Frequently Asked Questions

Students should begin working on their college applications in July or August (during the summer before your senior year). Most college apps do not go live – including the Common Application – until August 1 or later, but the questions on the Common App (and on most college-specific apps) do not change from year to year. 

Students should choose topics that reflect themselves – where the admissions office can learn how the student changed, learned, or grew from a given situation or experience. Students want to come across as interesting, unique and likable in their writing.

The most important way to learn about a campus culture is to visit! Students should preferably visit during the school year and during the week. While there, students should feel free to stop random students to ask about their experience at the university. Prospective applicants might also consider staying overnight in a dorm if the college has an overnight hosting program, or eating in the dining hall, or returning for a second visit many months after the initial visit. 

Students should learn the rules of early action, early decision, and single-choice and restrictive early action. If students have visited all the colleges on their list and have a top choice and will enroll if admitted, then perhaps early decision – a binding agreement – is appropriate. But, the student should only apply early decision if the school is somewhat within reach – if the school is too far out of reach given the applicant's test scores and grades, then the applicant might want to reconsider, since students can only apply to one school early decision.