2012 college night volunteers - Tulare County Office of Education

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TULARE COUNTY COLLEGE NIGHTwww.tcoe.org/collegenightTHE RIGHT COLLEGE FOR YOUThere are more than 3,000 colleges and universities to choose from in the United States. They offer a wide variety ofprograms to meet the needs of many different kinds of students enrolling in college today.There IS more than one school that would be right for you. But how do you choose? Do you do it through all theslick, colored brochures you get in the mail? You may be confused by the number of choices available; you may nothave enough information about colleges and not be sure how to get the facts you need.Relax. Finding a college does involve planning, hard work, and serious thought. Start when you begin high school,if not earlier. Whatever grade you are in, if you start now, and follow the steps outlined below, you can find severalschools that are right for you. One thing is for certain, the rewards of college are worth it!!STEP 1: KNOW YOURSELFIdentify your personal needs. Examine your personality style. Your high school counselors and the internet havemany college or career inventories you can take to help you identify what your personal style is. Once you have identifiedyour personality type, you can narrow your college search down to finding a college to meet those needs!STEP 2: ASK THE ADVICE OF OTHERSYour high school guidance counselor and teachers can be good sources of information about col leges. Discuss theresults of your self-analysis and get advice on which colleges might be best for you.STEP 3: LEARN MORE ABOUT COLLEGESThe more information you can collect about the colleges that interest you, the better your chances of making a gooddecision. Internet sites for colleges and other college search engines are a great way to get information about colleges.SAT, College Board, US News & World Report, ACT, and Peterson’s are just a few of the college search enginesavailable to use online. The internet offers virtual college tours, videos of the college, college catalogs, e-mailaddresses for questions, and many other channels of communication with colleges. Other sources for informationinclude career centers, college handbooks, and private college consultants. Each resource will help give you the vitalstatistics on each college. Be sure to attend College Night each year. This is another valuable opportunity for you togather information all in one place!!STEP 4: MAKE A PRELIMINARY LISTMake a preliminary list of 8-10 colleges that you are interested in. Get information from each of these schools. Yourcollege list should have colleges in three categories: “dream” colleges, (ones that you are not sure you can get into);“probables,” (ones that you are pretty sure you can be accepted at); and “safeties,” (ones that you KNOW you can beaccepted at).STEP 5: VISIT COLLEGESProbably the best way to learn more about a college is to visit the campus. If possible, plan to visit a college duringthe school year, when classes are going on. Many colleges schedule campus tours and will arrange for you to spendthe night in campus housing if you write in advance. Many colleges hold open houses for prospective students in thefall and again in the spring.During your visit, walk around the campus to get a feeling for its size and atmosphere. Find out about the thingsthat are important to you. Visit the student center, the cafeteria, and the library. Talk to students wherever you go.If the college recommends that applicants for admission have an interview, schedule it for the same time you visitthe campus. Write or e-mail the admissions office for an appointment before you arrive.If it isn’t possible for you to visit a college you are interested in applying to, ask the college for names of recentgraduates or current students who live in your area. Try setting up a meeting with one of these people. Sometimescolleges requiring interviews will have students do interviews with alumni that live in the same area as the student.28
www.tcoe.org/collegenightTULARE COUNTY COLLEGE NIGHTSTEP 6: FINALIZE YOUR LIST/ MAKE APPLICATIONSOnce you have gathered information, visited campuses, and talked to others, take your preliminary list and reduceit down to 1-3 colleges in each category. An average number of colleges to apply to is 5-6. If you are applying toout-of-state colleges, your list may expand to 8-11. Begin a calendar of application due dates. Know which collegeshave Early Decision and Early Admission. (You can apply to only one college Early Decision; if you are admitted to acollege Early Decision it is a binding decision; you agree to go there and to drop all other applications.) Early Admissionmeans you can apply to more than one college early, and the admissions decision is given early, yet it is notbinding and you do not need to withdraw applications from other schools. Keep track of deadlines as you begin filingapplications. Check on the availability of online applications. Many colleges reduce or even waive application feesif applications are submitted online. It is possible to apply to the University of California and the California StateUniversities online.STEP 7: MAKE A DECISIONThe last step is to make the “big” decision--choosing the one college you are attending! The “universal” due date fornotifying a college you are attending is May 1. If you have followed the above steps, you will find making this finaldecision is a breeze. Congratulations! You have chosen a college!29
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