I Forgot to Apply to College
“I, uhh, forgot to apply to college.”
I know what you are thinking. No way. There is no way that a truly good student who wants to attend college is going to forget to apply to college. It does happen, though “forgetting” might not be the most accurate term. How about this one:
“I, uhh, was really busy and I applied to fewer colleges than I wanted to.” Do you believe that one?
Our best and brightest seniors are busy. Your Senior year in high school might not have featured rigorous courses, but today’s Seniors have lots of pressure to take Advanced Placement or Dual Enrollment courses. Add the demands of rigorous courses to the time involved in extracurricular activities, volunteer hours, and a little bit of social time. Seniors are busy. Sometimes too busy to worry sufficiently about the next few years of their lives.
The results are that Seniors sometimes miss deadlines associated with the college of their choice. They don’t spend enough time on their essays. They copy and paste essays and forget to edit the “Go Bulls” on their essay to UCF (Knights). They apply to fewer schools than they thought they would. They don’t take the ACT or SAT as many times as they thought they would. Even if they do, they don’t prepare for these tests as much as they thought they would. I have seen this firsthand with some outstanding students.
How can a family help their Senior in this process?
The simple answer is to hire an Educational Consultant. Student First Educational Consulting helps the student and parents decide which colleges best fit the student, helps the student with essay ideas, deadlines, and many other things. We can help make the whole process much smoother and eliminate some “college” tension in your home. However, some people don’t feel like they can afford these services or feel like their child doesn’t have time for another “thing.” Some people feel like this is all part of the student’s maturation process and that the student should like in whatever bed they make.
Here are some tips for students and parents:
1. Make sure the student takes the ACT or SAT in the Spring of the Junior year and the Fall of the Senior year. Make sure the student is familiar with the test instructions before test day.
2. The process of deciding which colleges to apply to takes some time. Visit some nearby colleges during the Junior year or during the Summer before the Senior year. Take a few virtual tours on your computer. Visiting a college with your son or daughter can be fun.
3. Attend your school’s “College Night” and “Financial Aid Night” if they have them (most do).
4. Help your student start the application process early in the Senior year. Many schools have Fall deadlines. More and more colleges are offering Early Decision and Early Action options.
5. If you really want your Senior to be in charge of the entire college process, tell them that well in advance.
High school has changed. College has changed. Don’t be shocked if your hard-working, talented child is overwhelmed by the college process. One parent recently told me, “I had no idea that the process was this involved.” Again, Student First can help.
What if this has happened to a current Senior (Class of 2019). Is it too late to apply to college? Yes, for some colleges. However, there are at least 3500 colleges in the United States. Most of them badly want talented, hard-working students. This is true even for those students who let a few things slip between the cracks. If you are that Senior or the parent of that Senior, contact Student First today.