ATTENTION ALL HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS (and even you too, Juniors) !!!!!
As a first semester Freshman in college, I can easily recall the time I spent applying to college when I was a Senior in high school. It can defintiely be overwhelming, especially if you are the first sibling in your family going through the process (like I was). Hopefully, I can lessen your stress and provide some 'major keys to success' when it comes to college application szn...
Time for Tips:
1) Start figuring out what you want to do NOW...research, research, research!
For some people, what they want to study in college is obvious to them. However, it is completely normal to not know what you want to major in yet. Either way, there are simple things you can do to help you figure out what you like and don't like. You can perform actions as simple as using Google to see what specific majors mean (what they study/related jobs) and even take quizzes to find out or reassure what interests you (yes, there are quizzes out there that will suggest what you might want to study based on what you do and don't like, so don't be afraid to search).
As a junior, I was aware that I liked public relations and marketing; using Google to define my intended majors and take quizzes that suggested what I should major in really helped confirm my interests.
2) Begin taking core classes and electives in subjects that interest you.
If you know, or think you know, what you want to study in college, go out of your way to take courses at your school that relate to your interests. You may not realize it, but it might help if colleges see that you have expressed interest in a certain area and have already started taking classes and enriching your knowledge in what you would like to study.
By senior year, since I knew I definitely liked marketing, I selected some classes that corresponded to business. For example, I decided to take AP Macro and Micro Economics as well as a sports and entertainment marketing course, and those are business-related classes that colleges saw on my transcript while applying to their business schools.
BTW those courses gave me a basic foundation in what I am now learning in some of my classes, so I came into some of my classes with a general understanding of the curriculum.
3) Apply DIRECTLY INTO the specific school within the college you want to be in.
Because "oh, i'll just transfer into the school that I like" is NOT that easy (especially if it's business or engineering, 2 of the most selective schools on almost every college campus). You will be doing yourself a huge favor if you apply and are accepted into the school within a college that your intended major is in. Plus, you can start taking classes in your respective school right when you arrive on campus as a freshman! In general, it is difficult to transfer into another school within your college--competitive schools normally do not take many students within the college wishing to transfer into their school especially because a lot of other people will be trying to transfer into the top school at a college and there are a limited amount of spots (some schools won't even consider letting you transfer in if you don't have a specific GPA). Freshman year is hard enough when it comes to adjusting to the college life; it is easy to get caught up in the social scene, so try to start in the school that you know you want to be in because there's always a decent chance that you won't be able to transfer in.
When I applied to colleges, I made sure to apply directly into the business or communications school (or both) at each college because I knew that's what I wanted to study! Yes, it is harder to get into specific schools, but it was definitely worth it because I am already in a specific program for what I want to do, my classes are smaller, and I am taking concentrated classes that are centered around what I want to study.
4) Do not get caught up with the ranking of overall colleges.
Do not look at how a College/University is ranked in general, but look at how good the certain school or program you want to be in is! Make sure you are picking a school for how strong it is for what you specifically want to study.
Take these examples into account: There is a big difference between the Kelley School of Business (currently #4) and the rest of Indiana University, Smeal College of Business (currently #19) and the rest of Penn State, and The Newhouse School (continually ranked #1 for Communications) / the Whitman School of Management (recently ranked #23 for business) and the rest of Syracuse University (all rankings taken from Bloomberg).
As a freshman at Syracuse University, I am in the Newhouse and Whitman Dual Enrollment Program (with intended majors of Public Relations and Marketing), which I believe is best for what I want to study.
I am in a rigorous and challenging program at a fun party school, which reinforces the fact that I made the right choice for where I want to be, so as Hannah Montana once said, I can have "the best of both worlds!"
I hope you all find my advice helpful and maybe you even learned something new that you did not think about before. I wish you all best of luck during the college application process and in your future academic endeavors..."and may the odds be ever in your favor" :)
