Think about your priorities for what you want in a college before you begin using a resource like CollegeBoard Big Futures. Do you care about:
– Size of School Population?
– Location / Distance from Home?
– Cost of Attendance?
– Athletics?
– Class Sizes?
– Diversity?
– Specific Extracurriculars?
– Majors and Minors of Interest?
– Selectivity?
– Percent of Financial Need Met?
Search for colleges using the things that matter most to you. You may want certain things, but if they’re not a deal breaker, make sure you don’t cancel out colleges that have most of what you’re looking for.
- Consider College Match & Fit
- Is a specific college a good fit for you? Do they have what you are looking for in a college?
- Are you a match for the college? Are you likely to get accepted into a particular college? Is the college a safety, target, or reach school?
- Think about your Values!
- Draft your first School List
- Most students at CMIT apply to 3-8 colleges, with 7 being the average from the last several years.
- Consider the Location, College Major, Clubs/Organizations, Sports, Size, Diversity, Financial Aid Programs, Specialty/Living Learning Programs
Aim for 15-30 colleges INITIALLY. If you end up with more than 20 colleges in your results, add more factors or play around with the level of importance of certain factors. If you get fewer than 15, you may be being too picky.
Narrow down to a strategic list. At CMIT, we want our seniors applying to a minimum of 4 colleges, but don’t recommend applying to more than 10. Application fees are expensive and applying to too many schools makes the decision making quite a challenge.
– 1-2 Safety Schools: schools that have a higher acceptance rate or have a middle 50% SAT/ACT/GPA that is below yours
– 3-4 Target Schools: schools that have an average to high-average acceptance rate or have a middle 50% SAT/ACT/GPA that is right around what yours are
– 1-2 Reach Schools: schools that have a lower acceptance rate or have a middle 50% SAT/ACT/GPA that is a bit higher than what you have.
Visit schools when you can. Sometimes a college looks really good on their website, but when you visit the school, you realize it’s not what you thought it was. Maybe the food isn’t so great or the campus is a lot bigger than you had seen online. Maybe the students aren’t friendly or the weather isn’t what you would want to live in for four years. Maybe the residence halls looked bigger online, but then you find out that the freshman dorms are way smaller or don’t have air conditioning. These are things that you want to see in person and can really help you determine if a school feels right.
- CommonApp
- Common Black College Application
- Directly on the College Website
- Some colleges have no Application Fee while others charge up to $100 just to apply!
- Application Fees are nonrefundable.
- Some students qualify for Fee Waivers – make sure to ask your School Counselor if you qualify!
- This shows a college ALL of the grades and credits you have earned, the level of rigor of your courses (Honors, AP, Dual Enrollment, or Comprehensive), your GPA trends over the years, as well as your Service Hours earned
- Grades and the Rigor of your Curriculum are two of the most important things that College Admissions Counselors look at as part of your application.
- If you have taken any Dual Enrollment courses, the STUDENT is responsible for sending their PGCC transcript to their colleges as part of their College Admissions Process.
- This shows the college how you performed at the college level as a whole (including your college-level GPA)
- Your Counselor cannot send your test scores to colleges for you. The student must send their SAT/ACT scores directly to their school.
- Again, CMIT DOES NOT SEND TEST SCORES.
- Note about Applying Test Optional: If a school is test optional and you DO NOT feel your test scores are representative of your abilities, don’t send your scores! If your scores are above the college’s average, send them! Note: if you are applying test optional, make sure to confirm with admissions that this does NOT affect your financial aid considerations.
- The “School Profile” is something that your counselor will upload and send through Naviance. It will be sent to all of your colleges through SchooLinks and will be included in all mailers as well. This document gives colleges an understanding of the policies and procedures of our school as well as the context of our academic offerings, which will be used to understand our school in comparison to other schools.
- The “Secondary School Profile” is also something that is completed for all college applications and sent through SchooLinks. This document gives a college context about the student within the context of our school and their peers. This document asks questions about the rigor of your curriculum in comparison to your peers as well as your overall recommendation level.
Letters of Recommendation
- Students are encouraged to secure 2 Teachers Letters. Seniors should only send a request to your teachers through SchooLinks AFTER they have confirmed via email that they will write your letter for you.
- Dr. Gaudette will write a Counselor Recommendation for all students applying to 4-Year Colleges as long as they meet the deadline for the Request (usually early September)
- Students are encouraged to provide Teacher Recommenders with a completed Brad Sheet to help them in writing the letter.
- Note: Teacher Recommendations will be sent by your Counselor through SchooLinks.
- Essays are a chance for you to show the admissions team who you are, give them an idea of your character, and let them hear your voice.
- Remember to proofread your essays carefully and ensure that they show a part of YOU – avoid cliche topics when possible and make sure to work hard on this component of your application.
Here are some great resources that may help you write that winning essay:
From CBS News, “Ten Topics to Avoid in a College Admission Essay”:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-
From Johns Hopkins, “Essays that Worked”:
https://apply.jhu.edu/
A Blog by Huffington Post, “College Application Essays”
https://www.huffingtonpost.
From USA Today, “9 Essay Writing Tips to Wow College Admissions Officers”
http://college.usatoday.com/
- Balance your resume between text and white space on the page.
- Your name should be the biggest thing on your resume.
- You should include a professional email address and contact phone number.
- Emphasize the outcomes of your work.
- If you need help drafting your resume, reach out to our Career Coach, Mr. Hussin!
- If you are applying to art, music, or theater programs (or related fields), colleges may want to see samples of your work and talent.
- Some colleges offer the opportunity to participate in an Interview.
- For tips on thriving in a College Interview, read this article!
Many schools offer more than one application deadline. It is recommended that CMIT students apply by the early deadline for ALL of their colleges. Many schools have higher acceptance rates for their early deadline and hold less spots and less scholarship money for students who apply later. Applying early also usually means getting a decision early, which can help in making decisions and applying for scholarship funding to close any gaps in financial need.
There is an important distinction to make regarding the early deadline, however. Early Decision (ED) applications are binding and can only be done for one school. A student who gets accepted to a school they applied to as an ED applicant is legally required to attend that college. Early Action (EA) means applying early, but is not binding. Students who apply EA get their admissions decision early, but do not have to make a commitment to attend until National Decision Day on May 1st. Early Action is what CMIT counselors recommend for students.
Applying early often means competing with fewer applicants and increasing not only chances of acceptance, but also sometimes means consideration for specialized programs and the potential to receive better financial aid / scholarship packages. As an example, the University of Maryland has a November 1st Early Action deadline, from which they take 90% of their incoming class. It is also the deadline they use to choose students for Honors, Scholars, and living-learning programs.
For more information, please read: https://professionals.
Summary of Admissions Decision Types
- Regular Decision – this is usually the latest deadline a college would have and is not recommended unless it is the only option (or is the only option besides Early Decision)
- Rolling Admissions – this means that colleges review applications as they are submitted and send out decisions as they make them. It is recommended students apply to these colleges by early November.
- Early Action/Priority Deadlines – THIS IS THE RECOMMENDED APPLICATION TYPE FOR CMIT STUDENTS. Often, colleges use these deadlines as cutoffs for Honors, Living-Learning, and special Scholarship programs. If you miss this deadline, you often miss the consideration for these things as well.
- Early Decision – this is a BINDING legal agreement that you are making with a college. If you apply Early Decision, you are required to go to that college if they accept you, even if you are offered amazing opportunities elsewhere.
Get Organized & Start Submitting Your Materials
- Once you have an idea of what colleges you would like to apply to, start getting your College Application Checklist together!
- Students are strongly encouraged to complete their applications by EARLY ACTION and PRIORITY deadlines to increase their chances of admission and to be considered for specialty programs and merit-based scholarships.
| Alabama State University |
| American University * |
| Anne Arundel Community College * |
| Arizona State University * |
| Bowie State University * |
| Brown University |
| Bucknell University |
| Capitol Technology University * |
| Carolina University * |
| Case Western Reserve University |
| Catholic University of America |
| Central State University |
| Chatham University |
| Clark Atlanta University |
| Coppin State University |
| Culinary Institute of America |
| Daemen University |
| Delaware State University * |
| Delaware Valley University |
| Dickinson College |
| Drexel University * |
| Elon University |
| Fayetteville State University |
| Florida A&M University |
| Florida Institute of Technology |
| Florida Memorial University |
| Fordham University |
| Frostburg State University * |
| George Mason University * |
| Georgia State University |
| Goucher College * |
| Hampton University |
| High Point University |
| Hiram College |
| Hofstra University |
| Hood College |
| Howard Community College * |
| Howard University * |
| Illinois Institute of Technology |
| Immaculata University |
| Jackson State University |
| James Madison University |
| Johnson & Wales University * |
| Kettering University |
| La Salle University |
| Le Moyne College |
| Lebanon Valley College |
| Lincoln Technical Institute * |
| Lincoln University |
| Longwood University |
| Louisiana State University |
| Loyola University Chicago |
| Loyola University Maryland * |
| Manhattan University |
| Marshall University |
| Maryland Institute College of Art * |
| Marymount University |
| McDaniel College |
| Michigan State University |
| Millersville University of Pennsylvania |
| Montclair State University |
| Montgomery College * |
| Moravian University |
| Morehead State University |
| Morgan State University * |
| Mount St. Mary’s University |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology |
| New York Institute of Technology |
| New York University |
| Norfolk State University * |
| North Carolina A&T State University * |
| North Carolina Central University |
| North Carolina State University |
| Northwestern University |
| Notre Dame of Maryland |
| Old Dominion University |
| Pace University |
| Pennsylvania State University * |
| Pennsylvania Western University |
| Prince George’s Community College * |
| Purdue University |
| Radford University |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
| Robert Morris University |
| Rochester Institute of Technology |
| Rutgers University |
| Salisbury University * |
| Seton Hall University |
| Shaw University |
| Shepherd University |
| Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania |
| St. John’s University |
| St. Mary’s College of Maryland |
| Stevenson University * |
| SUNY at Albany |
| SUNY Buffalo State |
| SUNY College at Oswego |
| SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
| Temple University * |
| Tennessee State University |
| Towson University |
| Tuskegee University |
| University of Chicago * |
| University of Connecticut |
| University of Dayton |
| University of Delaware * |
| University of District of Columbia |
| University of Hartford |
| University of Houston |
| University of Maryland Global Campus |
| University of Maryland, Baltimore County * |
| University of Maryland, College Park * |
| University of Maryland, Eastern Shore * |
| University of North Carolina, Charlotte |
| University of North Carolina, Greensboro |
| University of North Dakota |
| University of Oregon |
| University of Pittsburgh |
| University of Rochester * |
| University of South Carolina |
| University of South Florida |
| University of Tampa |
| University of Tennessee |
| University of Tulsa |
| University of Virginia * |
| Virginia Commonwealth University |
| Virginia State University |
| Virginia Tech |
| Washington Adventist University |
| Washington College |
| West Virginia State University |
| West Virginia University |
| Wilkes University |
| Xavier University of Louisiana * |
| York College of Pennsylvania * |
