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The Best of The Best: My College Guide’s 6 Most Popular Posts of 2010

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

What a year it’s been! My College Guide has gathered up all your favorite posts from the last year for easy bookmarking. But first, My College Guide is going to go all sappy on you for a minute and thank you for liking us on Facebook, for following us on Twitter, and for subscribing to our RSS or email list. It’s been fun! Now, without further ado, take a peek at the past year’s treasures and your favorite college related posts!

These pet friendly colleges let you bring your favorite pet to campus!

Adam Foster | Codefor

You Can Take Them With You: Pet Friendly Colleges and Universities –Go beyond a tiny little fish tank! Cats, dogs, and a few other unusual animals can be found in these pet friendly dorm rooms. Would you like to room with a rooster?

Colleges for Low Income Students: Free Tuition, No Loans, and Full Rides – Are you considered a low-income student? These colleges have your needs in mind. No loans packages or full rides for qualifying students mean you can graduate from college debt-free!

51 Four Year Colleges and Universities with Online Bachelor’s Degrees – Looking for a way to brighten your future but don’t have time to attend at a college campus? Many four year colleges and universities now offer online bachelor’s degrees! Check out our large list to get started.

Super List of College Scholarship Websites – Looking for college scholarships? My College Guide made your search so much easier: we’ve got a great list of college scholarship websites. It’s always a good idea to use more than one scholarship website – it helps boost your chances of finding that hidden gem!

Factors of College Admission or How to Get Into Your Dream School – Your GPA and standardized test scores are important, but they are only a part of the college admission puzzle! Make sure you don’t focus so much on your SAT’s or ACT’s that you neglect these other important factors of college admission!

How to Apply to College without Paying a Fee – If you don’t like the idea of dropping $40 here and $60 here in college admission fees (especially if your chance for admission is a toss-up), you might want to take a look at this article! My College Guide has tips to help you get those hefty application fees waived!

Who We Are: Information you can trust. For 20 years My College Guide has produced an annual magazine chock full of free college info for high-achieving high school sophomores. Check out our participating colleges. If you’re a student, enter for a chance to win an Apple iPad or iPhone or cash!

Tags: application process, college, college admission, college admission terms, college admissions, college application fees, College Life, college scholarship, college scholarship websites, college scholarships, getting into college, low income families and financial aid, online, Online Colleges, online degree programs, pet friendly dorms, pets on campus, SAT, sat reasoning test, sat subject test
Posted in College Admissions, College Applications, College Classes, College Life, Fun Stuff, Housing, Paying for College, Preparing for College, SAT/ACT Test, Scholarships | No Comments »

Not Ready for College? Consider a Gap Year

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

You know that there are plenty of reasons why college is a good idea: but what if you just don’t feel ready for it? It happens. After 12 years of school and the stress of college admissions, we want you to know about an option you may not be familiar with – the gap year!

Whirling Phoenix / Josh Kellogg

What is a Gap Year?
Gap year, bridge year, lap year — whatever you call it, it’s gaining a bit of momentum here in the states (over in the UK and Australia, it’s rather common).

A gap year is a period of time (usually one year) that graduated high school students take off before entering college to pursue other interests. By other interests, My College Guide means things like work, whether internship or paid, community service abroad, or educational programs.

What gap year isn’t is an excuse to flop on the sofa station-flipping for the year before college begins or to infinitely put off beginning that first semester of college.

Why Do Students Take a Gap Year?
Why travel or work for a year before college? Well, for some students it’s a time to blow off some steam, to try their hand at volunteering or travel abroad. You know, to grow in maturity and gain life experience before college and books and studying. It lets students de-stress from the pressures of that last hectic year of high school while pursuing a worthwhile venture that makes college admissions happy.

Some students take the opportunity to work and save up a bit of money to either help pay for college or at least help pay for college expenses. They might choose a job or internship that relates to their major in college, to gain skills that will not only help them look good on a college application (and help make sure that their prospective career path is the right one for them), but prepares them for their future and that looks great on a resume!

Ivy League and The Gap Year
Harvard University wants students to consider taking a year off to avoid “burn-out.” Yale University takes the same stance, listing ways that students can get involved and further their out of school education.

John Barnabas Leith / Barney Leith

With the pressures of college admission combined with 12 continuous years of schooling, it’s no wonder that Ivy League schools are not only acknowledging the gap year as a valid choice – they are actually encouraging students to take one!

Princeton University has what they term a “Bridge Year” Program in place for accepted students to travel to places like India, Ghana, Serbia, and Peru for nine months to volunteer their time while immersing themselves in a foreign culture. You can actually follow along in the Gap Year experiences of these soon-to-be Princeton University students by reading Updates from the Field.

The Next Step
If you find yourself considering a Gap Year, know that it is only beneficial to you (and will look good on a college resume) if you do something character-building and note-worthy. Apply to college, get that acceptance, and then ask for a one-year deferral, letting them know your plans. Plus, if you had traveled abroad and really enjoyed it, most colleges have study abroad programs in place – so there’s a good chance you’d be able to head back!

Tags: college, college acceptance factors, college admission, college admissions, college advice, College Life, gap year, getting into college, getting into first choice college, Harvard University, ivy league, leadership roles, princeton university, study abroad
Posted in Gap Year, Preparing for College | No Comments »

Let’s Get Personal: The College Personal Statement

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

The college personal statement is a very important part of the college admissions process and, in a process that can sometimes seem a little impersonal (there are a lot of forms and fill-in-the-blanks), the personal statement or essay is the one part of the application where it’s okay and even encouraged to let your personality shine through!

doug88888 / Doug Wheller

While this doesn’t mean that you should dot your I’s with hearts, it does mean that admissions wants to get a feel for your personality, your character, and your intelligence in a different way: through an open-ended or specific question in order to see how you respond.

Admissions is looking for a few simple things. They don’t want a rehash of all your accomplishments and extracurricular activities, they want to see how you have handled whatever life has thrown your way and come out on top.

How have you grown and changed? How have the events in your life made you who you are today and why should admissions care?

If those sound like tough questions to answer: they are. It’s important not to wait until the last minute on this one! A good personal essay can be what sets you apart from students who have the same academic background as you.

Before you start having nightmares about writing your personal statement, know that admission will be looking at other parts of your application as well. Other factors of college admission include items like your letter(s) of recommendation, your GPA, class rank, extracurricular activities, and standardized test scores.

Pink Sherbet Photography / D. Sharon Pruitt

So while your personal statement is important, that alone probably isn’t going to get you into a college where you don’t even meet the requirements but, if you do fit or exceed requirements, it can help set you apart from other students who have the same talents and background as you.

In fact, many admissions professionals do cite the college application essay as an important factor when weighing a college application: the less mistakes the better!

A poorly proofread personal statement is going to be a drudge to read and won’t show that you really want in to that school – so, why would they let you in?

My College Guide has plenty of tips and mistakes to avoid on your personal statement coming up! Stay on top of updates: subscribe for free to My College Guide via RSS or email.

Tags: college, college admission terms, college admissions, college admissions process, getting into college, getting into first choice college, personal essay, personal growth, personal statement
Posted in College Admissions, College Applications, Personal Statement | No Comments »

Common Application: Uncommonly Simple

Friday, October 15th, 2010

My College Guide has received a few questions after our recent article and interview on the Common Application. As you might remember, the Common Application is another way to handle the college admission application frenzy!

Instead of filling out the same sort of basic info on college applications over and over, the Common Application, which is accepted by many colleges and universities, lets you fill out just one form (though supplemental materials are often required and you will still have to pay the college’s application fees if they have them).

Still, it’s one less time you have to write your name and address, right? Either way, this new video from the Common Application organization can help shed a bit more light on the uses of the Common Application and how you can get started. Watch Introduction to the Common Application on YouTube or below.

Tags: college, college admission, college application, college application process, common application, getting into college
Posted in College Admissions, College Applications | No Comments »

College is a Possible Dream for Any Student

Friday, October 1st, 2010

For low income students, college might seem like an unreachable dream. The US Dept of Education hopes to change the way college is thought about to show that higher education really is for everyone. Produced for Spanish-speaking students, there are English subtitles.

If you have ever felt like college is unattainable, My College Guide has years of resources to aid you (we are twenty years old, after all!). Fill out the FAFSA and browse our list of colleges and universities for low income students. These colleges provide no loans packages (so you graduate debt-free), don’t have tuition, or offer full rides to students who fall within their income guidelines. Yes, there are Ivy League schools on here, and yes – some of these colleges are very selective.

The bottom line, however, is not to give up. College is completely within your reach. You can start right here on My College Guide so will you have the tools to go out there and make your college dream a reality! Watch La universidad: un sueño alcanzable or College: A Possible Dream on YouTube or below.

Tags: college, FAFSA, Financial Aid, getting into college, higher education, low income families and financial aid, Paying for College, us department of education, youtube
Posted in Financial Aid, Paying for College, Scholarships, Student Loans | No Comments »

Free College Resources You Need to Know About

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

My College Guide has quite a lot of free college resources right here on our website: our annual college magazine available in full online (with featured articles also translated into Spanish), our regularly updated blog, and one more fantastic resource that we want to make sure that you know about: our College Admissions Guru!

Ask our College Admissions Guru your questions: it's free and anonymous!

Cillian Storm / Bonita Suraputra

From financial aid to the SAT/ACT test to the college application process: the My College College Guide Admissions Guru is an amazing college resource! If you want a personalized answer, just ask: it’s free and anonymous. While we can’t guarantee that each and every question will be answered, it definitely won’t be if you don’t submit it!

Latest Questions for the Guru
Question: I have heard that colleges prefer “depth” in extracurricular activities. But in order to attain “depth” in wrestling, I must dedicate nothing less than my full time and energy to the sport. I am afraid this might end up hurting my academics, as the workload of 5 AP classes is nothing to sneeze at. Also, I have an interest in many clubs and activities that conflict with wrestling, such as Academic Decathlon and Mock Trial. This goes along with the “depth” issue, as I am afraid that if I quit wrestling to attend these activities, colleges may look down on that. What would you recommend?

Answer: I recommend that you first maintain your academic record as well as you can and, second, that you pursue what you are passionate about and what you enjoy. High school is not only a time to prepare for college, but it is also a time to explore your interests and try different things that may tell you more about what you want to do later on. If wrestling is beginning to take away from that experience of exploring (not to mention your academic standing), then by all means try some other things instead. Don’t…continue reading Latest Questions from the Guru.

Brett Tully / Brett Tully

The College Application Process
Question: What do you write in college application essays? Can you write an essay about your experiences in extra-curricular activities? Or do you list your extra-curricular activities? Also, is there a limit to how many recommendations you can get from your teachers? If not, is it better to get a lot of recommendations from your teachers? Even if the recommendations are not well-developed, it’s better to have lots, right? Thanks.

Answer: Great questions! You can really do a lot with a well-written, interesting essay. If your grades are good but not fantastic, you could push yourself over the edge to acceptance with a great essay. And even if your grades and scores are great, presenting yourself in a poor essay could really hurt your chances for acceptance. The best essays discuss…continue reading the college application process.

Financial Aid
Question: I have a few questions. When is the best time to find financial aid and where can I find applications for these? Also, when is the best time to tour colleges and is it required to get an interview?

Answer: You should start investigating financial aid opportunities, particularly merit-based scholarships and grants, in the second semester of your junior year. You’ll probably need to start applying in the first semester of your senior year. Of course, you should follow the specific requirements prescribed for any particular source of aid. With regard to touring colleges, there are basically two approaches to take. One way is to…continue reading Financial Aid

You've got a ton of questions about your future -- let our College Admisions Guru answer your questions -- and help you get to where you want to go!

mtischendorf

SAT/ACT Tests
Question: Thanks for taking the time to read my question! I am currently a rising senior in high school. By the time I finish high school, I will have taken 6 AP classes along with 15 honors classes. I was wondering, how many reach schools should I apply to? What other advice would you have for me to make my application more desirable to a school like Georgetown? Finally, would I be considered a legacy student at a school if my grandfather attended it?

Answer: It sounds like you’re doing all of the right things! You have a strong record and should be in the running at a number of fine schools. In response to your specific questions, the only thing I can think of that you could do to possibly improve your chance of getting into a top school is to take the SAT test again. You have a very good score, but…continue reading SAT/ACT Tests

Picking the Right School
Question: What is the point of going to a very expensive Ivy League school to get your undergraduate degree when you know that you are going to get your masters degree when you’re done? I would like to go to Dartmouth, but I have a full scholarship to the University of Florida, so maybe I should go there and go to Dartmouth for my MBA. What is your opinion?

Answer: Ivy League schools offer students great education and prestige. Many students find these schools attractive because they are selective and because a degree from such a school is impressive on a job application. Yet, there are great schools all over the country that offer a wonderful education and are easier to get into. And, as you know, public schools such as the University of Florida are more affordable. The best way to decide what school is best for you is to…continue reading Picking the Right School.

Tags: Choosing a College, college admission terms, college admissions, college admissions process, college application process, College Life, Financial Aid, getting into college, ivy league, my college guide, sat reasoning test, SAT/ACT Test
Posted in AP Classes, College Admissions, College Applications, Extracurricular Activities, Gap Year, Homeschool, Preparing for College, SAT/ACT Test, Summer Programs, Technology | 1 Comment »

How to Increase Your Odds After Sending in Your Application

Monday, January 11th, 2010

Once you’ve sent in your college applications, you might think that there’s nothing else you can do to sway an admissions counselor in your favor. But that’s not always true. Here are a few ways to help your odds in the college admissions game.

While you’re waiting, visit the school and get involved. Schools like to know that they’re more than just a back-up option, so if you take the time to sign up for a school tour, talk with faculty members, take part in campus activities, and participate in an interview, admissions counselors will appreciate the fact that you’re eager to become a part of their community.

Interact with the college community online. In some cases, admissions officers manage their colleges’ profiles on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Become a fan of the school, and start corresponding by asking relevant questions about the academic programs you’re interested in, or sending a note of congratulations for a recent award the school may have won. Don’t use this method to check on the status of your application, or to promote yourself as a candidate—but by engaging with the school community, you may be more likely to leave an impression on the admission officer who makes a decision on your application.

Send updates of recent awards or important activities. While you don’t want to get in your admissions officer’s face too often, if there’s something buzz-worthy going on in your life that didn’t make it onto your college application, by all means, let the school know about it. If the officers haven’t made a decision about you yet, finding out that your school science project just won a national prize might sway the odds in your favor.

Double-check with your high school that all necessary information has been filed. When an entire grade is going through the college admissions process, it’s easy for important materials to get lost in the shuffle—and just because you did your part doesn’t mean that your application is complete. To make sure that the colleges you’ve selected have all the right information on file, ask your high school’s college advisor to make sure that transcripts, recommendations, and other important details have been sent off.

Be creative. Don’t go overboard, but sometimes sending an original postcard or newsletter can help you stand out. Just keep it fun and friendly—resorting to bribery or doing anything that reeks of desperation is bound to turn admissions counselors off.

Do nothing. At many ultra-selective schools, admissions officers are sorting through mountains of applications, and don’t want to be bothered with more information after the stated deadline. Depending on the school, going overboard can actually hurt your chances of getting in—so, before sending in additional materials or a letter, have a look at your top school’s admissions guidelines, and see if it says anything about their perspective on materials sent after the deadline. In most cases, following up won’t cause problems, but it would be a shame if your hand-decorated letter went straight into the trash bin.

Tags: applying to college, campus visit, college, college acceptance factors, college admissions, college campus visit, college visit, colleges and facebook, colleges and twitter, facebook, getting into college, getting into first choice college, high school transcripts, Twitter
Posted in College Admissions, College Applications | 4 Comments »

Rejected from Your Dream College? You Can Still Get In.

Saturday, January 9th, 2010

Door of Opportunity If you applied early decision to your top school, you’ll have received the news by now. If it’s a yes, then congratulations are certainly in order—but if you’ve been placed on the waiting list or rejected outright, you may be feeling a bit dejected. If you’ve been dreaming about attending this particular school ever since you started kindergarten, you might even be in the midst of an existential crisis. So how can you reverse this tragic admissions decision?

Chances are, you’ll be happy wherever you end up. But if you’re really set on making it to your fantasy college, you can still find a way. Here are some tips to help you get there.

Only appeal the decision if you really have grounds to do so. All students who didn’t get into their top choice schools think that the colleges made a mistake—so if we all appealed, the poor admissions officers would never get a break. If your best friend has similar credentials and got into Dartmouth University while you didn’t, don’t bug the school about it. But if you have a legitimate reason for appealing a decision, such as discovering that the school had incorrect information about your test scores, you might stand a chance. Some schools don’t allow appeals at all; check the school’s policies before doing anything, and think carefully about it—bugging the admissions office with an unwarranted appeal could kill your chances of ever getting in.

Start somewhere else and transfer. For most students who don’t get into their first-choice school, it makes the most sense to simply attend another school, with the goal of transferring at a later date. After you start, you may not even want to switch schools anymore—but if you’re still pining away for your dream school, then research the transfer application process for your school of choice to see when you can reapply and make sure that all of the course credits you plan to take at your first school will transfer. Be sure to ace all your classes at your first school, and get to know your professors so that they can provide great recommendations for you. Though transfer admissions are more competitive than regular admissions, if you have a killer app, you’ll stand a good shot.

Consider doing a postgraduate year. Some private and boarding schools around the country offer a “13^th grade” to give students the chance to improve their academic records and take more challenging courses, become more involved in athletics, and make a smoother transition to the college atmosphere. Maine’s North Bridgton Academy for boys is the only school exclusively dedicated to the postgraduate year, but it is also an option at these boarding schools. By completing this transition year, you’ll have the chance to beef up your application and get another shot at your top school.

Do a “gap year” with a purpose. It’s been a tradition in the U.K. and Australia for many years for students to take a year off before starting college, and it’s catching on here as well. If you aren’t enthusiastic about starting at another school next year, this could be a great option to gain new experiences and another shot at the college application process next year—just make sure you use your gap year well. Simply hanging out at home, working a low-wage job, or traveling abroad isn’t likely to impress colleges. But if you decide to volunteer at a wildlife sanctuary in Thailand, undergo a fascinating research project, or start your own successful business from scratch, the experience could change your life—and might help you win over the admissions officers next time around.

Tags: appeal admissions decision, boarding school, college acceptance, college admissions, college rejection, College Transfer, dartmouth university, early decision, gap year, getting into college, letter of acceptance, north bridgton academy, postgraduate year, private school, rejected from college, transfer
Posted in College Admissions, College Transfer, Gap Year, Preparing for College | No Comments »

Winter Break is (Finally) Here: Are You Using Your Time Wisely?

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

It might be awfully tempting to sit on the sofa for the next couple of weeks, doing absolutely nothing…but don’t! You could be getting a head start on improving the way that you look to colleges and it won’t cost you anything but your time!

LiveALittle.org/Karen Chung

Fact: colleges like to see community involvement. Consider using your winter break to test out various volunteer opportunities. Instead of blankly staring at the TV all day, you could potentially discover an interest in a career path you hadn’t previously thought about and saving yourself from spending thousands of dollars on a major that just doesn’t fit!

You can probably come up with a few options on your own, like the local food pantry, humane society, or library. But what if you want to branch out a little more, find something a little closer to your interests and abilities? Don’t worry: you’ve got choices.

It’s easier than ever to find the perfect match with your personality, your interests, and your schedule! Try using websites like Serve.gov or VolunteerMatch to figure out how you would like to serve others in your community.

Once you find something that works for you, set up a schedule that you can handle all year long. Bonus: it could even lead to a future college grant or scholarship (not to mention that warm, fuzzy feeling you get from helping others)!

So, what are you waiting for? Get off the couch and get involved. Make new friends and start moving in the right direction, toward your future!

Tags: college, college acceptance, college acceptance factors, college admission terms, college personal statement, getting into college, getting into first choice college, how to get into college, volunteering
Posted in Extracurricular Activities, Preparing for College | 1 Comment »

Getting into College Takes More than Good Grades

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

bob the lomond/Bob Shand

Your parents may have pounded it into your head that getting good grades is paramount to getting into the college of your dreams. Earning good grades and maintaining a high GPA is important, but according to college admission experts and the college admission officers themselves, it takes more than good grades to receive an acceptance letter.

College Acceptance: Competitive Sport?

Duke University receives approximately 23,800 undergraduate applications each year. Only about 1,720 of the applicants receive an acceptance letter. This is an astonishingly low percentage. As one of the top ranked universities in the country, Duke has to be choosey. One of its deans says the university denies more high school class valedictorians than it accepts. This illustrates that grades are not the end all and be all to getting into college.

Admission officers encourage students to find something they are passionate about—whether it’s sports, community service or working at a part-time job—and pursue it. This type of passion combined with good grades creates more of a well-rounded student, which is the type of student most of the top universities are seeking and accepting.

Second, it’s important that you maintain a balanced academic and extracurricular schedule throughout your schooling years. Many college applicants make the mistake of waiting until their junior and senior year to cram activities, clubs and other involvement into their student records for college. By then, it’s too late.

Keep in mind that getting into college is more than maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Colleges and universities look beyond this number and try to find real people that can benefit from an education at the institution, and students that can add value to the institution.

Tags: college acceptance factors, college admissions, getting into college, good grades, GPA and getting into college, grades and getting into college
Posted in College Admissions, College Applications | 2 Comments »

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