Sunday, February 28, 2010

College Planning Tips- February

Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors

1. In choosing courses for next year, stay balanced across the five
core disciplines: math, science, social science, foreign language and
English.

2. If you are inclined to drop a course from one of the five core
disciplines in order to replace it with a course from another discipline,
make sure you are trading rigor for rigor. Dropping a fourth or fifth year
of a language in favor of an introductory course in another would be like
dropping Pre-Calculus in order to take Algebra I!

3. Read as much as you can. You might spend a lot of money on test prep
but the best prep comes from familiarity with words and concepts as they
are used contextually.

4. During spring break, take advantage of opportunities to go “window shopping” for colleges. This isn’t the time to worry about “buying.” Instead, see what you can see. Give yourself a sampling of all types of colleges and universities. Broaden your perspective so that when it’s time to work on a short list, you’ll know what you want.

Seniors

1. Make every attempt to complete your family income tax returns for
2009 as early as possible as this information will be used to verify the
information you reported on your financial aid applications.

2. If there are extraordinary circumstances that might limit your
family’s ability to meet a college’s costs, submit a written statement
that documents the circumstances directly to the financial aid office at
the institution(s) in question.

3. If you have been admitted Early Decision, make sure you honor your
commitment to enroll. More specifically, resist the temptation to let your
other applications remain active “just to see what might happen.”
That’s not part of the deal!

4. Relax. The admission decisions will come soon enough. There is no
sense worrying about things over which you have no control.

5. Say “no” to senioritis. Nothing good can come of it!


A2Z College Planning Team
www.a2zcollegeplanning.com
919-450-0171
info@a2zcollegeplanning.com

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