A Guide To College Applications

There is no “easy part” of college applications. Researching schools is the hard part. Writing essays and getting letters of recommendation are the hard part. Deciding is the hard part. You get the point.

Part One: Finding colleges

It’s hard to start applying to colleges if you don’t know what you’re looking for. What’s most important to you? A strong program for your major? A social scene? A certain location? Would you prefer a large school where you meet new people daily, or a small school with a tight-knit community? How far from home do you want to be? If you’re looking to stay on the cheaper end, community colleges and state schools are a good option.

Some colleges have particular communities. Historically Black Colleges are the most well known, but there are also Hispanic Serving Institutions and Historically Women’s Colleges. If you’re LGBTQ and looking for a safe college, Campus Pride Index can be of use. Whether you’d like to go to a school with a good program in your major or one with a diverse community, Google will help you find it. Looking up something like “Good schools for biology in Oregon” or “Most Latino college in Washington” will give you dozens of recommendations. You can easily find a school with whatever is most important to you.

Apply to at least one school you know you’ll get into, whether that school is PCC, PSU, or UP. You can find the median GPA of accepted students by looking up “[School] average GPA”. If your GPA is higher than the average, your odds are probably good.

Many schools offer virtual tours on their websites. Taking one can help you visualize whether or not you can see yourself at that school. Explore the school’s website. Look at their Instagram. If there’s nothing you actually like about a school, applying probably isn’t worth your time.

Part Two: Applying

It’s easier said than done, but get your essays and FAFSA done as quickly as you can. It can be hard to write a good personal essay on a time crunch, and some schools award financial aid on a first-come, first-served basis. If you can, get a friend or a teacher to look over your essays to make sure they’re smooth and respond to the prompt. Some schools have internal deadlines for merit scholarships; check your schools’ website to see if you need to submit your application earlier.

Actually getting around to writing the essays is hard. It’s so easy to procrastinate when your deadline is weeks away, but that deadline creeps up on you. Something that worked for me was working on essays during classes when I would usually be on my phone. I was still avoiding my classwork without wasting my time.

The Common App essay is the one most people struggle with because of how flexible it is. As long as your essay has a point, it can take any form and be about anything. One route you can take is writing about why you chose your major, as long as it isn’t boring or “because jobs in that field pay a lot of money”. If you have a story to go with it, even better.

As far as letters of recommendation go, try to ask your teachers at least a month before your first deadline. Most schools require two letters of rec, but some will let you submit more. While it’s typically better to get a letter from a core class teacher, Common App does have a section to submit letters from arts teachers or coaches.

The better a college can get to know you, the better chance you have of getting in. To many admissions officers, you’re just a GPA and an essay on a paper. Tell them about who you are outside of school, what your hobbies and fears are. Be more than just a GPA.

Part Three: Deciding

I can’t tell you which schools you’d prefer. I can’t tell you if you’d prefer the college with a strong arts program or the college in your preferred location. Money is usually a deciding factor; talk with your family about which school is the most realistic. Your friends can offer their two cents on which school they think is a better fit. In the end, though, it’s about what you prefer. While I was deciding, I found myself getting back into my habit of doing deep dives on school websites like I did while I was applying, gathering as much information as I could for a pros-cons list.

Visit a school if you can. Visiting was what most influenced my final decision; it’s when you get the best feel for the campus and community, where you see the hallways you might walk through and the dining halls you might frequent. I visited a school I wasn’t sure about and ended up absolutely loving it, and on the flip side, I visited a school I thought would be a great fit for me and hated it so much I turned down my acceptance as soon as I left.

If money is a big factor for you, it’s always worth it to email your admissions officer. Most schools will let you appeal for more financial aid. Some will let you appeal for more merit aid. I emailed five colleges asking for a merit appeal. Two said no. Of the three that let me, two increased my award by $8,000. One gave me an additional $40,000. The worst that can happen is a college saying no, and we all know what the best is.

By Camille Muñoz
Roosevelt High School

Published May 25, 2023

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