How do I Apply for College? Step-by-Step Guide

Before applying to college, narrow down your list of schools you want to apply to. This looks different for everyone: some may only apply to 2 schools while others apply to 10 or more. Figure out what’s best for you! One helpful tool for researching colleges is College Contact's free college search tool, which you can use when logged into your CC account. This tool can help provide valuable information on specific colleges such as their acceptance rate, tuition, how many students attend, and available majors and programs. Remember that most colleges have an application fee, so this may influence how many colleges you decide to apply to. Always check if you qualify for an application fee waiver, which makes applications free for low-income students.

Also, note the varying deadlines for different kinds of applications (Early Action, Early Decision, Regular Decision). Early decision applications are binding, meaning you only apply early decision to one school, and you're committing to attending that school if you're accepted. Early action is non-binding, meaning if you get in you’re not required to go there. These applications have earlier deadlines around late October as opposed to regular decision applications that are due later in the winter. This benefits students who are looking for a quicker answer from colleges and want more time to make a decision. Regular decision applications will be reviewed in the winter and deliver admission results in the spring.

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Most students will apply to college via Common App. This tool allows students to apply to multiple schools with the same application. Common App serves as a central hub to keep track of all of your applications in one central place and can save students a lot of time from inputting repetitive information. Similarly, another platform, the Coalition Application, is a one-stop-shop for college applications as well. The coalition Application is built to help students from underrepresented groups apply to college. Both the Common App and the Coalition Application apply to most college applications, but research to see if your desired school accepts applications from either of these platforms. A third route is through applying through your College’s website directly. Some colleges, like all of the University of California schools, will require you to use their application.

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A college application will ask you a series of personal information questions. The “profile” section of the Common App requests lots of general info such as your GPA, your high school, SAT/ACT scores, etc. It should be relatively simple to fill out, but make sure you carefully input honest and accurate answers.

The Activities Section appears a little later on the Common App and will include questions about your extracurricular involvements, clubs, volunteering, leadership opportunities, and so on. The Common App gives room to write in up to ten activities; utilize as many as you can! This is a valuable space on your application to demonstrate who you are outside of academics. The activities section asks you to list the activity type (from a drop-down menu), your position, your organization name, and a brief description of the recognition or awards you won (maximum of 150 characters). It will also cover how many years you participated in the organization, hours spent per week, weeks spent per year, and if you plan on getting involved in a similar activity in college. If you need help with what order you should put your activities in or how to describe them, you can submit a draft of your Activities Section to a CC mentor for feedback!

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Some schools will have an additional section of short answer essay questions that are usually around 250 words each. These short answers may ask you questions about a specific college you’re applying to within a university (for example: the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Alabama). This kind of question may require you to do some digging into a specific program at a school, and will help you  demonstrate that you’ve done your research. Some schools may ask a “Why are you applying here?” question. Be descriptive, reference specific aspects of the university that really draw you in, and what makes the school special to YOU! Avoid vague and cliché answers about how you like the sports or how a school is considered “prestigious.” Make it obvious that THEY are a good fit for YOU. Make it clear that you belong there. You may also see a short answer question asking you to elaborate on an activity, club, team, or extracurricular. This is a great space to really dive into your role within an organization and definitely gives you way more space to explain above and beyond than the 150 characters in your Activities Section. The most important thing to note about this section is that you don’t repeat topics or themes that you already wrote about in your longer stand-alone college essay. You want to give colleges a more holistic view of all the things that make up who you are, rather than narrowing down on on topic. Stretch wide and use your imagination since many of these questions require you to get creative!

Lastly, many colleges require or strongly encourage letters of recommendation. These can be written by a teacher, a boss, a coach, or anyone who knows you on a personal level (although it’s not recommended to have a letter of recommendation written by a parent). When considering who can write you a strong letter of recommendation, think about who can speak highly of your skills and abilities. If you plan on pursuing a pre-med degree, a letter of recommendation from a high school science teacher may be valuable. If you had a job and demonstrated strong time management, work ethic, and determination, a boss could write you a letter. Using your activities list from above can help spark some ideas of who to ask. Remember to give the person ample time to write and submit your letter– do not put them in a tight time crunch. It’s advised to give them two to four weeks to submit your letter of recommendation. However, you are also able to submit your application before they send in their letters of recommendation. Many times you will not even read their letter about you, as it is directly sent to the university and doesn’t go through you. It’s important to provide a resume or an activities list for this person to speak to a range of your skills. Don’t forget to send them a thank you note for their help in writing you a letter of recommendation.

Overall, give yourself time to thoroughly review your application before you submit it. Leave at least one day for you to review the entire application before the deadline. Check for spelling errors, comprehension, correct info, and most importantly, that you are happy and confident about your application! You’ve made it to the end, that’s absolutely a reason to celebrate!