Application Tips for the College Bound Senior

The College application process is a long and arduous road, starting usually in the first days of your senior year of high school and lasting until mid to late January. There are tests to be taken - SAT and ACT pain to be had by all - essays to be written, letters to be gotten, and application fees to be paid. It's good preparation for college though, where paperwork and aptitude tests are necessary evils that you will become all too familiar with.

There are a few different things to remember when getting ready to apply for college though, and this process begins even earlier than your senior year. I'm not talking about getting good grades or spending as much time as you can doing extracurriculars. No, I'm thinking of just knowing what you're getting into, taking early tests, being prepared for the realities of your quest.

There are at least half a dozen steps to your college application process. The first is getting good grades and being involved in school. These are no brainers though. If you think you can coast through high school on a C average and go to the college of your dreams, you had better start thinking about alternate career options.

The second step for the college bound though is the taking of oh so many tests. You may think that this begins when you're in your senior year. But what many people forget is that you can easily take all of your aptitude tests early, to at least see how you will do. When you finally do attend college, you might consider attending graduate school at some point or another, and this will come in handy once more as you prepare to take the GRE, essentially the SAT on steroids.

The PSAT
This is a wonderful tool available as early as your sophomore year. You'll likely hear all about it from your guidance counselors and what not, but don't ignore the importance of this test. It's not only a basic run through of what you'll face on the SAT, but if you happen to be a genius for some reason or another and weren't aware of it, you can get a National Merit Scholarship for placing in the top percentiles.