(This is an archive story, please refer to byline for journalist's name)
By Carolina Luna
Knowing how to fill out an application for college can be stressful for many reasons. The application process itself is long and tedious and can be very stressful the first time doing it, so I’m here to give hopefully some helpful tips.
You want to start off by knowing what school to apply to. Doing some research of the school and what programs they offer is really important before you choose to apply. If location is something that is important to you, it may also be beneficial to see how far it would be from home. It also wouldn’t hurt to see what the tuition cost would be so that you’re able to see if you’ll need to look into financial aid or scholarships.
Once you’ve decided what school you’d like to apply to, it’s best to apply through ApplyTexas. It’s an easy website to navigate and use. If you already have an account login and if you don’t, sign up and create an account. You’ll then proceed and start applying to the schools you’d like to attend. Most applications are similar and ask similar questions. An essay is optional but trust me it’s nothing too hard, it would take at most 45 minutes depending on the prompt you choose and you can use it on all your other applications.
There is also a fee in order to fill out the application and the cost usually depends on the location of the school. There are fee waivers so that you don’t have to pay out of pocket. If you have a College Board account and have taken AP classes, they offer a fee waiver when you send in your SAT or ACT test scores. You can also contact our College Advisor Ms. Kneblik in room A115 for any further information regarding the fee waiver.
Although we as students are the ones who are filling out the applications, it helps a lot to have your parents or guardian there to guide you and help you answer any questions you may have over certain parts of the application. They can help answer questions concerning all costs or simply explain a section of the application.
Your high school transcript is a very important piece to your college applications. You’ll have to request it from your counselor and be sure to save it so that you can easily submit it to your application. On your transcript, it’ll show various pieces of information that you’ll need to know and understand. It shows you what courses you’ve taken throughout the duration of your high school years, your class rank, GPA, endorsements, EOC’s you’ve taken and total credits you’ve received.
Last but not least, before you submit your application, make sure to double check every piece of information you’ve entered. Once you’re ready to submit, have your visa card ready, unless you’ve applied for the fee waiver, and your application is done. Before starting any application, make sure you’re positive about going to that school. Do the research, check tuition costs and see if they offer programs that will benefit you. You don’t want to get stuck paying for a college you might end up leaving and transferring to another. If you’re unsure of what you want to pursue after high school, do not stress. TCC is the cheaper, easier way to find out what you want to study and makes transferring to a new college easier.If you have any further questions regarding applications, fee waivers, transcripts or anything else, take a trip down to A115 and speak to Ms. Kneblik.