The Best Practices for College Admissions Applications are very similar to the Scholarship application Best Practice List:
1. Research and apply early- you should already have an idea of what college you want to apply for by your junior year of high school. You must research what colleges work best for you and apply early. If you are applying to a college with a low acceptance rate, make sure to apply to at least one other campus as a back-up plan.
This will give you plenty of time to put together a good application and submit it before the deadline. It’s also a good to apply early so that you can be accepted early, and you can take care of the other student requirements as soon as possible (such as health clearance paperwork).
2. Maintain good relationships with potential recommenders- Many college admissions applications require you to submit one or multiple letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation are how the admissions committee finds out about the type of student and person you are. They may never meet you, but they need to decide if you deserve to go to their college, so they rely on the letters of recommendation to help them make that decision. Some good recommenders include your teachers, counselors, employer, or even people you meet through community service or other extracurricular activities. Many Pacific Islander youth are active church youth group members and can ask church leaders to write letters as well (such as the pastor, deacon, or youth group leader). The most important thing is to choose people who can speak well about your academic abilities or your personal characteristics.
3. Have someone review your application BEFORE you submit it- You should always double check your application before submitting it to make sure you are not missing anything. It is a really good idea to have someone look at your application before you submit it. This is especially important if your application includes an essay or a personal statement. Your guidance or college counselor is a great person to review your application with. If you have a writing or tutoring center at your school, that is another good resource to use in reviewing your essay. Don’t be afraid to also involve your family, friends, and even community. If you have older siblings or cousins who are strong writers, ask them to read your essays and give you feedback. They might be able to pick up on small mistakes that you missed, or even give you ideas for how to expand your essay.
4. Follow up with your application- make sure that once you have submitted your application, you check your email often (the one you used for the application) to await a decision from the college you applied to. Once you are accepted, many colleges will send you the acceptance notification with follow up instructions such as directions to create an online student account, submit health clearance forms, and sign up for a student orientation. If you just apply and not think about it until the first day of college classes, then you will have missed many tasks that the school will have emailed you to complete.