How to Apply to College

ARTICLE BY: G-STAR STUDENT HAILEY DAVIS

If you’re planning to further your education in college, here’s a guide to go through this daunting task.

There are three important things you need to do before applying to a college:

• Figure out your major
• Find colleges you’d like to attend
• Get your requirements 

ONE: Figure out your major-

This is probably the hardest part about applying to colleges, as you will be selecting a major you wish to pursue for the rest of your life. In order to make it easier for you to narrow down choices, here are things to think about:

• What are some of your strengths and weaknesses as a person? 
• What classes in school do you excel at?
• What excites you?
• Does it correlate with any of your hobbies?
• How’s the pay and can it support your lifestyle throughout your life?

There are plenty of more things to think about when choosing a major, but those should give you a nice starting point.

However, if you truly can’t decide what you want to pursue, colleges have an “undecided/undeclared major.” An undecided/undeclared major allows you to start your academic studies in college without doing classes for a specific major’s program. With this option, you can start getting your college credits to graduate, but, allows you to have more time to choose a major to your liking. Furthermore, you can switch majors if your passion changes midway through college.

TWO: Find colleges you’d like to attend-

There are colleges all over the world that you can attend, however, you may not want to live in these places. To help narrow down the colleges you might be interested in, first, figure out location.

• Would you attend college out of country? Out of state?
• Do you prefer warmer or colder areas?
• Do you prefer suburban or city areas?

* Reminder, some colleges that may be more prestigious might be out of your location zone of comfort. 

Once you figure out key landmarks of where you’re fine with living, next is researching colleges in those locations. You can look up using Google or college websites like Niche.com to help find colleges that are known for success in your field. As you find those colleges, using the college's personal website, you can see if it meets your personal requirements like:

• How much?
• Cost of attendance?
• Cost of living in the area?
• Dorming? (or will you be able to stay with family)
• Do they give ample scholarships?
• How is the staff and their relationship with the students?
• Does the school’s academics meet your satisfaction?
• Does it provide career services?
• Does it have school activities?
• Campus safety?
• What On-Campus facilities and amenities are given?

*Remember to keep in mind your academic achievements throughout high school, as you need to match up your achievements with the school’s requirements to get accepted.

Make a list of all the colleges that meet your criteria. Have some safety schools that you are sure to get, some schools that you have moderate chances of getting in, and maybe one or two schools that have lower chances of getting in. You never know, luck may be on your side.

THREE: Get your requirements-

Once you have your colleges in a list, it’s time to apply! Not every college has the same application process— some use apps and others use their personal website— so be sure to read the college’s “Apply,” section and follow it’s steps. There are four different ways colleges can have you apply; Early Action, Early Decision, Regular Decision, and Rolling Admission.

Early Action: You will get your decision for this school earlier in the process. You usually choose this option for the school’s that are on top of your list, as you can possibly solidify your spot in school earlier than everyone else.

Early Decision: You will get this decision earlier in the process. You choose your top school for no option, as if you get accepted to this school, you are binded by contract to go. Don’t choose a school for this option if you want to stay flexible.

Regular Admission: You will get this decision later in the process. You are normally applying for the school and have a bigger competition pool.

Rolling Admission: The time you get this decision will vary depending on when you apply. The earlier you apply, the sooner you will get your decision. 

Depending on your major, you may have more requirements to do in order to successfully turn in your application. For example, if you’re applying for an acting major, you might need to also record monologues as a requirement to apply. However, there are four key things that all students need to have ready for this process:

Transcript: You need your transcript from your years of highschool. You can ask your guidance counselor to email it to you.

Letters of Recommendations: 

A letter of recommendation is a letter written by any of your superiors that can attest to your personal attributes. You will need one, maybe two, from your teachers. You can also get letters of recommendations from other places than school, like from your boss at work.

SAT/ACT:

Standardized testing is a must for some schools, but not for others. Be sure to take one of the tests at least once, just in case it is needed for colleges or scholarships.

Essays: 

Colleges will make you write an assortment of essays in order to apply

Now you know how to apply to college!

G-Star High School of the Arts is a public charter high school dedicated to film, animation, and performing arts. Students gain hands-on experience with professional equipment in classrooms taught by industry professionals.

If you would like to apply to G-Star please visit: www.gstarschool.org or click the link below!