The 10 items in the article below just some of the discussion items included in the VAHS Senior Meeting. Seniors need to contact ms. O'Kane to schedule a Meeting.
1. Complete the Common Application and school-specific applications. Make sure you complete all the sections of the Common App, including college-specific questions and supplements.
As of today, over 60 VAHS Seniors have applied to college through either the Common Application or directly through College websites.
2. Sign and understand the FERPA Waiver for college letters. When a teacher submits a letter on your behalf to colleges, students choose to waive their right to review the letter later. I recommend waiving your right, so it keeps your letter(s) 100% objective.
3. Make sure you request your teacher who is submitting their letter to colleges on your behalf in enough time to meet admission deadlines. Colleges have different deadlines. Check-in with your teacher to make sure they have submitted your letter on time.
4. Follow up with your school counselor to assure your academic records were submitted to each college you applied to. Once you have applied to a college, you will receive a confirmation in an email.
Transcripts are uploaded into the Common Application, Parchment may be used for non Common Application Schools.
5. Understand what college deadlines you are applying for (Early Action, Early Decision, Regular Admission, and Rolling Admission). Early Decision is binding, and most elite colleges fill almost half of their class with ED candidates.
11/15 is one of the last upcoming EA deadlines. Time is running out for EA, but certainly not too late for Regular Admission deadlines!
6. Once you have applied to each school, know how to check the status of each application. Each college has its own system for students to view their status, which includes if they have been accepted, denied or waitlisted.
7. Remember that you must send your standardized test scores from the testing center (CollegeBoard/ACT) to the colleges directly.
Test scores are self-reported
8. Students and parents must create an FSA ID. Once you have created this ID, you can start completing the necessary FAFSA paperwork.
9. Begin working on and/or complete the FAFSA which opened on October 1, 2019. In order to receive a financial aid package, each family must complete the FAFSA. Schedule an appointment at the College Planning Center of Rhode Island. It’s free to complete your FAFSA and they will help you. It takes 30 minutes.
10. Search for private scholarships in your local community.
Check this blog, the daily announcements, emails and information board across from the counseling office for scholarship opportunities.
Eric Simonelli is an Academic College Counselor for S&A College Consulting in Portsmouth - scholarathleteconsulting.com - and Director of College Counseling at La Salle Academy. Follow him on Twitter @Eric_Simonelli. His College Planning Guide column appears in the Newport Daily News and on newportri.com the first Saturday of the month.
