The early action deadline for applying to colleges was November 1st and many seniors waited until the last moment to submit their applications.

Richard Chao ‘17 says “Start your college applications in the summer of your Junior year.”  Summer is a time to have fun and relax after a long school year, but taking some time to work on completing the common application or writing college essays will save you some stress during your senior year. Constantly chipping away at the essays is important. Having your essays done by the beginning of the year gives you time to go to the writing center and talk with Ms. Pasulka (our writing guru) to perfect your essays.  

Seniors strongly recommend that you do not wait to ask teachers for letters of recommendation.  It’s important to identify 2-3 teachers that you want to ask for letters of recommendation. Good candidates are teachers that you’ve had for multiple years, or have fared very well in their course. It’s also good if you have a relationship with the teacher outside of the classroom. Mark Harvey ‘17 says, “Ask your teachers for recommendations junior year.”  Remember, teachers have busy schedules and have to write recommendations for others students. Teachers appreciate getting the heads up in advance.

Many Whitney Young students do not realize the importance of college visits.  Andrew Ragins, ‘17 says “Go to college visits…you get signed out!”  Visiting colleges helps prospective students get a feel for the school to see if they want to attend the college or university.  College is a huge investment and is expensive, so apply to lots of scholarships. Look for lesser known scholarships and apply to all of them.  All the little scholarships add up and will help lessen the financial burden of college.

Hopefully, these tips can help juniors with their college application process!