Check Your College Applications List to Make Sure You’re Eligible!

With Thanksgiving around the corner and Christmas and winter holidays next month, every college-bound senior is stressed out as they scramble through piles of college applications and make important decisions about which colleges they should apply to.

Don’t waste your precious time, and your parents’ precious money, applying to colleges to which you are not be eligible.  Don’t forget these 5 important factors before applying to colleges.

1.  MAJORS: Make sure that the colleges you are considering all offer your top three majors.  You don’t want to change your mind about your #1 major and find that you have to drop out of your college, reapply (YIKES! Anything but that!), move back home, and waste a year in the process!

2.  HIGH SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS: Make sure you’ve taken all of the high school coursework required.  If you haven’t, you still have time to satisfy most requirements.  Many colleges will not accept grades lower than a C-; check your transcript to determine which classes you may need to repeat.

3.  REQUIREMENTS for MAJOR: Make sure that your particular major doesn’t require additional high school classes.  Some majors like finance, for instance, require trigonometry, even when the college itself requires only Algebra II. 

4.  ADDITIONAL APPLICATIONS for the ARTS: Most colleges require an additional application and auditions for music, theater, film and/or art majors.  Some of these applications are due earlier than the regular application so check for these deadlines ahead of time. You should be ready to set up audition dates and prepared to send electronic portfolios.

5.  SAT/ACT/SAT 2/TOEFL REQUIREMENTS: Most selective colleges require either the SAT I or the ACT with Writing AND the SAT 2.  International students need to also take the TOEFL.  Check with each of your colleges to determine what exams are required for admissions.  Most colleges will still accept SAT/ACT/TOEFL scores from December test dates.  Check deadlines online and sign up if you haven’t already done so.

Understanding what is required and what you’ve taken can be confusing. Read college websites or call admissions officers to get accurate information.  Don’t rely on online information that is gathered by third parties because I have found many mistakes and omissions that could be problematic for applicants.