Videos

College Application Process How To Guide

Added Nov 04, 2017 •

Copy this URL:
Embed code:	<iframe class="edlio-embed-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="360" src="//www.aprandolph.com/apps/embed/?v=163914" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Change dimensions

Ms. Cruz, College Advisor explains the college selection process and everything you need to do to find the best college for you.

Show Transcript

hello everybody my name is Miss Cruz I'm your College advisor I hope you had an amazing summer and that you're ready to put in the work now the college process is the process that we Philip Randolph during 9th grade year we hope that you have been thinking about college even before that time however if you haven't don't worry I'm here to help you and I'm going to discuss a few things in this video to go over the entire college process so the college process boils down to five major components exploration determining right fit preparing to be a good candidate applying and heading out heading out means leaving High School Explorations so exclamation really entails making search finding out as much as you can about the college some of the things you can do to explore include School visits you can visit a school and many different ways for example it was schools local school you can take the train and go on the school on a directed campus tour or a self-directed campus tour wear with permission from the college that you are going to visit you are allowed to walk around and the campus and operates daily what the director to wear this Media Group tour where a group guy takes you around the campus and talks about the different aspects of that college you can also explore a college by visiting a college fair college fair you will see different representative many many University and you have the opportunity to speak to them and it's using a little bit busy and very loud so it's not the best place to to college representative but it is the best place to go speak to many different representative in one specific time frame meetings with Rex and those meetings with the Reps can add that occur at their school or at your school in a Red Bull come and visit the school and meet with the students that are interested in learning more about his or her School open house events Open House events is when you go and visit the school there's usually a moderated panel of different experts from the University that have a list of guided questions the answer to open up to the public so that you guys can make any questions that you have for these Representatives the last and a very easiest way to do Explorations is online research so you simply can look up a school and find everything that you want to find out about the school one of my favorite places to go to is bigfuture.org or you can search any school and learn everything you possibly want to know about the school or at least it's a great starting point to find out able to compare different colleges see each other determine if it is really important because you don't want us we'll just to match the criteria that you want you wanted to also feel like the school watching you and you match the school as it's kind of like a relationship you have to like the school and the school has to like you for who you are there are many ways to determine if the school is the right fit for you such as activities on campuses can include but are not limited to different sports that are available at the school could be warming to you want your school are you even thinking of going to school that is far away enough that you need to dorm distance is a big factor as well how far is far enough to be comfortable for you do you want to hop on the train or do you want to take a bus or do you want to take a plane to school how expensive is a school cost and really be a big factor however there are many scholarship and Grant programs to assist in covering those costs so doing your research is important to find out if you will be able to pay for the cost another day Arthur is school size and demographics you may not feel comfortable in a very big school you may want a liberal arts school that tend to be smaller or you may want a big school that has tons of activities and different things available also very important some people want to be able to feel represented in the school demographics determine what school is best for you the meantime your exploration you also want to make sure that you're a good candidate for that school a few ways to prepare to be a good candidate are SAT and ACT prep if you're not familiar with the SAT or act the SAT and ACT are standardized tests they are said to be predictors or indicators of How likely you are to succeed in college don't worry about what score you actually receive numbers don't tell the full picture and you will learn that through the college process and what you do need to is it the SAT and ACT to go into the college decision in terms of when a college is deciding will they select you many schools have the information about what an ideal candidate would look like based on SAT scores and your high school GPA getting involved is also very important, just want to see that you have tons of extra curricular activities that you've been volunteering that you have a job and all that will be on your resume it also may be highlighted in the letters of recommendation that your teachers will right for you you also want to make sure that you're doing pretty good academically High School is a preparation for college so if you're not doing well to get on the right track to show colleges that you are serious applicant and that you are likely to succeed in college to college essay is also really important for preparing to be a good Canada will discuss it further in the Alpine section another way to be prepared is finalizing your college list so once you've explored and determine the right schools and you prepare to be a good candidate he wants to make sure that your college list is concise to your interest and is a balance College miss you also want to take college preparatory courses they will help you get a taste of what college is like and will help you earn college credit while in high school alright we're almost done applying is the next section that will be discussed when you apply you will decide if you're applying to CUNY schools Sunni private and out-of-state schools or a combination of all of these CUNY schools are the City University of New York you can take the train to and arrive there is a CUNY School SUNY schools is State University of New York fees are colleges in the state of New York so easily accessible through public transportation you may have to dorm in order to attend one of these colleges do to their distance private schools are maybe in New York state or maybe out of state school that are not funded through that US Government so they tend to be a little bit more expensive there's also out-of-state schools while they are public schools since you do not attend school in that state and I'm not a resident of that school they may be a little bit more expensive to attend actor and applying to college is your college essay as mentioned before it's the story of who you are where you're going and how did you get there the college essay is a really important tool for colleges to determine who you really are transcripts and SAT scores can sometimes be just numbers page essay really brings life to who you are there's also supplements are additional essays that you may need to write for certain college application the college is a request these supplements bill at the college essay is a very version of you there's also financial aid financial aid is what helps you pay for college you fill out this application and colleges determine how much Financial need you have to attend their school they didn't create financial aid award letter scholarships grants work-study loans some of these loans can be private loans State loans federal loans all these forms of Aid help compile how much money you will to attend that University there's also the letters of recommendation generally speaking you'll need two letters of recommendation though however some schools will ask for a counselor that are recommendation making it a third letter of recommendation that you will need in order to apply these letters of recommendation really help colleges gain unique perspective of who you are from an outsider's view usually the letters of recommendations are written by your teachers and because they are able to your skill level your hard work and determination you're able to say how great of a student you are the last piece is your resume and your resume highlights all the things that you've done your accomplishments your skills abilities the different insights that you've learned through the experiences that you've had heading out so basically as I mentioned before transitioning from high school and to college at this point you've done everything else you've you've heard back and now it's time to make the right decision for you that decision and Tails reviewing all your acceptances and all the financial aid award that is at receipt and making the right decision based on how much money you're receiving from school it's really awesome when both of those things happen together that you found your dream school and they're giving you enough money to go there but sometimes sticking out of truth and reality it is an always happen so you have to make the smart decision for you that happens and you have your school the weight is off your shoulders all that hard work that you put in is all coming to fruition but there's still a few things that you need to do one of those things is making sure you sent all your documents in one of those documents believe it or not is you saying yes I want to go to your school there are other forms like your immunization records and other things that you may need submit I'll be there to assist you but I hope that you are also checking your checklist for college so that you sent in all the documents that you are required to send you also want to make sure that there are no holes or gaps in your financial aid to decide so you wanna go to make sure that a financial aid package is right for you and everything that was supposed to be given to you in terms of Aid is being reflected on that final document you also have to take placement test just let them know what level you currently are at so that they can place you in the right classes and that's it you'll be all set to go well you might have to pack and you might have to buy some new soap box but all the hard work of apply when is finally over and the new journey of going to college it's just again