For most High School Seniors across the country, the first few months of the new year can be torture. Not just because of the return to school, but because now they must wait to hear back from all the colleges they applied to.
The latest deadline for many schools is January 15th, although a huge number of schools have already reached their application deadlines, including most University of California schools and California State Schools on November 30th.
Many students may feel that after the lengthy and draining application process, they can now sit back and forget about college until decisions start to be released in March. However, there is still a lot that can be done in the meantime.
Log Into Campus Portals
For all UC schools and many other private schools, after submitting their application, students will be provided with information to log into campus portals for each school. These portals are where you will receive your admission decision, along with other important information. For many schools this is also how you can enroll in classes and apply for housing. It is very important to check these portals, as well as the email you used to apply to colleges, frequently so that you don't miss notification of incomplete applications or necessary next steps that need to be taken.
Get Organised with Letters of Recommendation
Although most UC schools do not require or even accept letters of rec., nearly all private schools require at least one letter. Most schools will typically require one letter from your counselor and at least one more from a teacher or other adult mentor.
If your letters of recommendation were not due at the same time as your application, they will most likely be completed through the campus portal for the school you have applied to.
The earlier you ask for letters of recommendation the better, because teachers and counselors especially can get very heavily bogged down by the massive number of requests for letters that they receive. Be sure to give the administrator a deadline a few days before the actual deadline provided by the college so that you have a buffer period to get the letter submitted.
Applying for Scholarships
Financial aid is a huge part of the decision when looking at what college to attend. No matter what college you decide to commit to, scholarships are one of the best ways to get free money for your education. By now this may sound like a broken record, but every year millions of dollars in aid go unused because people just aren't applying for certain scholarships.
Not all scholarships require essays either; there a large number of scholarships with extremely easy application processes. There are also scholarships for every type of student. It doesn't matter whether you excel academically or not, there is a scholarship for everyone.
Grossmont has an excellent Scholarship Directory, which can be reached here.
Visiting Campuses
The feel of a campus is another very important factor to consider when choosing a college, and visiting a campus is the best way to truly get a feel for what life on a campus is like.
Many students plan to tour college campuses during Spring Break, but because Spring Break is already the busiest time to get a tour, and because many college students aren't available to provide the tours, Spring Break dates can become some of the most crowded tour dates of the entire year.
That's why you should try to tour as many colleges as you can over outside of Spring Break, especially for schools close to home that can drive to and from in a single day.
If you are unable to make it in person to a school that you have applied to, many schools provide online and/or virtual tours of the campuses that can be taken from the comfort of your own home.
Learning More About Your Choice Schools
By now you are probably extremely familiar with many of your first choice schools, but if not, there are several ways to get more information.
Visiting the website for your favorite school can provide answers for many of the basic questions you have about a school. For lighter and more day to day information, you can follow most colleges on social media. Or if you are looking for personal, unabashed stories from current or former students, you can usually find students posting videos or articles on Youtube or Reddit talking about the best and worst parts of a variety of school.
UC acceptance notifications will start coming out in March, and all decisions should be released by the end of April.