These resources will guide students when getting started with their college application journey.
1. FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
This is a top priority when applying to college. Applying for financial aid through the FAFSA application is free and can provide a range of options from grants, federal loans, scholarships, work-study and more. Even if you believe you won’t qualify, still consider submitting an application as you never know what schools can offer.
The eligibility for FAFSA is U.S. Citizenship or Permanent residency so you must have a Social Security Number. The first step in applying for FAFSA is creating your FSA ID. This will require your official government name (as stated on your Social Security Card). Creating an FSA ID will also require an email address and cell phone number. Make sure to avoid using your school’s email address as this will eventually expire. You will need a permanent email to log into FAFSA every year while in college.
Parent involvement is also a key factor during the financial application process. Keep in mind that your parents will also need to create an FSA ID in order to provide their E-signature. If your parents are unable to create an FSA ID, you can always print the signature page and mail it to the FAFSA office.
2. Common Application
If you’re planning on applying to a private school, most will utilize the Common App. Typically you’ll only be required to fill out one common application. But depending on each school, there may be some additional supplemental or essay questions. Students can fill out their basic information, request recommendations, and submit their personal statement.
The Common Application opens on August 1 so get a head start by creating an account and researching all of the application requirements and each school’s deadlines. Most schools will have different deadlines and some will even have earlier deadlines if you want to be considered for scholarships and additional grants.
3. University of California Application
Planning on attending some of the top public schools in California? You can utilize the UC App to apply to all 9 UC campuses. Similar to the Common App, you’ll only be required to submit one UC Application for multiple schools. The UC Application also opens on August 1.
Unlike the Common App, the deadline for the UC Application is on November 30 no matter which school you apply to. In addition, each school you select will not require additional supplemental questions (except for UC San Diego which will ask for your preferred ranking on the specific colleges).
The UC App will typically require A-G requirements, 3.0 GPA or above, and 4 out of 8 Personal Insight Questions (350 words each maximum).
4. Your School’s College & Career Website
Your school should be able to offer college resources, updates and events. You’ll want to stay up to date on workshops, college rep visits, or changes in application deadlines. Your counselors are often the first to be notified of any major application changes and may post them directly on their website first.
I would also highly recommend staying up to date on a scholarship database because schools should have a database on local scholarships (which will typically have higher success rates compared to nationwide scholarships such as the Coca Cola Scholarship).
5. College Board
Although College Board is well known for hosting the SAT exams, they actually have a database feature called BigFuture which can assist with researching different colleges based on your preferences and interests. Use this tool to help with your college search and to check eligibility and application requirements. Doing your college research early will significantly help reduce research fatigue and can save you more time during the application process.
In addition, Big Future also has an enormous scholarship directory that is easy to use. You can look at the entire list of scholarship or you can use one of their matching tools. This is come in handy and save so much time with researching scholarships. Sometimes, researching scholarships that match take just as much time as applying to some. Thank goodness for Big Future to remove a huge barrier.
Conclusion
Although college research and admissions can be an overwhelming process, my recommendation is to start with these websites first and use them as a guide. From there, feel free to tap into your curiosity and dive deep into other resources you feel led towards. The key is early awareness. The more you know, the sooner you can prepare in advance for college application season.
