College Admissions: Final Tips

Finally, the day has come when the College Admissions series is over. The final installment is all about little tips and tricks that I overlooked in the process of filming the previous five segments.Here is a quick review of the five extras that I discussed.

1. Keep a record of your activity.
This a good step to take simply because it'll help you keep track of important deadlines as well as making sure that you stick to a plan that you had started out with. To help you out, I created a rough copy of what I'd call a College Application: Status worksheet. Since it has been a year--and since I deleted the one I actually used--this one may be a little simplified, but feel free to make changes to fit your needs.

2. Go on college tours.
I believe I mentioned this before, but if it wasn't for a college tour, I wouldn't be going to the school that I am. Take tours to the colleges that you are on the fence about, the ones that have yet to convince you to take the step to apply. The reason being that it will expand your options. If you visit and find that you hate the campus, then you can rest assured and skip out on the application. If, however, you fall in love, then you will still have time to apply. It doesn't matter whether you go and visit your dream school because if what you've read about is enough then just apply. Later on, if you are accepted you can check out the campus and decided for yourself.


3. Take the SAT/ACT (or both) at least twice.
The basic rule is this: take the SAT/ACT during your junior year, and then take it again at the beginning of senior year. All this is a security measure to make sure that your best efforts are taken into consideration. While your junior year SAT/ACT score may be stellar, you never know if you can do better and that's just something to keep in mind.

4. Keep your schools private.
No, I don't mean apply to only private universities. What I mean to say is that you shouldn't disclose all of the schools that you are applying to. This is something difficult to accomplish--especially in the beginning of the year, but try to accomplish it nevertheless. If you talk about your colleges with such ease and don't care what other people think, than you can disregard this tip. However, I've found that even the most confident individuals sometimes have doubts about their colleges because of the people's reaction to it. While in an ideal world, the judgement of others wouldn't hold such a significant impact on our future, there is no reason to give it an opportunity to flourish. Keep it private, keep it personal.


5. Don't stress out!
While this concerns your future, there is no reason to be freaking out about college applications. If you take all the proper steps and listen to the advice offered (while discerning what's actually important), then you should be in very good shape. Just remember, that no matter what happens, the goal is to obtain a higher education--not just to get accepted to a particular school.

Thus we come to a close about college applications. If, for whatever reason, there was a topic that I forgot just leave me a comment either here or on YouTube.

Have a fantastic day and good luck to you all!

College Admissions: Personal Statements

This a moment when a high school senior must showcase not only their stellar writing skills, but the incredibly rounded individual that they are.

Personal statements are such a hassle for college bound students, particularly those who feel that they have nothing specifically special about themselves. Yet, as anyone will be able to attest--you are bound to have at least one of your colleges require one. There are five steps to take in the process.

1. Choosing Your Topic
This is the tricky part of the task, especially difficult since it is also the very first step. If the topic you choose doesn't rise to the occasion, it will not matter how well written the essay is. Content is so important--to such an extent that cannot be overlooked.

2. Writing Your First Draft
Another difficult step (Who am I kidding? All of these steps are demanding--that's simply what it takes.) is writing a completed first draft. During the writing of your first draft, don't worry so much about the small revisions like technicalities--this is something that can be altered down the line. Do worry about the word count though. If you write a lot more than you are allowed to submit, you will find it difficult to determine what it is that you can delete. At that point, everything will seem important to you and you'll have a hard time parting with your work.

3. Self-Editing
Before you hand your essay over to someone else to review, make sure that you do the same. While it seems rather tempting to simply finish the rough draft and hand it over for edits that's something that should be avoided. In part, because it is downright embarrassing to present a poorly written piece for something as major as this. More importantly though, you know your essay and the message that you are attempting to convey. If it doesn't seem clear to you, then you can bet it will definitely be impossible for other readers.

4. Outside Revisions
There are two people that you should ask to read over your personal statements: a close friend and an adult. The reason for the friend is obvious, they know you well and can work on the defining moments of your statement that are directly about you. The reason for the adult is for the far more sophisticated understanding (though it's possible that your friend is capable of this as well). When you ask them to look over your work, emphasize that they need to offer as much constructive criticism as possible. While it's nice to be praised for hard work, this isn't the time nor place for it. That essay has to be the best you can produce, so bring on the revisions!

Remember that you have the final word though. If you happen to disagree with the suggestions of your editors, then do whatever feels best to you. Just be sure to remember that you were the one who decided to forgo their opinions.

5. Final Cut
The last points of reference when it comes to the personal statement is to remember that the technicalities must be all on mark. This means that there can't be any spelling or grammar mistakes--whether large or small. It also means that it has to be your absolutely best work, the effort will definitely be noticeable.

Be sure to have the entire essay complete a week before you plan on submitting all of your application. It's a good idea to finish ahead of time--or at least plan to finish ahead of time--simply because there may be some accidents unaccounted for.

That's all I have to say on the subject. As usual, if you have any questions feel free to leave me a comment below. Have a good day!

Tips on Shopping for School Supplies

Thus we come to one of my favorite pastimes of the summer: back to school shopping. My friends consider me to be obsessed with school supplies and I don’t disagree with them. There are certain things to keep in mind when shopping for school supplies, as ridiculous as it sounds. There are some tips that I’ve picked up over the years and have now decided to share them with you.

If you aren’t in the mood to watch the video, there is a condensed version of what I said below.

The Five Tips to Shopping for School Supplies 

1. Don’t be afraid to start early.
Of course there is such a thing as starting too early, but generally speaking the earlier you start the more time you have to shop around. Believe it or not, there may be a few deals in the beginning of June at stores–perhaps. Of course, as I post this it’s too late to shop in June but it’s something to keep in mind for years to come. You may not be able to buy very much, but there will still be some savings.

2. You shouldn’t be buying everything all at once.
Whenever you buy everything you need in a single trip, yes you may save a bit of gas money but trust me–you need to shop around for the best prices. The sense of urgency that you feel while in a store filled with school supplies is a really temptation in disguise; with the right amount of planning you will definitely be able to purchase all of the necessities within time. Seriously, that panicked feeling only inspires you to purchase expensive supplies that you may not even need.

3. Use coupons whenever possible.
This is, unfortunately, a tip that I sometimes forget over the years. Also, if you happen to see coupons in the online weekly ads, make sure to print them out. Trust me, this is necessary because you never know what might happen. It was definitely an incident last year when I had planned to use a coupon at Staples, but figured that they would be provided in the store–they weren’t. There are many different sources, so be sure to check them out.

4. Check the weekly ads of the stores in advance.
Coupons can typically go hand in hand with this tip simply because when you have the coupons, you may be able to double book and get even better deals on already great discounts. There are quite a few stores that release sneak peeks of the following week’s deals the Friday before. Scourge these the day they are released to plan out what stores you need to visit the week before. On the other hand, some stores only release them the day that the sales start. In that case, look them up early in the morning and go from there.

5. Only buy what’s absolutely necessary.
When you’re in college, you must save money in whatever forms you can. Even if you are a high school student with no real debt, it’s important learn a little bit of discipline. Believe me, it’s difficult for me to walk away from school supplies because it’s an activity I enjoy but it’s a necessary step. There is no point in buying something that you don’t need–much less that you already have.

The Bonus Tips

* Clearance sales are your best friend.
You know how at the end of every seasonal sale, there’s this massive clearance rack of the items left unsold? Back to school season is no different. If you know that there’s a supply on your list that can be put off during the first few weeks of school, then by all means wait to purchase it later. The deals during this time may even be better than the ones before school starts. Of course there is a downside to this: generally speaking there isn’t a lot of variety when it comes to designs/brands/etc, but there’s something to say about avoid the crowds of mothers shopping with their children.

* Buy cheap, but always keep quality in mind.
It’s very important that the more money that can be saved, the better. That being said however, you should never forfeit quality for quantity. Some of my friends consider me an office supply snob, particularly when it comes to pens, but there’s a reason for that and it’s the reason that I don’t buy supplies at 99¢ stores–at least not usually. There are a few things that someone can purchase at those stores so long as they’re things where quality isn’t a key issue: supplies like index cards, rulers, and a pair of scissors. Not only do poor quality supplies tend to not last very much, but typically they don’t make a good impression on you personally. If you’re using supplies that you’re not too sure about, then believe me–you will hesitate in using them.

* Have a list of what you need to buy.
Every year, before I go back to school shopping, I open up my checklist on my computer and make a few alterations to fit my needs for the upcoming school year. Then I print it and slowly check off the items as I buy them. It’s a pretty good system, if I may say so myself particularly because whenever you don’t have an idea of what it is that you need to buy, you buy what you really don’t need. Here’s my way of helping you out:

Check out my wonderful gift to all of you–a School Supplies Checklist!

Use that list to your advantage, as I have been doing in my trek to purchasing everything that I’ll need. I made it as comprehensive as I could, so there are definitely some things on there that I personally will not be using in my first year at college, but for those of you who may still need them they’re there for reference. Anything that you do not need, you may simply cross out and if there’s something I missed, feel free to add it in one of the blanks provided! That’s why they’re there for.

On that note, I leave. Hopefully this post helped in some way or another–I definitely put a lot of thought into it and would appreciate some comments and feedback.

Video Schedule: Week of 8/28-9/3

College Admissions: Final Tips
Monday, August 29
An overview of any last minutes that might prove to be helpful to high school seniors applying to college this year.

School Supply Haul 2011
Wednesday, August 31
Pretty self-explanatory--a video of my collective school supplies

Organizing Your Ideas
Friday, September 2
A tip about organizing ideas that come springing to your head--a helpful concept for those who need the organization to control the madness.

Video Schedule: Week of 8/21-8/27

College Admissions: Letters of Recommendation
Tuesday, August 23
Tips and tricks on obtaining letters of recommendation.

College Admissions: Personal Statement
Thursday, August 25
How to brainstorm ideas, make it stand out, and make that statement absolutely brilliant.

College Admissions: Final Tips
Friday, August 26
A quick overview of any tips I may have missed as well as additional resources and potential items of use.