The Foreign Service Journal, December 2018

106 DECEMBER 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT lege. Why is this fun? Because you get to imagine a possible future at each campus taking specific classes, joining clubs, eating at the cafeteria and studying in the library. Depending on howmuch time you want to spend, you can probably research about three to five colleges a day before you start blurring details of one school with another. (But that’s why you’ll be taking notes.) 1. First, get a rough idea of your chances of admission. You know your GPA; you know the rigor of your courses; and hopefully you have one SAT or ACT score under your belt by now. These are your stats. How do your stats match up with the typical student accepted by a particular college? You can find out quickly by searching online “Name of College + Acceptance Rate.” (Naviance software, should your high school offer it, also pro- vides a gizmo called the Scattergram that is very helpful in determining your odds of acceptance.) A quick Google search yields an accep- tance rate of 5.5 percent for Princeton, and a 67 percent acceptance rate for Allegheny College. A site such as www.petersons. com can provide you with additional quick stats, such as acceptance by gender and average SAT score of accepted students. Your final list will eventually include a mix of reach (Princeton is a reach for anyone, even if you have 1,600 SAT scores and a 4.0 unweighted GPA), match and safety schools. (Match = your stats match those of the average admitted student; Safety = your stats are better than those of the aver- age admitted student.) 2. Choose a college fromyour tenta- tive list, and visit that college’s website. Many students go first to Admissions, but you should click first on Academics—you know, the main reason you’re attending college—and check out the curriculum for the major you’re interested in. Jot down names of interesting courses and profes- sors. Note course requirements. Look at a secondary major in case your interests change. 3. Explore further on that college’s website. Go to the school newspaper and read some articles to get a feel for cam- pus issues. Look up activities and clubs. Research courses in other subjects you’re interested in outside of your major. Find study abroad programs. Make a note about anything that’s interesting and appeal- ing. Not only do these notes help you put together a great list of schools, but you will need them if the college requires a “Why I Want to AttendThis College” essay, or if you interview at the college. 4. If you like what you’re seeing, go to the Admissions page. Write down application type and deadlines, includ- ing essay requirements. (Yes, these essay requirements are for the current applica- tion year, andmay not be updated until August, but they usually don’t change from year to year.) Are there additional require- ments for specialized programs? Are there early deadlines for scholarships? Does the school offer an early action or early deci- sion deadline? Many colleges have a page or blog written by an admissions officer, whomay even answer questions from prospective students. 5. Once you’ve exhausted the col- lege’s own website, search for informa- tion elsewhere. First stops: YouTube and Facebook. There may be tours, videos of Do not be wedded to the idea that there is only one college that canmake you happy. Continued on page 110