Preparing Your College Application: A Step-by-Step Timeline

Webinar Transcription

2024-10-29 – Preparing Your College Application: A Step-by-Step Timeline

Lonnie: Hello, everyone. Welcome to CollegeAdvisors webinar, “Preparing Your College Application: a Step-by-Step Timeline.”To orient everyone of the webinar timing. We’re first going to begin with our presentation, and then we’ll have an opportunity to answer your questions in the live Q and A. This is definitely a timely topic as we are now in the heat of the college application season.

So with that, let’s now meet our presenter.

Joanne: Hi, everyone. My name is Joanne Pluff. I am a admissions advisor at CollegeAdvisor. I’ve been a CollegeAdvisor for this is my third admission cycle. Now, um, I currently I’m an associate vice president at a large university in Washington, D.C. But prior to that, I was an admissions officer at Utica College in Hamilton College.

Lonnie: So thank you so much. So with that, we are going to start with our poll. We would like to know what grade you are in. It allows us to ensure that we’re speaking directly to our live audience members because this topic is relevant for any grade level. So I see the responses starting to come in. I’m going to give it just a couple of more seconds.

Okay, so, so far for our live audience, we have 10th grade students, and then we have other. Um, so again, I think this topic is going to be applicable to all grade levels, but just for our live audience so far, we have 10th grade students.

So with that, I will turn it over to you, Joanne, to go ahead and kick us off with the timeline overview.

Joanne: Awesome. All right, everyone. So I’m happy to take any questions at the end. Um, we’ll make sure that we leave time. If you send me direct messages, it is hard for me to read them as we’re going through.

So, um, without further ado, we’ll get started here. So this is a crazy time at CollegeAdvisor. And for any senior in life, um, if you’re seeing this, Speaking to seniors, give them a little grace because this is the height of when we are processing and submitting our application. So I’ll give you a brief overview of the entire process.

And like I said, I’m happy to answer any questions at the end. So please don’t direct message me because I likely won’t be able to see them as I’m talking. All right, cool. So truly the college process will kick off in your junior year. So I say that with this little caveat that, um, it’s truly important to maintain, uh, as good as you can GPA for the next four years.

So first year and sophomore year really do build the foundation for what colleges will be looking for, but junior and senior year is primarily where their focus will lie. So that fall of your junior year. Um, likely you’ll start the college process and start chatting with your college counselor or guidance counselor, whatever kind of makeup you have at your school.

It doesn’t matter the name. There’s no difference. Um, but starting to meet with your guidance counselor is super important as well as starting that research and attending college fairs. So for my juniors, I tell them we are going to put as many colleges on the list. Likely you will not end up applying to more than half of them, but the reality is we want to make sure that we have a good list to choose from.

So if you truly want to be at a ski school where they’re skiing, start doing that. If you’re interested in the mountains and maybe, maybe you want to be by a beach, it doesn’t matter. Start putting as many colleges as you can on a list. Then come that winter, um, that’s prep time, right? So for students who have not been introduced to the PSAT, typically between fall and winter, there’s usually a PSAT that’s held at your, um, local high school or perhaps a neighboring high school.

So it’s a good time for you to take that exam, continue your research, and then of course doing your test prep once you get your PSAT is. I will also tell you for students that are registering with the college board, it is highly likely that after you take the PSATs, colleges will start emailing you and sending you, um, stuff in the mail based on your PSAT testing.

And this is a good thing. So I know a lot of students get annoyed, like, Oh, my gosh, they’re bombarding me. This means that you’re fitting their college profile, which we’ll talk about a little bit later. So it’s important that you do check out that information. Then that spring. Um, it’s time to register for the SAT.

I think there’s an error there. SAT and ACT. So typically the students that I advise, we’re looking at an April SAT ACT date. The reason we shoot for April is there are some exams that are offered in May. And then of course, if you need to retake it, there is a September and October SAT ACT that you can sign up for.

Additionally, if you’re a student that’s doing any AP courses, you’ll be taking those courses courses in the spring and then rounding out towards the end of your depending on where you are, like where I live, um, school is over with by the beginning of June. So it’s important to check in with people for letters of recommendation.

We’ll get into how, um, letters of recommendation work a little bit later, but just start thinking about who you want to ask. Then that summer, it’s time to really start brainstorming about colleges, continue your pre testing and then refining your list. So typically some, you know, people will say it’s time to take those tours, things like that.

Colleges are a little bit sleeper in the summer, so there are many visit opportunities, but know that they won’t look very similar to how they look during the school year, but it’s a really good time for you to get started. So if your parents have the time to take with you and you can go on a quick college road trip, that would be the time to do so.

Learn that summer from your junior to senior year. Then senior year, the year we spend a lot of time talking about. Um, so the cool thing about the college or the common app is it will open in August of your senior year. So if you haven’t taken a look at that, if you’re juniors, even if you are sophomores, you can look at what the typical college profile looks like.

So you can start checking that out. Even though you’re not submitting, you’ll be able to still see the college. Um, And I don’t think, and Lonnie can keep me honest here, I don’t think they’ve changed in a while, but, um, it’ll be time for you to finalize that essay come September of your senior year. In my experience, most students are working on this essay in their, uh, high school senior English class or AP English.

Thanks. So know that there is a little bit of time, but you do need to dedicate some time to work on this outside of, um, outside of school. Then retaking SATs or ACTs, if you fall into that category. Again, uh, we’ll talk about college profiles and where those testing, um, comes into play. But if you need to retake those, there are September and October dates that you can submit ahead of early action, early decision.

If you’re a student that’s doing early action or early decision, know that typically those applications are due, which is crazy to think about, November 1st. November 1st is this coming Friday, so many of my students are submitting their early action, early decision application, and the, uh, free application for federal student aid, the FAFSA, does open in October.

Now, if any of you have been watching the news and keeping in touch with what’s going on in higher education, you will all recognize that there’s been issues with the FAFSA that have delayed the opening of that application. It is currently delayed. We hope that it will be ready for students soon, but it theoretically should open in October.

Then, if you are a student that still is working on early or regular decision applications, you would be ready to submit those as they are due typically around January, beginning of February. Um, and then of course checking in with for financial aid. This is also a great time because typically your early action, early decision, uh, decisions will be out.

So you should know whether or not you’ve been admitted and it gives you time to pivot and make other plans if you were not admitted to the schools you thought you were going to get into. Springtime is probably the most exciting slash stressful time ever, as that’s when you receive your college decision.

Um, so you’ll know by typically the, the latest, um, I think Ivy week is like usually the last week of March, um, and they’re usually the latest to release decisions. So, um, So you’ll know by the end of March, whether or not you’ve been admitted and what you will be offered in financial aid. So you’ll have time to lay everything out side by side to decide what you want to do.

Next thing we always recommend is attending an admitted student event. So admitted student days are typically like open houses, um, way more amped up. So while open houses gave you a good taste of what the university is like, the admitted student days will fill in the blanks. So you’ll get to speak, you know, with career counselors, check out the residence halls more in depth, speak to your faculty members, advisors.

Um, speak to financially directly. So it is a good idea, even if you visited somewhere in the fall to check things out in the spring, especially for students who are going from different climates, different areas, those schools are going to look vastly different from spring to fall. So It’s important to check them out if you have the, the ability to do so for a second time.

And then of course, national deposit deadline day is May 1st, just super exciting. So by that point, May 1st, you’re rolling into May and you’ll have to make your decision on where you want to be, which is awesome.

Alrighty. So the key components of your application. So the number one thing that the student has to work on and you could work on that. Like I said, theoretically, if you’re in soft, a 10th grade or 11th grade is your student profile. So if you have submit, if you’ve not looked at the common application, you have no idea what it is.

So the common application is basically a bunch of schools came together and said, let’s have the students fill out one application that can be sent to multiple schools, right? So, So your student profile basically tells us a little bit about you. It’s your demographic information. So, you know, what is the language spoken in your house, your pronouns, where you were born, um, information about your parents, who else is in your house.

And then it allows you to add your list of extracurricular activities, which you can add 10. So the cool thing is, is you can add 10. So do not stress if you’re a student that has five, if you’re a student that has six, it doesn’t mean you have to add 10. It means there are 10 spots for you to put things.

So for our juniors and sophomores, it’s time to start thinking about what you can add to those lists. So start doing a little brainstorming with your families to figure out the things that you’ve been working on and the things that are important to you. The other large component is your main essay, um, also known as your college essay.

So again, like I said, that topic typically doesn’t change from year to year. And, um, you can go on and view those topics, but we recommend really working on that, like, truly your summer into senior year, just because your writing will mature and you may come up with the, um, other ideas to write about. So that main essay is, I think, five to seven hundred words, um, and it gives you an opportunity to submit a writing sample to the universities.

Then each school is permitted and invited to do supplemental essays. Not every university has supplemental essays, but typically schools have at least minimally a why da dun da dun school. So it might be like, why do you want to study at the Ohio State? Um, And it’s an opportunity for you to be as specific as possible about what you want to do with that college education from that university.

The next thing that we will evaluate is your transcript. And yes, we do get every single year. Um, so it will range from your freshman year, all the way up to senior year. And for students who are applying early action, early decision, I will say that you typically, we request, um, At least a progress report or a list of the classes that you’re taking in your senior year, because some people, depending on the timing, may not have grades for that first senior year, semester.

Um, but we do at least minimally want to see what classes you’re enrolled in. Then you’re looking at your letters of recommendation. Typically, there are two that are invited to submit. Um, three. The more, the better, the better, depending on your situation. So the letters of recommendation would come from usually a guidance counselor or the counselor or the, sorry, the, the teacher of a core class.

So history, math, English science, um, somebody from like a, a more stellar, not stellar, but academically strenuous class. So if there is someone in your life that you want to feature as well, that is also permitted. Um, some schools truly only do allow two letters of recommendation, so just be wary of that.

But if there’s a volunteer coordinator that you have worked with that you’d like to make sure that they showcase their relationship with you and how you’ve matured, um, typically schools will allow you to admit, um, add that to your application. And then for students who are applying to whether it’s a conservatory that requires a portfolio or a resume, some of these items are option optional for my university.

If you’re applying to any of the fine arts, you are required to submit, um, audition requirements. So it could be a video for the art students. It is some works of art. So truly, it depends, and that is going to be on a case by case basis. But these are truly the key components of your application.

All right, cool. So let’s talk about academics year by year. So sophomore year, so our sophomores, I think there are a couple on the call, important to solidify your core academic skills. So, What I’m saying is, if there’s something that you’re really good at, play to those strengths. So if you’re a history buff, if you are a mathematician and you have the opportunity to be working towards taking an AP class or a specialized history course or whatever the subject is, this is when, um, this would come into play.

Play. So speaking with your guidance counselor is important so that they understand how to build your curriculum. Because something that we do look at, um, when we’re evaluating students is your strength of your schedule. Meaning did you max out on the courses you could take for a particular subject? Did you enroll in AP credits?

enrollment credits, IB courses. So what were you doing to challenge yourself within high school? It is not permissible or not recommended that you know, if you’ve maxed out at your math classes in junior year that you take, you know, three art classes. We love to see art. on your transcript. That’s not what I’m saying.

What I’m saying is at your English classes, find another way to fulfill, um, their academic skills. So keep, um, thinking about that. And for schools that don’t allow you to take dual credit IB or AP courses, know that many colleges and universities offer summer courses. So that’s a way for you to get, um, some summer, uh, experience at a university, but also to pad your, uh, academic transcript.

Next thing you’re checking out is all of the test prep options. So I know we at CollegeAdvisor do have some test press, test prep support for you. But if testing is an issue, if you maybe have test taking anxiety, this is when we’re going to work on how we can make sure that we can maximize your time.

Um, and also do As best as you can on those exams. So don’t wait until junior year to kind of figure all that stuff out. The PSAT typically is offered for sophomores and juniors. So take advantage of that while it’s in your high school. And then of course, if you do have a subject that you truly like, so maybe it is math.

Um, start thinking about who you want to represent you. They are the people that can speak outside of your application. So it gives us a little piece of the student on the back end. So think about who would best represent you and start developing those relationships. So do they have a club that they oversee that maybe you can get to know them better?

Or are they involved in some type of research at the local university? That’s also a way to get, um, some better relationships with your teachers. Just what we’re saying is don’t make it a come and go, right? So you can come sit in the class, but make sure that if you’re going to ask somebody to do a letter of recommendation that you truly have a relationship with them.

And then, um, I think this is such a pivotal time for students. We’re talking about extracurricular activities. Uh, the university that I work at receives over 40, 000 applications a year. And I will tell you that the students that are admitted to my university, um, our motto is in truth and service. So we are looking for students who volunteer, who participate in protesting, who are movers and shakers, who do podcasts.

So for us, extracurricular activities are super important. So maybe, you know, first year getting into high school, you didn’t really know what you want to do. Sophomore year is it when you should have figured it out. So do you love volunteering? Do you like research? Is there an internship that you want to do?

Is there a pre college program that you want to participate in? There are so many ways for us to show, for you to show, um, universities how you will impact, positively impact their campus community and extracurriculars is one of those ways. It’s also a great time to start thinking about your passion project, which can be, I worked with a student last year.

Her passion was food insecurity, and she recognized that people who were on food stamps weren’t able to have access to as much organic produce, things like that. So she worked with a local chef to build a cookbook based on the WIC offerings and food stamp offerings. It’s a cookbook that’s given out to every single WIC recipient and food stamp recipient in our county.

Super cool. She carried it out and then she, her senior year, she built a group that was able to, um, collect canned goods and other produce to give out along with the cookbook. That’s the kind of passion we’re looking for. It doesn’t have to be something as large as countywide, but If you have somebody in your life to kind of bounce ideas off of, this is the time to talk with them about what your passion project could be.

And then start committing to activities. So if you have volunteered with Key Club and you’re kind of kicking the can down the road, now’s the time to truly get excited and be a part of it. There’s nothing worse than looking at a List of extracurricular activities in the common app. And the student has one year of each.

We want you to make sure that you are committed to something and that you stick with it because that’s kind of what college is, right? Like you sign up, you’re accountable, you go. Um, and again, we want to admit people who are movers and shakers to our communities. And the only way to show that is by a solid list of extracurricular activities.

Now, sophomore year, um, between sophomore year and junior year, that summertime is pretty pivotal because it is time for you to prepare to take that test. So, if you, again, if you have test taking anxiety, if it makes you nervous, if you don’t know if you really want to take it, Just buckle up and get prepared because that fall of junior year is when you will be taking it.

So it’s important to start studying for the SAT or ACT depending on what you decide you want to do. So, um, make sure that you’re looking at those profiles. So the college profile is basically, it gives you the averages of the current Incoming first year class. So the class of fall 24. So when I’m talking to students now, I’m referring to the fall 24 students and their averages.

So that class profile will give you their SAT/ACT/GPA Where the most of them came from the top majors, things like that. So when you get to your junior year. What you’ll want to do is research the college profile for all of the schools that you’re truly interested in so that you know whether or not you have to retake your SAT or ACT.

If you fall within that average range, awesome, good for you. If not, time to start thinking about pivoting to finding other options or applying tests optionally if that is an option for the student. Summertime again, um, engaging in your academic enrichment activities. So if you do have an opportunity to do that pre college program, that would be the time, especially for a program that you are or a college that you’re interested in.

So if there is like a summer bridge business, um, program for DECA, whatever the circumstances, there are so many of them out there. Um, that would be the time to do that. To start looking for that, and I will tell you, and I’m sure anybody else, a CollegeAdvisor will tell you, we start preparing our students.

in like February to submit those applications because they are highly coveted programs, especially the academic ones that are directly connected to a university. Um, but be creative, think outside of the box. So if you want to study biology and you want to be a researcher, you may want to look at a hospital or a pharmaceutical foundation, things like that.

So. If you need help, we are, we are here to help you, but know to not just look at colleges and universities for those academic enrichment activities. Um, taking a summer course also super helpful. So again, if you’ve maxed out on your Spanish or Latin, when I was in high school, I took Latin. My, um, I maxed out at, I think Latin four in my junior year.

So I had to take Latin at the local community college. So again, you do have to think out of the box and you may have to work for it a little bit. Um, internships or work experience, other great things that you can do. And I don’t want to discount any non academic things. So if you, I worked at an ice cream shop when I was in high school for four years.

That’s what I did in the summer. I also worked at a, uh, a summer camp for soccer summer camp. Again, whatever it is, just make sure that you stick with it and you commit to it. So those were my pretty big Deepen your involvement in your clubs, um, and sports. So Sports is a tough one, right? So sometimes everybody doesn’t make it to the next level, but perhaps you could be the manager.

Um, so any way that you can continue your involvement in your school based activities is also super great. Continuing your research for colleges is excellent as well because things do change, class profiles do change. You want to make sure that you have a great list of target, reach, um, and safety schools so that you are set to go and set up for success.

And then of course, define on your personal growth a that is also part of the So

Lonnie: we’re gonna pause. We sophomore junior year. Bu We want to know where you are in the college application process. So we know for our live audience that we have 10th grade students. And so let us know where you are because the application process again, doesn’t just start, um, you know, when you’re getting ready to go into your senior year, it actually starts even sooner as you all are hearing from Joanne.

Uh, so let us know where you’re at. Let’s see. I am

okay. So I think we’re having some technical difficulties with our poll. I’m not able to see the responses. So with that, we’ll just continue on with our presentation. Is that okay, Joanne? That’s fine. I’ll turn it back over to you.

Joanne: All righty. All right. So, the next point of time we want to chat about is your September to January of your junior year.

So, um, typically, you know, college high school starts for students and late August, actually, depending on where you are, August and September, so talk with your parents guidance counselor about setting your academic goals. So what is it that you want to accomplish in that year? Are you finishing out all of your English is are you going to take a step back from Spanish?

What is it that you’re going to do? Continue again, studying for the SAT and ACT, um, but I will tell you for our juniors, research has shown that taking the test three or four times, let’s say three optimally, your score is really not going to go up unless you’re doing intense test preparation. So if you have a score that you’re happy with, don’t stress, there’s no reason to continue taking it.

I have a student, I have a senior this year, she is like 10 points away from. The, um, the top end of the average for the school she’s applying to. And we’re like, listen, friend, you’ve got a great application elsewhere. We’re not going to stress again. So just take the test taking seriously. And if you have a score that you continually get, or as range as you can really get, then Then know that that’s the score that you’re going to get unless again, you’re paying for high level, um, test preparation.

Then again, um, start meeting with your college counselor. Again, they are the person that is going to be required to submit a letter of recommendation for you. So you will want to make sure that this person knows you pretty well because they are required to submit something in paper. Uh, PSAT again, typically happens in October.

I think it’s around Columbus day. Our indigenous people day, um, at some point, but make sure that you sign up for it. And then great part is you definitely will be eligible for some leadership roles within any of the clubs, organizations that you participate in at your current high school. Now, my favorite time of year is that February to may so February break your average student has, um, depending on where you live, like a February and April break.

This is a pivotal time because those spring open houses will become more important. So again, maintaining your strong academic performance, sign up for your spring testing, we know all of that stuff. Preparing for your visits and preparing your questions for visits. So if you are a student that really loves to study in the library, Make sure that they have a library.

If you are a student who truly loves, I don’t know, going to lunch with friends and make sure they have the dining hall that you want. So begin starting to prepare for your college visits and truly break down whatever it is you want. This is also a really good time to chat with your parents about the kind of college you want to go to and what you want to study.

So if you haven’t narrowed that down, it’s really important. Really, really important to have that conversation because as you can see, one of my next bullets is refining your college lists. So I know that at reacher’s research has shown us that the college choice really is a family choice. So having a conversation with your parents ahead of time on what you truly want to do is very, very important.

So there’s no surprises. Then of course your extracurricular list. Um, I think sometimes things fall off. You know, it’s hard to keep momentum, but keep going strong because whether it’s a sport, whether it’s an activity, it’s important that you show us that you’re still doing that. If you have to retake the SAT or ACT at the end of spring, of course, go ahead and do that.

And then it’s the good time when you’re going to build your application strategy and pick that essay. And when I say application strategy, it’s kind of narrowing down who you’re going to apply early action to, early decision to, uh, who’s going to go regular, when you’re going to do what. So it really is that exciting time.

before you close out the year. June and August, I say retake if necessary, standardized testing, but sometimes not required. And then the subject texts come up for your AP testing if you are, um, participating in that. Deepen your summer extracurriculars. So if you are a lifeguard, this is, this, these activities that you’re participating in this, in this summer will go directly on your list of extracurriculars.

Um, by now, your emails and your mailbox should be chock full of information to support the research that you continually do on colleges, then starting to finalize your common app and your profile. Right? So, Like I said, students can go ahead and start a Common App account and then work on that profile and massage that profile to make sure that it’s perfect.

Summertime, usually those pre college programs happen in the month of July to the beginning of August, right before college starts again. So know that you, if you are attending a summer, program or a college program, you’ll be gone for most of the month of July. And then of course, if cost is a factor, or if you just really want to get scholarships, because who doesn’t love a scholarship, um, you’ll need to start researching any of the scholarship opportunities.

So whether you are an engineer, whether you’re going to do biology, you’re a student of color, whatever the circumstances, doing that research, um, to find the scholarships that you qualify for.

All right. Now fall and winter of your senior year. Um, I have some really stressed out parents and I get it. All the parents on the call were with you. We feel you. But know that by January, your relationship with your student is going to drastically change after you guys submit those applications because you’re done.

Um, I try to get my students to submit early action applications as much as I can. So the distinction between early action, early decision is early action means that you can apply early, but you’re not required to attend early decision means if you apply early in that category, and you are admitted early decision, you’re required to attend that school.

I try to have all of my students do early action applications so that they can truly enjoy their after. November 1st and enjoy Thanksgiving. Enjoy their Christmas Hanukkah Kwanzaa holiday season. So keeping testing in mind, which will be based off of that school profile that you can look up every single year.

Finalize your essay and submit and then submitting the common application and the CSS profile. The CSS profile is like the, I would say, sister to the common app. It is not free. It costs you, I think, between 12 and 16 dollars to submit, um, but it’s a different kind of financial profile for families that, um, you are required to submit based on, um, depending on the school.

And then just staying sharp and focused on your academics because we will require your midterm grades. And then of course we require your transcripts. So in the case of applying to a school early action or early decision, typically you’ll, you’ll get that decision around that, uh, the new year. So new year’s eve.

Um, So we will admit you, but know that by the time you graduate, we do evaluate your transcripts. So you are admitted based on the academics that you had around that Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s season. situation. So it’s important to finish out the way you started because that’s what the colleges are expecting.

You cannot coast. I know that senioritis is a thing. I talk to my seniors in college about senioritis, but you do have to make sure that you finish out on top. It is truly important.

All right. So timeline for universities, um, on the back end of things, it is, it’s pretty easy to think about, right? So September, focus on your visits. October, you’re working on your applications. In September, truly it’s visits and your essay, because I’m going to guarantee that based on this conversation today, you all will have started your profile and completed that by the beginning of August.

October, parents, this one is for you because it requires a lot of your information. It’s the FAFSA application. And at this point, you all should really start thinking about how you’re going to pay for college. So is everybody comfortable with taking out a loan? Is the student going to take out a loan? Uh, is the desire to get scholarships be realistic about how much scholarships the students can get.

So that October point is really important for parents because that’s kind of when you kick into high gear. January, you can work on your regular decision applications and submit those. February, again submitting the CSS, um, profile depending on what that deadline is for each school. And then the back Best, craziest, most exciting time of year, March, April is decision release.

April had been a student days. And then that May 1st deadline that will come very quick. So you can ask for extensions for May 1st. Some schools will allow it. Some don’t. School that I work at, we do not allow any extensions. So it’s important for students. If cost is a factor, if you’re terrible at making decisions, apply early so that you have time to, um, to discuss that with your family on where you’re going to go.

Lonnie: Alrighty. Thank you so much, Joanne. So with that, we are now going to move into our live questions and answers. So how this is going to work is you have the opportunity to place your questions and the Q and a tab, and then I’ll read them out loud and join, we’ll answer them. And then also we have a handouts tab.

So there was a lot of great information that was just shared with you. And perhaps you didn’t catch it. Everything that was shared. Um, you have opportunity to also download the handout. Um, so definitely encourage you to do so. Um, so with that, we’ll go into our First question, and this is a question that was submitted through our, um, registration.

So let’s see. So for schools with rolling admissions, are there any advantages to applying early in the cycle?

Joanne: Absolutely. Um, so first of all, this is a human process. I think people forget. That the applications are read by individuals for schools that are large institutions. You want to make sure that your reader is fresh, right?

So that’s the first thing. The second thing is, um, you are in the first round of reviews if you’re applying early. So if you’re applying to a high demand major, it may not be closed out. If you are kind of worried about SATs or ACTs, again, applying early means that you get that first look. So I Always think there’s an advantage to applying early if cost is a factor and you need more time to kind of scrape together the dollars This will give you time to do it because when you apply early you get your financial aid package early as well.

Lonnie: Okay, great So next question reads how much weight do colleges place on the courses I take versus my grades

Joanne: so Secret sauce here. Nice We, we definitely look at the grades, but we also look at the courses. So we look at your weighted versus unweighted GPA. Now, I’m just going to tell you guys, every single college will recalculate your GPA.

So an AP course is going to be weighted more than a general English course. It’s just kind of how it is because they are doing, um, the, because the AP classes, typically they’re doing a little bit more wrong. Right. It is what it is. So we definitely do value some of those harder courses outside of others.

Um, and the weighted versus unweighted is for your highly selective. They always recalculate. Every single university has a rubric that their weight that they’re working off of. It’s not a me thing. It’s not a Harvard thing. Everybody recalculates GPA because while we appreciate that you are adding extracurriculars to your schedule, the reality is, if you’re applying for business school, it doesn’t really matter to us if you’re able to be a sculptor.

Right. What matters is that you can count and you can do math and you can do English. So know that.

Lonnie: Okay. Uh, next question. How does admission teams view improvement in grades or activities over time?

Joanne: Yeah, it’s definitely good. Um, I would say that we are always looking for an upward trend, not a downward trend.

And if you’re a student that falls in the category of a downward, a downward trend, or perhaps you’ve risen to an occasion, This is a time for your relationship with that counselor, right? So your counselor should be able to speak to your ability and what has gone on. So if there’s a blip that we need to talk about, have somebody take it on head on so that it’s not a surprise and we’re not just wondering, but we love an upward trajectory.

Lonnie: Okay. Next question. Should I attend a college tour? Will that make my application look better?

Joanne: Demonstrated interest is something that, um, universities do look at. So just like you guys are vetting us, we’re vetting you. And demonstrated interest means we want to see that you are interested in doing the things that we have set up.

So yes, if it’s a school that looks at demonstrated interest for thousands of applications, I’m going to tell you, If you’re looking at a student who has the right GPA and SATs, but hasn’t visited versus a student who has like maybe a point lower or 0. 2 lower on the GPA that they have visited a bunch of times and engage with us, the student who is more engaging will be admitted because they’re generally interested.

Lonnie: Nice. Nice. Um, So this question reads is a little more specific to the participant. We don’t have AP classes, but in my country, only one school organizes the AP exam. Should I give my AP exam or not?

Joanne: I think they’re asking, should they sit for the AP exam? I think if you have the capacity to, you definitely can.

Cool thing about standardized scores is You don’t have to send them. So take the test if you want to. And if you do well, then send them. If you don’t do well, don’t send the scores. Typically, you know, depending on the class for my university, we only will accept credit for AP exam at a four or higher. So if you get that three or lower, there’s really no, no harm, no foul.

You don’t have to submit it. You can just keep it moving, um, and not worry about submitting it. Bye. If you have the opportunity to do it, I would say do it.

Lonnie: And this next question is still related to standardized tests, but maybe specifically more like the SAT ACT. So how are colleges evaluating test scores if they’re optional?

And is it beneficial to submit them?

Joanne: It’s beneficial to submit them if you are right on target within that range of the student profile or much higher than that. It is not beneficial if you are lower than that. There’s no need to. Now, most schools do what’s called a holistic review, meaning they will review everything that a student submits.

Um, with their application. So if you don’t submit your test scores, it means that we’re just not looking at that. It’s not a deficit to the student. It means that we have the policy that if you don’t have them, we can’t hold it against you. And we’re not going to hold it against you. So. If you have them, awesome, submit it.

If you’re within the range, if you aren’t, then don’t. And just make sure that everything else is in line. And even if you are submitting scores, make sure that the rest of your stuff is in line too.

Lonnie: Hey, I’m looking, uh, sorting through questions on my end. Um, next question. Is there a timeline for financial aid packages to be sent out?

Joanne: I. Don’t know. Um, I think that is literally up to the government at this point. We are in this like terrible cycle with the federal government, we being universities, that we just typically have zero control of how they are giving us back the information.

So, if you were listening, um, I said that the application for FAFSA typically opens in October. As of October 29th, the FAFSA application for year 2024 is currently not open. So, I would love to say that the timeline typically in previous years, a student would get their, um, admissions decision in the middle of December, and then about a week later, they get their financial aid package that has completely gone out the window and there is no rhyme or reason as to how we’re giving them back to you because we don’t know when we’ll get them sometimes.

Like I’ll use my university as an example, we again, receive 40, 000 applications. Our bulk of applications come in in early action, early decision. So in the month of December, we got 16 FAFSA applications from the government. And we had over 30 something thousand applications at that point. We had 16. So things are not going so good for universities when it comes to the FAFSA and we’re having to pivot and make other accommodations.

But, um, I know I am confident that the government is going to get this together this year. And it may not be this month, but I’m hoping next month we’ll be able to say to students, when you submit your FAFSA, you’ll get your decision, your financial aid information within three weeks. We’re not at that point yet, but I know that we’re working towards that.

Lonnie: Thank you. Thank you for that information. Very insightful and useful. Um, so with that, I’m going to give you a pause so that I can share more about the work that we’re doing here within CollegeAdvisor for those who are in the room who may not be working with us. We all know just generally that this application process can bring a mix of emotions.

Um, and here at CollegeAdvisor, our team of over 300 former admission officers and admission experts are ready to help you and your family navigate the college admission process in one on one advising sessions. So far, we’ve already helped over 8, 000 families in their college journeys. And after analyzing our 2021 through 2024 data, we found that CollegeAdvisor students are 2.

4 times more likely to get into Harvard, 2. 9 times more likely to get into Stanford, and 1. 98 times more likely to get into Princeton. Increase your odds and take the next step in your college admission journey. By signing up for a free 60 minute strategy session with an admission specialist on our team by using the QR code that you see on your screen.

During this meeting, you’ll receive an assessment of your academic profile. Along with some initial recommendations on what you can do to stand out. At the end, you’ll also be able to learn more about our premium packages and how we can pair you with an expert to support you in building your college list, editing your essays, and much, much more.

Okay, so with that, we are going to move into our second half of our questions and answers. So our next question says, Can you share insights on how colleges weigh essays? Recommendations and extracurriculars compared to your academic.

Joanne: Okay. So, um, think of your application like a piece of pizza, right? And broken down into slices are the components of your application.

The thing is, The number one teller if, um, you’re going to be successful at university is your academics. So that holds, let’s say, half of your pizza pie. Then the other four or five slices are made up of your letter of recommendation, your extracurriculars, your essay, your supplemental essays. So while it is important to be a well rounded student, The number one thing that we’re looking at is, can you academically complete with the students and the academics that we have here?

So know that that holds the biggest. And then when we’re looking at the other parts of your application, they enhance your application. So your letters of recommendation should. elevate you and add to that story along with your supplemental essays that, you know, tell us something silly about, you know, maybe it’s your favorite song and why you love to listen to it.

So academics is the most important. And then the other pieces of that pie really do enhance your application. And I harp on the letters of recommendation only because in some circumstances I’ve seen where a student picks somebody who doesn’t represent them well. You control your letters of recommendation.

So that’s why it’s important to have a relationship with your counselor and pick a teacher who’s going to represent you. If something happened, maybe you got a B plus or a D minus in a class, have the person who can talk about how you, you got out of that gutter and you got it up to an A, have that person be the part of your application that puts it over.

Academics is a, I would say half of that pie, but the other When it’s are super, super important as well.

Lonnie: Okay. And I think this may be our last question unless our audience has any additional questions. So what should I do if my school does not offer many AP classes?

Joanne: Okay, so I’m going to talk about many and then none at all.

So when students come to me and say, well, my school doesn’t offer a B classes know that when we’re comparing students, we’re comparing students within your school as a whole, not from X, Y, Z school that has, you know, Oh, 20 AP classes and IB curriculum and honors classes and dual enrollment opportunities to a school that doesn’t have any opportunity.

So when we evaluate you, we are evaluating you based in Joanne and Lonnie from high school. So if your school doesn’t have an AP curriculum, an honors curriculum or an IB curriculum or dual enrollment, did you take all of the maximized classes that you could within your curriculum? If the answer is yes, you’re good.

Now, if you do go to a school that has those opportunities, the question will be, why did you not take or take advantage of those opportunities? So, I always liken it to public versus private. Sometimes the private school has Thousands of opportunities for students. And in my public school, students will say, well, I’m just, I’m not up to stuff because my school doesn’t have it.

No, we want you to maximize what you have at the forefront of your curriculum. If you truly want to go above and beyond the way that you can help that is doing dual enrollment courses. Your average high school has a relationship. They should have relationship with the local community college to pay. I think when I was in high school, we could pay like 50 bucks to take a class at the local community college.

Do that during the summer. So if you’re going to a high academic school and you need to prove to them, find a summer class and do it the summer of your junior to senior year. Don’t just stop at Spanish three or Latin three, like in my case, you can maximize that, um, But don’t worry about the comparison between your school and another school, because that’s not how we look at your applicant.

We are looking at students based on the context of their own school, not comparing school to school.

Lonnie: Yes, yes, and I agree taking college classes at a community college typically is at a very, very low cost. Normally, you just have to pay, um, Like your student fees, but the tuition itself is probably covered.

Uh, so take advantage of that if your school does not offer AP classes. Okay. So Joanne, I don’t have any additional questions, so I want to thank you. for your time and sharing this great information with our students. Um, and thank you all for your engagement and asking questions. And I just want to share with our audience our upcoming webinars for the month of November.

Uh, so we have a few that are geared again towards the college application process. So we really welcome and encourage you to attend. And if you’re wondering, how do I get a copy of this webinar? It will be accessible in our webinar library by tomorrow. So you will have access to it. Alrighty. With that, I will now close our webinar.

Thank you everyone. Have a great evening. Bye bye. Bye.