Kiera Valente ’13| Staff Writer

My need to find where I belonged started freshman year with Northwestern University. The following year it was DePaul, then College of Charleston. Now I’m a senior and finding a college is all anyone talks about. There are so many questions to be answered, so many decisions to be made. Where to go? Public vs. Private? Take out student loans or use my MET (Michigan Educational Trust) and stay in Michigan for what feels like forever? These questions are only the beginning of a very long process. It is good to have someone to help you, an older brother or a cousin, but for students like me, who are the oldest of the family or even an only child, there’s no such luck. The only people I’ve got to help haven’t gone to, let alone applied to, college in 20 years, I’m pretty much on my own. So I’m here to share what I’ve learned.

Start looking at schools early during junior year, keep an ongoing list of schools that interest you. If a college comes to visit South, try to get a pass to go to the meeting. These presentations are informative and somewhat fun–plus they get you out of class.

Come up with a basic list of things the school you go to must have. Greek life, a Division 1 football team, location on the East Coast, whatever it might be. Cross off any schools that you have on your list that do not fit your criteria.

Toward the end of junior year (or as early as possible in your senior year), ask teachers to write a letter of recommendation. The counselors will write one if needed, but also ask at least one teacher that you’ve really bonded with over the years, preferably one in an academic class that you did well in.

Start essays over the summer. If you take Power of Language then you will write one in class, but odds are you will still need to have more written, so do not assume you are done with just one essay.

Get a list of the final schools you are applying to ASAP. This list should include one back up school and one reach. As for the other schools, use websites to discover more. Using college websites can be overwhelming, so keep it simple and use the following three websites to stay ahead.

• For basic information; pricing, majors, and average GPAs and ACT scores I use collegeboard.org.
• Collegeprowler.com is best for student reviews. They review everything from campus housing to the attractiveness of guys and girls on campus. And you know there is some truth to it because they do not have to lie about the school like someone who works there might.
• Lastly, I use cappex.com (or parchment.com) to determine my chances of getting into the school. I try to use this site as little as possible because they send a ton of junk mail, so be careful. Just remember that this website isn’t run by an admissions officer at the school you are looking at, if they say you won’t get in you still might and vice versa.

So, in short, take whatever chances you can to get to know more about all the schools you are interested in, start your essays early and get as many people as you can to edit them, know what you do and don’t want in a school. And keep your grades up, as senior year still counts.