Still Haven’t Applied for College?

Jan 1, 2005 by Adam Garfield

     Okay OUTLOUD high school seniors, its time for another installment of “How to Get Into College.” So quit partying for a second, take some pills for your Senioritis and listen up!

Those who haven’t applied yet:

Slacker! What are you waiting for? For the major colleges and universities the deadline for your regular decision application is sometime around the middle of January, which gives you about 300 hours to get it out and postmarked. If you are interested in a smaller school like FIU, you still have some time to apply and get things together. May 1st is the last day for 2005 Fall Undergraduate admissions applications. If you need to have letters of recommendation from teachers or counselors, you better suck up to them before you hand it to them, because if there is one thing teachers hate about the college application process it is writing letters with little notice.

Is there anything left to do if I already sent in my application?

Stop checking their website all the time! If your decision wasn’t up there three minutes ago it’s not going to be up there again in another five minutes. But if you applied to a school Early Decision and haven’t received a notice stating whether or not you’ve been accepted you should give them a call. Most colleges tend to send them out around the middle of December. Most Early Action applicants should be learning their fate in the upcoming weeks. If you DO get accepted, make sure you give your counselor your mid-year report to fill out and send to them.

Help me pay for college!

Pick up your Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) now! It came out on January 1st and it is an essential piece of your collegiate funding puzzle. You can pick up a paper copy or fill one out online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Some schools have applications for financial aid on their website that you must fill out and submit, while others will automatically consider you a candidate for it, so make sure to check with the college of your choice. Last but not least is the Bright Futures Scholarship, given out to students who meet certain GPA, SAT/ACT, and community service requirements. You can sign up for this online.

Have questions? Tweet us @outloudonline!