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The Student-Athlete Pathway to College

Colleges like to recruit and admit student-athletes. This is good news for high school students who have devoted years to training for their sport and gone on to excel at both the regional and national level – a just reward for their efforts. Even lesser skilled student-athletes who have performed well in the classroom have the opportunity to enhance their college application as a result of sports participation in high school. Whether you are the nation’s number one basketball recruit evaluating several scholarship offers from top ranked programs, or a field hockey player looking to boost her admissions odds at an Ivy League school, there are several essential points to consider when making the decision to pursue college athletics. Also, the timeline for student-athletes is different and more nuanced so students choosing this route need to be especially organized and strategic in their planning. The NCAA guidelines are both byzantine and rigid and there is no bending of rules when it comes to adhering to the governing body of college athletics and their policies.

Let’s first consider a few key suggestions for useful self-analysis to engage in prior to taking the plunge into the pool of college athletic participation –

• COLLEGE SELECTION

“Fit” remains the operative word when it comes to college choice. Athletic participation should not be the driving force in your selection of a college. As an example – 2 % of college football players will go on to a professional career. Other college sports report even less imposing stats. Hence, it behooves high school student-athletes to take a longer view when evaluating schools. Choose a school that has the academic credentials and social environment that you desire and one that you can afford beyond any athletic financial aid that you may receive.

• RELEVANCE OF PROJECTED POSITION ON THE TEAM

It’s no fun being a “bench warmer” watching your teammates compete while you “ride the pine” on the sidelines. Be realistic when evaluating your skill level in relation to other recruits as well as your future teammates and your ability to crack the line-up.

• MYTH OF THE FULL RIDE ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP

There are seven million high school athletes. Just 1 % of those will get a full ride athletic scholarship to a Division I program. Division III and the Ivy League do not offer athletic scholarships at all. There are only twohead count(full ride) DI sports for men – football and basketball. For women there are four – basketball, gymnastics, tennis, and volleyball. The remainder of college sports fall into the equivalency category where a specific number of scholarships – say 11.7 for men’s baseball – are divided among all the players on the team. So, in an equivalency sport like baseball, it’s possible to receive a small scholarship of $1000, barely enough to cover your books. The good news is that there’s lots of need-based and merit aid out there for deserving student-athletes to supplement athletic aid or in some cases substitute when none is offered.

Once the decision has been made to pursue college athletics, taking these three preliminary steps will help facilitate the process and create a smoother pathway for recruitment –

• ACADEMIC PREPARATION

Understand the academic requirements – including grades and standardized test scores – for the type of school you plan to attend. In addition to the basic NCAA academic guidelines, individual schools have standards as well. The Ivy League and selective liberal arts schools typically require their student-athletes to have significantly higher grades and test scores than less selective colleges. I always recommend to the high school student-athletes that I work with to test early, i.e., December or January of the junior year. This way college coaches can provide you with a benchmark if a higher score is needed for admission. Remember – a college coach can recruit you however you must be admitted to the school in order for the athletic offer to be valid. For a more detailed description of academics and college athletics go to ncaapublications.com and download for free the NCAA Guide for the College Bound Student-Athlete.

• ATHLETIC RESUME AND RECORDS

As early as the 9th grade start keeping track of your athletic playing record, scores, and statistics. It’s also a good idea to take advantage of college athletic recruiting services many of which are free. It’s crucial that the college coaches can find youquickly on the internet – a reputable recruiting website will ensure that you have an online presence.

• COMMUNICATING WITH COLLEGE COACHES

It’s smart to be proactive and reach out to college coaches as soon as you have identified a school as a place you would like to attend – email is generally the preferred form of communication for this. NCAA rules prohibit coaches from returning your calls or emailing you until July 1 after your junior year of high school however by initiating contact and demonstrating interest you can begin the process. Recruiting rules and regulations can be found at NCAA.org.

The bottom line – successful high school student-athletes are attractive candidates for colleges. Nearly 1200 Harvard undergraduates – or 20% of the student body – participate in intercollegiate athletics. That figure is even more notable at Williams College where 36% of the students are varsity athletes. Whether your goal is to obtain an athletic scholarship or gain admission to an Ivy League or other highly selective university, college athletics is worth pursuing. To be able to continue to play the sport you love while receiving an education and at the same time developing skills such as leadership and time management is a fabulous opportunity. With a little bit of forethought and careful advance planning the dream can become a reality!

UNOFFICIAL COLLEGE VISITS FOR STUDENT-ATHLETES

It’s summer time and besides beaches and barbecues it’s an ideal time for sophomores who are considering playing a sport in college to plan unofficial visits to various campuses. To clarify – an unofficial visit is anytime you or your parents visit a college that is funded by you. An official visit is any visit to a college that is paid for by that university. The NCAA mandates that official visits cannot be taken until opening day of classes of your senior year in high school.  I will discuss suggested questions for the official visit in a later post.

I am currently working with a high school sophomore who is leaving soon to take unofficial visits to several east coast colleges. I provided him with the following list of suggested questions to pose to the coaches that he will be meeting. This list is both lengthy and comprehensive so it’s best to select topics that you find most relevant. Also, I’ve included several questions that the coaches are likely to ask recruits – it’s a good idea to be prepared for these!

Finally, in addition to meeting with the coach and touring athletic facilities I recommend taking an official campus tour because this provides an excellent overview of the school. Make sure to take time to observe small but important nuances – the school newspaper, campus bulletin board and visit the student union and cafeteria. Strike up a conversation with a current student and ask what it’s like to be a student at XYZ school. You will find that most college students are more than happy to engage in this type of dialogue!

Here’s my list –

 RECOMMENDED QUESTIONS FOR UNOFFICIAL COLLEGE VISITS

 

ACADEMICS: 

• How accommodating are professors regarding the team’s travel schedule? 

• What happens if a class I want to take or need to take for my major conflicts with practice and game times? 

• Are there any majors that the coach would consider too time consuming for a team member? For example, some coaches discourage their players from majoring in subjects like pre-med or engineering because they are viewed as incompatible with playing a college sport. 

• What types of academic support services are available for student-athletes, i.e., tutoring, study halls, priority registration? 

• Do team members typically attend summer school in order to lighten their load during the season?

 

SCHEDULE: 

• Can you describe a typical daily schedule for a student-athlete on this team? 

• Is there a strength training program to complement the specific sport training? 

• What is the travel schedule like? How much class will I typically miss in a school year? 

• Are there any international trips planned? 

• Are there any team obligations, i.e., practices, training/conditioning regimens, tournaments over breaks and summers?

 

TEAM PHILOSOPY: 

• What is the philosophy of the school’s athletic program? What role do athletics play in university life? 

• What goals do you have as a coach for the team in the upcoming years? 

• What position are you recruiting me for? 

• What other players in my class are you currently recruiting and where do I stand on your recruiting list? 

• What is your recruiting timeline, i.e., when will I find out if I am being invited on an “official visit”? 

• Do you see me being a starter or significant contributor on the team? 

 

HEALTH, TRAINING, AND CONDITIONING: 

• What types of injuries have team members had in the past few years and how do you deal with these? 

• Is medical care and physical therapy available to the student-athletes? 

• What medical expenses does the college cover?

 

FINANCIAL ISSUES: 

• How many and what types (full/partial) of scholarships are available for my class? 

• How are scholarships renewed? 

• Will scholarships cover a fifth year? 

• What is your walk-on policy? 

 

CAMPUS LIFE: 

• Are student-athletes required to room with team members? 

• Is the team housed together in one dorm? 

• Is there a specific meal plan for student-athletes, i.e. an “athletic training table”?

• Do most student-athletes find it possible to balance athletics, academics, and a social life? 

• Are there any special team bonding events, community service activities, or trips?

 

QUESTIONS FROM COACHES: 

• What other colleges are you considering? 

• What is your intended major? (it’s ok to say you are not sure yet) 

• What is most important to you when choosing a school? 

• Will you be applying for financial aid? 

• Will you be willing to apply ED (early decision) or EA (early action)? 

• What is your upcoming travel team showcase schedule?

JUNIOR YEAR CHECKLIST FOR STUDENT-ATHLETES

I know. Junior year in high school can be a grind – with the PSAT test in October, the SAT or ACT after that, AP exams and the SAT subject tests in the spring, not to mention tough academic loads and endless extracurricular activities. It’s enough to make one’s head spin! For student-athletes it’s even more critical to stay organized as the junior year is the most important year in terms of the college athletic recruiting process. This is the year that college coaches seriously begin to evaluate performance and results and start to think about their recruiting classes. Plus, the NCAA has very specific rules concerning what is and isn’t permissible in terms of contact with coaches.  Students really need to know these rules before they engage in any form of contact with college athletic staff members.

It’s been my experience that those student-athletes who plan ahead, develop a strategy, and create a timeline have realized the most successful outcomes in terms of college athletic placement. Since most high school students have comfortably been back in school for over a month now, I thought it would be timely to present an overview in the form of a “To Do list” for college-bound juniors who are planning to continue playing sports in college. I have included a senior year list as well for those students who are uber-organized and are interested in seeing the whole picture!

 

Junior Year:

• Send college coaches your athletic resume, results, and highlight video if you have not already done so.

• If your grades are not up to par consider getting assistance either through your teachers at school or with an outside tutor. Take the PSAT. Begin studying for the SAT or ACT exam with the goal of taking the test in the winter or early spring. (students who feel that they are not ready or have not prepared sufficiently should wait until May or June dates). Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center (only required of Division I and II student-athletes). Test scores must be reported directly to the Eligibility Center.

• Written communication by college coaches is permitted during the junior year. Coaches are still not allowed to return phone calls but they can return emails.

• You can take unofficial visits to schools which means you and your family must pay the expenses. Contact college coaches prior to these visits and let them know of your plans as NCAA rules allow you to speak with the coach as long as you are on campus. You are allowed to take unlimited unofficial visits.

• At the end of your junior year – after your second semester grades are finalized – remind your high school counselor to send a copy of your transcript to the Eligibility Center. 

 

Summer after Junior Year:

• In July, after completing your junior year, college coaches can begin calling you. The timelines vary by sport and NCAA division but in general coaches are allowed to call once per week.

• College coaches are permitted 3 in-person, off campus contacts per prospect starting July 1 after your junior year.

• College coaches can make athletic scholarship offers at this point.

 

Senior Year:

• If you are being seriously recruited by a school, the coach will invite you to make an official visit (where the school picks up the tab). You are permitted to take 5 such visits beginning the first day of your senior year. Don’t despair if you don’t receive offers for official visits. Many non-revenue sports do not have the budget for this.

• Remember that a verbal scholarship offer is not binding until a National Letter of Intent (NLI) and offer of Financial Aid is signed by the recruit. The signing dates vary by sport with the earliest signing period beginning in November of the senior year. Do not sign a NLI prior to the first allowable date as listed on the NLI website.

• Keep your senior year grades up. Although you have signed an agreement with a school via the NLI, the document is no longer binding if you fail to graduate from high school, maintain academic eligibility as mandated by the NCAA, and/or be admitted to the college.

• Remind your high school counselor to send your final transcript to the Eligibility Center. You will not be allowed to participate in college athletics if you have not been cleared by the Eligibility Center.

 

MOOCs MOVING FORWARD

In my July post I discussed the advent of MOOCs, which stand for Massive Open Online Course, and their debut in the world of higher education. Unfortunately, an early trial has met with less than stellar results.

In January, San Jose State University partnered with Udacity, a for-profit founded by Google employee and Stanford professor Sebastian Thrun, to offer online versions of three SJSU math classes. The three courses were in remedial and entry-level math and statistics. Half the students were already enrolled at SJSU and the other half came from nearby community colleges and charter high schools. Students were able to seek extra help online from live tutors.

Here are the results:

• 29% passed the Udacity Remedial/Developmental Math course compared to 80% in the regular face-to-face version of the course.
• 44% of the San Jose students passed College Algebra compared to 74% in the face-to-face version.
• 51% passed the toughest class, Statistics, as compared to 74% in the traditional class.

Granted, this is a small sample. Only 100 students per class were accepted into the pilot. Even so, the poor results have led to a lot of hand-wringing by proponents of MOOCs and online learning – not to mention the politicians who have so fervently supported this alternative teaching method as a solution for woefully underfunded education budgets.

Udacity acknowledges that there were kinks in the system relating to the communication of expectations. Two of the classes were deadline-free and students fell behind. Also, professors were still writing curricula when the courses began, hardly a best practice when it comes to teaching.

Many of the students lacked access to computers or the Internet in their homes. More importantly, students in these courses didn’t have face-to-face support from qualified teachers as they would in the classroom.

Despite this poor report, I still feel there is a place for online teaching in colleges and universities. Yes, the economy is rebounding and the corresponding reinvestment in our public higher education, yet additional educational delivery methods providing even greater access for students is still needed. Perhaps, universities should very carefully select which courses are offered in the online format and to whom. Most of the students recruited to take the classes at San Jose State had already failed the entrance exam for college math or had failed remedial math once already. Self-paced learning probably works better when students already possess the required fundamental skills and prerequisite knowledge before moving forward to the next level. And, the first order of business clearly needs to be the basic tools, i.e. a working laptop and an Internet connection.

Hopefully, upcoming collaborations like the one between Udacity and Georgia Tech for a master’s degree in computer science or Coursera’s partnership with 10 state university systems will learn from the San Jose experiment. MOOCs aren’t going away anytime soon, so colleges and universities will need to figure out the best way to implement them.

MOOCs – There Time Has Come

It is entirely possible that if you are not intimately involved in higher education you may not have yet heard of MOOCs. MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Course. The two fundamental criteria of MOOCs are open access and the ability to support large scale enrollments. The question is no longer if online education will be integrated into the college teaching landscape but rather when – and more tellingly how.

Coursera – a MOOC founded by two Stanford computer science professors – announced in May that it had signed agreements with state universities enrolling more than a million students. A contentious debate continues whether such courses will actually lead to better learning, higher graduation rates, and reduced costs – or to the dissolution of public universities, eliminated faculty jobs, and an inferior education for most students.

Two of the biggest hurdles in higher education – affordability and access – are obvious benefits of the online model. Users can tap into Ivy League quality instruction on their own time, at their own pace and with little or no cost. However, students who cannot self-regulate their learning or students with learning disabilities may need individualized guidance and a personalized process. Plus, the once-in-a-lifetime experience of the residential college and all that it entails is nowhere to be found in online education. Finally, supervision is an issue as MOOCs move toward accreditation as it is inherently much easier to cheat in an online course than a physical classroom. Some MOOCs are now experimenting with site-based testing, both live and remote webcam monitoring, plagiarism detection software, keystroke pattern recognition software, and browser lockdowns.

At San Jose State University, which has led the way in allowing MOOCs to be used for credit, professors have expressed concern that faculty will be replaced with cheap online education. This spring, the Amherst faculty voted against joining edX, the nonprofit Harvard-M.I.T collaboration, and 58 Harvard faculty members sought the creation of a new committee to consider the effect online courses will have on higher education.

Personally, I don’t think I’d like to see a four-year online degree take the place of a brick-and-mortar college education. Yet, for impacted entry level classes, it seems like an obvious remedy. Public universities with diminished budgets can accommodate many more students using the online format than they are able to do with real time lecture sections. It’s disheartening to hear students lament about not being able to move forward in their majors when they are iced out of prerequisite courses due to over enrollment. Strategically offered online courses will be a godsend to many students, particularly those attending cash strapped state universities and community colleges.

For higher education geeks like myself, I can’t wait to see this newest dimension in college education make its debut. As with everything else related to teaching methodology there will be plenty of skeptics and supporters alike – but regardless of which side of the movement you happen to be on – like it or not, MOOCs are here to stay.

 

Why Hire a Private College Consultant

Hiring a private college consultant to assist in the college planning process depends on the type and level of counseling support available at the home school. In large public high schools with counselor-student ratios of 500 to 1 or greater, clearly outside assistance is justified. Even so, many students – including those that attend small private schools – may need additional guidance due to learning disabilities, interest in a specific area of study, athletics admissions, or highly individualized help with college affordability/financing. And, for homeschooled students – an alternative which continues to gain traction as an educational choice – private counseling is a given.

Private college counseling need not be expensive. Competent counselors should have a number of services available at various price points. Seeing firsthand the tremendous gains realized by students receiving even a small amount of customized counseling in the 6-8 hour range prompted me to develop my affordable College Planning 101 package for which I charge $750. I feel strongly that every high school student should have the right to explore their college options regardless of their economic circumstances. When qualified independent college consultants align with school counselors everyone wins – the school counselors get much needed help with their back breaking workload and the students get the guidance they so desperately need.

Like any profession, there are good consultants and bad ones. Be aware of consultants that make promises about getting accepted at certain schools or those that charge exorbitant fees. Seek out professionals whose goal is to create an ideal match between a student’s academic, social, and financial needs within the college options available to him or her. Membership in professional organizations such as the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) or the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) – although not a guarantee of quality – generally signals a high level of commitment to the profession on the part of the consultant. Finally, really good college consultants don’t just develop overnight. Ask about the consultant’s background and experience. It takes years of studying colleges, admissions policies, and visiting schools in order to truly be in the position to provide support, insight, and navigational expertise about college planning to families who need it.

In my video interview below for the parenting website “Kids in the House” I discuss the benefits of hiring a private college consultant:

Common Application Essay Changes for 2013-14

Savvy high school juniors begin the process of drafting their college essays well in advance of the start of their senior year. If you are amongst this ambitious group – now is the time to start brain-storming and thinking about working on the early iterations. It’s important to note that the Common Application https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/default.aspx, which is used at nearly 500 colleges and universities has changed its essay prompts for 2013-14 and increased the number of words allowed for the essay from 500 to 650. No essay can be less than 250 words. Don’t forget that many schools that accept the Common App still ask for additional information, including extra essays. Perhaps the biggest change is the decision to drop an essay prompt that allowed students to write about a topic of their choice. While lamentable to some, most students should be able to find their voice as the five new prompts are really quite broad and multi-faceted.

Here are the new essay prompts for 2013-14:

• Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
• Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?
• Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?
• Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?
• Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

Good luck, and remember everyone has a unique story to tell!

Decisions, Decisions……..

For high school seniors who have applied regular decision to college and are lucky enough to be weighing multiple offers of acceptance, April is a month of deliberation. Selecting a college is a big deal, arguably one of the most pivotal moves an individual will make in his/her lifetime. There are so many considerations – school size, reputation, location, choice of major, and the really tough factor –  how to pay the bill. A small percentage of students are in the fortuitous position of being able to choose a college regardless of the cost. However, for the vast majority – sticker price matters a lot. Recently the New York Times published an excellent piece entitled “Measuring College Prestige vs. the Cost of Enrollment”  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/20/your-money/measuring-college-prestige-vs-price.html?pagewanted=all and did a great job discussing the emotional aspect which is so inextricably linked to this process – unfortunately at times leading to irrational conclusions for many students and families. I’d like to add my thoughts to the mix of how cost plays out in the final decision of where to enroll.

Taking on an onerous amount of debt in order to attend a private, non-elite college seems hard to justify given today’s uncertain economy. In my practice I advise against borrowing heavily when students are not sure about what they will study in college or for those who are leaning toward the liberal arts where career paths are less defined than with the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) majors. Unfortunately, only a handful of schools – the Ivies and a few other super selective campuses – offer generous financial aid packages that require little or no borrowing on the part of families who qualify. The frustrating conundrum – getting admitted to these schools is next to impossible. Harvard’s admit rate this year was 5.8%, Princeton accepted slightly over 7%. Even at the flagship state universities with their more affordable tuitions for in-state residents, i.e. UCLA and the University of Michigan –   admission rates are relatively low. UCLA only accepted 20.1% of all applicants this year. Compounding matters even further, often the financial aid award letters that accompany the letters of acceptance can be confusing and difficult to read and decipher. Therefore, it is essential to read the fine print. What initially may appear to be a very generous award “covering” the full cost of attendance may actually be only a small amount of grant money with the rest of the “package” comprised of loans and work-study aid.

 

So what’s a student to do? Remember, financial aid awards are not always final. College financial aid staff members are there to help you and typically they are reasonably approachable. Most schools have an established mechanism in place where you can appeal aid amounts. Be sure to take advantage of this process particularly if you’ve had a change in circumstances, i.e. parental loss of a job, or family illness. Also, if you’ve re-taken the SAT and your scores have improved, it’s worth a shot to re-apply for merit awards which use academics in the criteria for selection. Finally, if the numbers still don’t add up try to remove the emotion from the equation and look objectively at your circumstances.  Studentaid.gov  http://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/understand/plans/standard/comparison-calculator is the site for federal student loans and provides an excellent calculator enabling you to determine what your loan re-payment schedule and monthly costs will be over the lifetime of the loan. If you’re sure you’ll have that job lined up on Wall Street after you graduate then go for the expensive college because more than likely you won’t have too much difficulty paying back your loans. However, if you’re not clear about your college plans it might make more sense to go with a more affordable option.

Things That Keep Me Awake at Night

I thought it would be worthwhile – at the very least 3-4 times per year – to devote a blog post to college related issues that I find worrisome. Actually way more about the college experience excites me rather than disturbs – yet being the committed idealist that I am – my goal is for all my clients to have a stellar four years. As college counselors we spend countless hours helping students find the perfect college fit. However, come April when the acceptance letters have all gone out and I finally have time to catch my breath – I realize that there is quite a lot of work still left to do! Students have plenty of decisions to make once the final choice of college has been made, i.e., selection of a major, roommate, campus job, Greek life, etc. – I’d like to offer up a few insights that I have compiled over the years which may help pave the way for a seamless transition.

Again, most of the elements of my job are quite fulfilling and “sleep inducing”. What follows is my inaugural list of “sleep reducers” –

Students will stop reading for pleasure.
College freshman are often not prepared for the increased reading assignments associated with their classes as opposed to what was expected of them in high school. This increased workload in addition to all the digital distractions that consume us on a daily basis often leaves little time for pure reading for enjoyment. And, from a strictly utilitarian standpoint, there’s no better way to become an effective writer than by devouring books, and lots of them. College grads with strong expository writing skills are valued by employers regardless of their majors.

The search for the “easy A”.
College students soon figure it out that there are certain courses that have the reputation for being an “easy A”. And while it certainly is a smart move to occasionally enroll in a less demanding class to balance a particularly tough semester, ideally this plan will be the exception rather than the rule. Although over-cited, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s quote about there being no second acts in life rings true in this case – it is unlikely that you will ever have the opportunity again to spend four years exclusively devoted to education. So take a few risks, step outside your comfort zone, and enroll in that class in Shakespeare’s sonnets, Astronomy, or Art History – and see if it ignites a new passion.

Students switch majors and delay graduation.
I’m all for college students switching majors prior to graduation if they discover halfway through say their engineering program that they really are way more passionate about books and literature than they are pocket protectors and algorithms. Much better to have this epiphany while in school than on the job. However, I encourage students to think long and hard before declaring a major – particularly if it’s a subject where many if not most of the required classes cannot be cross-utilized for other majors or to satisfy General Education requirements. Unfortunately, switching majors often means an extra semester or more of time enrolled in college which at today’s prices translates to several thousand dollars more in tuition payments – and for many – college loans.

Students not getting to know their professors.
Getting to know your professors in college is important. Go to their office hours if you need clarification or have questions – not only will it benefit you as a student but it will make a big difference in how your professors view you and your commitment to your schoolwork. Unlike high school – where teachers appear more approachable – college professors can seem intimidating, yet they are generally quite welcoming. And, when it comes time for graduation you will be glad to have these relationships – as you most likely will need recommendation letters for jobs or graduate school. Think twice about spending the semester “head on the desk” asleep or texting with your friends if it means potentially jeopardizing these valuable connections.

THE “EARLY DECISION”/ “EARLY ACTION” ADMISSIONS PROCESS

IS IT RIGHT FOR ME?

Few aspects of applying to college have generated more attention and discussion than “applying early”. If you’ve done your due diligence, i.e., visited and toured several campuses, viewed countless websites, and talked with alumni from various schools, you may want to consider this application option.

According to the CollegeBoard website, early application plans allow you to apply early (usually in November) and get an admissions decision well before the usual spring notification date. You know by December or January whether you’ve been accepted to your first-choice college. Sometimes, students who apply under these plans have a better chance of acceptance than they would through the regular admissions process.

Generally speaking, there are two types of Early Application processes: Early Action and Early Decision.

Early Action means you can apply to one or more schools and if you are accepted you are under no obligation to attend that institution. You can still apply to other colleges under regular decision plans and are not required to give your final answer until May 1. (the regular decision deadline). Examples of early action programs are Stanford and Georgetown University.

Early Decision is different. You agree to attend the college if it accepts you and offers an adequate financial aid package. This is a binding process since once you are admitted you are committed or bound to that institution. As a result, you can only apply to one early decision school. Both Duke and the University of Pennsylvania have early decision programs.

Single Choice Early Action works the same as other early action plans, but candidates may not apply early (either early action or early decision) to any other colleges.

Many students (and their parents, too!) feel an enormous sense of relief to have the college admissions process over with in December of their senior year. However, it is important to ask yourself a few tough questions to make sure that applying early is the right decision for you:

1. Have you made up your mind in October of your senior year about where you want to go to college? Remember, under early decision plans, if you’re accepted, this is where you’re going – no “buyers remorse” here!
2. Have you completed all of your standardized tests and are you satisfied with your scores? Many students need the first semester of their senior year in high school to raise both their test scores and GPA’s. You’ll have to save the “senioritis” behavior for the second semester!
3. Can you complete the application, write your essays, and obtain recommendations by November 1 of your senior year?
4. Will you need financial aid? If you apply and are accepted under an early decision program you won’t be able to compare various financial aid packages as you would during the regular admissions cycle.

If you can answer yes to all of these questions, you may be a candidate to “apply early” to college. However, if like many high school students, you need those extra few months to do additional research and mull things over, then wait and apply regular decision! The college years are arguably the four most important and influential years in your life – don’t be pressured into making a commitment if you’re not absolutely certain and absolutely ready.

IECA

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