GPA. Although many other factors affect college admissions, grades and test scores still strongly impact your competitiveness. They provide admissions offices the most direct method of comparing your strengths to those of the average student accepted in previous years. By factoring in your student's GPA and standardized test results, you can sort colleges into three broad categories. We recommend applying to a few schools from each group.
   1. Safety Schools. Safety schools offer the most reliable chance of acceptance based on your student's academic record. While safety schools might not represent your student's first pick, smart applicants keep a few such backups on their list just in case their ideal options do not come through. Having an offer from a safety school, even if it falls short of your student's dream program, provides them options and perhaps even leverage if the admission comes with a scholarship. Furthermore, what appears a safety school at first blush may end up the perfect fit for your young scholar. We recommend you apply to two or three safety schools.
   2. Target Schools. Target schools offer a reasonable chance of acceptance but will require more competitive scores and grades than do safety schools. These schools also often take into account factors besides GPA and test scores, such as extracurricular activities, admission essays, and student hardship. The bulk of your applications, perhaps five or six, should go to target schools.
   3. Reach Schools. Representing the highest-ranked universities, prestigious reach schools exercise the most selective standards. To even merit consideration, your student will need to strengthen all aspects of their application, and even then some factors - such as enrollment rates based on limited budgets - remain well outside their control. Applying to two or three reach school encourages your student to think big and get excited about college, and with hard work and a little luck they just might find themselves on their way to a dream program next fall!
2. Consider which type of college your student may prefer. Colleges vary widely in academic focus, campus life, and financial structure. Before your students makes their list of ideal schools, they should consider the different types of institutions they can choose from.
   1. Private Schools. Private schools tend to cost more in tuition, as they receive less or no state funding and often attract faculty who command greater salaries. That being said, these schools represent some of the most prestigious institutions in the world, and may facilitate a more scholarly-focused environment than schools where campus life features more partying, Greek life, or nationally-known athletics (although some private schools feature all these in abundance).
   2. Public Schools. Public colleges and universities tend to cost less, as tax dollars and often athletic program revenue fray the cost of faculty and facilities. Many of these institutions stand toe-to-toe in scholarship with the elite Ivy League schools, but others appear less erudite than their private counterparts, in name if not in reality.
   3. Liberal Arts Schools versus Research Schools. Most colleges and universities offer liberal arts educations, meaning they focus on providing their graduates with a broad range of classes across the natural sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities. This education broadens students' minds, encourages a spirit of life-long learning, and can provide your student a general sense of being able to learn and contribute regardless of the company they keep. Research schools on the other hand, while still offering some general education courses, tend to focus more on preparing their students for very specific professional careers, emphasizing the students' majors more than more liberal arts colleges do.
   4. Two-Year versus Four-Year Colleges. Some students may wish to begin their college careers by earning an Associate's degree at a junior college or perhaps a satellite campus for a larger state school. They can then transfer to a four-year college or university to finish their degree. This allows students to pay less in tuition and perhaps live closer to home in their first several semesters while still having from the name of the better-known four-year school they finish at on their actual Bachelor's degree. Other students may wish to benefit from a larger, four-year school's resources from the very beginning, investing in campus connections as a Freshman that grow through their Senior year.

 
Of course, if your student already has a firm idea of what discipline they want to study or career they wish to enter, a school's specific academic program and faculty may figure more prominently into application decisions than the type of school in question. By discussing your student's goals and applying them to the options described above, you can help your student balance financial, social, and professional considerations. For more information including lists of schools matching the different types, visit the Common App and Coalition App online.
 

1.  Type of Admissions. Many colleges offer different types of admissions. Being aware of these differences may help ease confusion as your student embarks on this already somewhat Byzantine process.
   1. Regular Admissions. For regular admission, the most common type, schools set a fixed deadline for the application that usually falls somewhere between November and January. Admissions offices review all such admissions, making decisions at the end of the period.  You will want this admission for schools not on the top of your list. Regular admissions receive no special treatment, being fairly judged among all applications.
   2. Rolling Admissions. Schools review the less common rolling admissions applications on a first come-first serve basis. Schools utilize a timeframe rather than a deadline, reviewing applications until they have filled all spots. If any of your target or reach schools offer rolling admissions, we recommend applying ASAP.
   3. Open Admissions. Mostly used by community colleges and online schools, open admissions allow students to apply at almost any time before classes start. Usually, if an applicant meets the basic requirements, they will receive admission to the program. Very little competition exists with open admissions schools.
   4. Early Decision. The most restrictive admissions type, early decision admissions set deadlines much earlier than other types do, usually no later than the beginning of November. These early deadlines guarantee that such candidates will receive consideration before regular admissions applications.  In many cases, early decision acceptance rates are also slightly higher. Beware, however: these applications represent a kind of contract. Students may only apply for one early decision admission across all their schools. If schools find that a student applied to multiple early decision admissions, they no longer consider said student's applications. Furthermore, if the school accepts a student through early decision, that student must commit to and attend the school. Early decision offers the best option for when you are absolutely certain the college is your top pick. Luckily, if your early admission application does not succeed, admissions officers place it into the regular admissions pool for a second chance.
   5. Early Action. Early actions admissions closely resemble early decision admissions except they do not include the commitment requirement. These programs still set deadlines earlier than regular admissions, again no later than November, and review early action applications before those for regular admissions. However, most early action admissions do require you to wait to hear back from them before committing to any other schools.

Follow this link for more information on these and other types of admissions, and watch this space for part two of our series on applying to college.
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