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+--- Thread: College Application Help Thread (Undergraduate applications only) (/showthread.php?tid=46011)
College Application Help Thread (Undergraduate applications only) - WillDaSnail - 2011-08-16
Hey guys:
As the college application season gets underway, I decided to help out Southperrians who are going to be applying to colleges this upcoming fall. Fresh from the application season last year, I still remember a lot of the "to dos" and "not to dos" stuff.
However, at most, I can help you with the general nitty gritty stuff of the application (ex: wondering if you should be accurate with your grades in the application). Unfortunately, I cannot help you with the essays/supplementals due to the fact that there are unlimited ways you can put together an essay and it can still be outstanding. So with that said, any questions other than essays/supplemental-related questions are safe to ask.
Do note that with college starting up in 3 weeks for me, my free time will be very limited, but I will still do my best to help out. In case your question wasn't answered (and I might accidentally overlook it), feel free to PM me and I'll get it to it when time permits.
Ask away! If possible, please submit a screenshot of the specific area of the application so I can figure out exactly what you're asking (though if necessary, please white out any sensitive information before you post it up. This is for your own safety). Also, please look at the FAQ (in progress) and the following sections in my post for helpful information!
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FAQ
(In Progress)
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Helpful Terms to Know
EA - Early Action
REA - Restrictive Early Action (only available for some schools)
ED - Early Decision
ED1 - Early Decision 1 (only available for some schools)
ED2 - Early Decision 2 (only available for some schools)
RD - Regular Decision
RA - Rolling Admission
FA - Financial Aid
FAFSA - Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Filling and submitting FAFSA will allow you to get financial aid from the federal government, your school, etc.
CSS Profile - an financial aid application offered by College Board and can be submitted for a fee; required for many private schools
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Helpful links
The Common Application (shorthand: Common App)
Many, many schools have their applications through this site; be sure to take a look in case one of your schools requires an application submitted via the Common Application
The CSU (California State University) application portal, CSU Mentor
The site where you can submit your application to one (or a number) of CSU schools. Applications will be available starting October 1st
The UC (University of California) application portal
The site where you can submit your applications to any of the UC schools. Applications will be available starting October 1st.
FAFSA
The official site where you can submit your FAFSA to schools of your choice so you can be considered for financial aid.
CSS Profile
The official site of the CSS Profile, provided by College Board (yes, the same guys that make the SAT, AP, and everything else you can think of). For a fee, you can submit a more detailed form of your parents' finances to school(s) of your choices. Required for most private schools.
If anyone has any important links to share that I may have missed, feel free to post it here and I'll put it up!
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Important Dates (may vary from school to school)
August 1st, 2011 - Common App available online for 2011-2012 school year
October 1st, 2011 - CSU/UC applications available online
November 2011 - EA/ED applications due (specific date will vary depending on the school)
November 30th, 2011 - All UC applications and some CSU applications due by 11:59 PM PST (deadline)
December - EA/ED decisions released (for certain schools)
January 15th, 2012 - RD and/or ED2 applications due for most schools
January 1st, 2012 - FAFSA is available for 2012-2013 school year. Start filling it out, ask your parents for their tax/financial stuff. Have them help you out too! Also, CSS Profile is available (generally, this is required for most private colleges)
March-April 2012 - FAFSA and CSS Profile due (some schools may require one or both of them due earlier). The earlier the better!
January-April 2012 - RD decisions released
May 1st, 2012 - SIR (Statement of Intent to Register) due to the school you will be attending for the 2012-2013 school year.