For International Students, College Checklists for December

This week, The Choice published our monthly Counselor's Calendar, designed to keep students on track during the college admissions process.

We've asked Jeffrey Neill, the director of college counseling at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, for this month's admissions advice for juniors.

David Burke, the director of college counseling at Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City, Mo., offers this month's college checklist for seniors.

What follows are excerpts that are most relevant for international students. - Tanya Abrams

Juniors: College Checklist for December

Be Committed to the Process

The college application process, from research through to submission, takes about 40 hours of work by the student. You do not need to wait until the summer or the fall of your senior year to do much of this work. Just 15 minutes per day - a study break, really - will have you through 40 hours by the middle of August, happy and satisfied with the knowledge that you are well-situated for the senior fall. Be diligent and committed, and the process will take care of itself.

Communicate With Your Parents

This is your process, but you should make sure that your parents are informed and contributing to your college search. Take time to talk with your parents about the ways in which you want to involve them. Have this conversation early and often, even weekly.

Set up a schedule for visits, even though you may not yet have a list. Follow up with your parents after meetings with your college or guidance couns elor. Work to understand your family's financial situation. Explore costs as well as financial aid and loans. These all are essential conversations; now is the time to set up a plan for how you will communicate.

Plan Your Summer Now

December is the ideal time to make plans for the summer so that you don't scramble at the last minute to pull something together. Have you considered an academic program to pursue advanced work in a field of interest, to bolster or supplement shaky areas of your transcript, or to explore new disciplines not available during the regular academic year?

What about a job? Can you make and save money for college? Have you considered an internship? Community service or volunteer work? Travel? Are there sports or arts camps that would assist in your plans? Discuss with your parents and college or guidance counselor a plan for the summer. Be deliberate and intentional in your planning, and reserve some down time, too.

Research, Research, Research

Begin to construct that college list. There is no substitute for visiting a college for a tour and interview or information session, but there is much to be said about getting online and exploring. Individual college Web sites can be enormously helpful in providing a sense of what your experience could be. What courses could you take? What courses must you take? How difficult is it to double-major or to switch majors? If you are undecided on a major, how might the college's curriculum assist you in selecting one? What drives social life? How many students live on campus? What are the application requirements? Are SAT Subject Tests required? Keep note of these items that you deem to be important. The more of this information you can obtain and process, the more informed your search will be.

Make a Standardized Testing and Test Prep Plan

You should carefully consider if and how you will go ab out preparing for standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT. Results from previous tests - including the PSAT - should figure prominently into any plan. To prepare, some students will opt to take courses or to work with tutors. You may also self-study by using free resources from the College Board or ACT Web sites. Regardless, now is the time to plan.

Be Genuine and Explore

This time of year, you will hear much about “what colleges want to see.” Of course, the danger here is in pursuing any end exclusively because colleges want to see it.

Be genuine. If you are going to commit your time to anything, be sure that you are doing so because it is of significance to you. Ultimatel y, this is what colleges want to see, and they are exceptionally talented at sniffing out students who do things exclusively because they are trying to impress.

Keep in mind that we are all lumps of clay, still being formed. Remain committed to those things that are important to you, exploring positions and experiences of leadership, but do not close the door on new opportunities that might help you learn more about that unknowable enigma: you.

- Jeffrey Neill

Seniors: College Checklist for December

I have differing advice for seniors depending upon your present situation:

- I'm Finished: You applied to your first-choice college or university under an early action or rolling (nonbinding) plan, or an early decision (binding) plan. You have received good news, and you and your parents are comfortable with the school's price tag.

- I'm Still Applying: You're still adjusting your college list and are still working on the applications for those schools.

Checklist for Seniors Who Are Finished

First of all, congratulate yourself on a job well done. Remember, though, that you didn't accomplish this feat all on your own.

Give Thanks

Take a moment this season to thank the people - your parents, teachers and counselors - who helped get you where you are. Many of us who do this work for a living keep a file of thoughtful notes we've received from students over the years.

Practice Celebration Etiquette

Be considerate toward your classmates who are still applying. Everyone chuckles at a clever celebration dance, but not when it lasts too long and certainly not when it crosses the line from clever to obnoxious.

Don't Check Out

Remember, your college or university is still keenly interested in your grades and conduct for the remainder of your senior year. So, yes, you still need to study for your final exams !

Checklist for Seniors Who Are Still Applying

Before you dive into application essays and Common Application supplements, take a moment to look at your list of colleges from 30,000 feet.

Re-evaluate Your List

Can you see a scenario where you would actually attend every school on your list? If the answer is no for one (or more) of those schools, then why are you applying there? Do you have a “financial safety” as well as an “admissions safety” on your list?

Prepare for the Worst

Play out the worst-case scenario given your list of colleges. If you were unexpectedly rejected or wait-listed at every school where your admission is in doubt, could you happily choose from the colleges that remain?

I do this exercise with all of my students and, even though it's not terribly pleasant to think this way, we both take solace in the fact that the worst-case scenario rarely happens, and we feel better for havin g considered all of the possibilities.

Send Your Test Scores

Remember to officially send your test scores from the College Board or ACT to every school to which you have applied. Many colleges and universities will not consider your application complete until they have received these test scores officially.

Mind the Details

As you finish polishing your applications, pay just as much attention to the seemingly minor essay prompts - often found on supplements - as you do to the so-called big essay questions.

In this era of skyrocketing applications at many colleges and universities, admissions officials often try to ascertain the “demonstrated interest” that each student has in their institution. So, for example, if you answer the “Why Northwestern?” or “Why Stanford?” question with boilerplate material that you could just as easily write about any college or university, don't be surprised if that refl ects poorly on the level of interest you are demonstrating.

Regardless of where you currently place yourself on the college application timeline, it'll all be over soon enough. Take some time to revel in that fact; then get on with your senior year. Forget about college for a while (the process is out of your hands for a few weeks, anyway) and enjoy your friends and your family.

You might even consider trying something new. Impress yourself (instead of a college admissions committee). If you've always wanted to audition for a musical, then do it! If you've always wished you had time to tutor at the local elementary school, well now you do.

Best wishes to all of you this holiday season and for the remainder of your senior year. Remember that a year from now you'll almost certainly be happily enrolled somewhere, and as vexing as it can seem right now, this whole college admissions process will be a distant memory.

- David Burke

This post was prepa red in consultation with the Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools, a membership organization.