If you go to a high school that is college preparatory or you’re working to get into a college that has a competitive application process, then you’ve probably heard the term “early decision” in regards to your college applications. You may have a vague idea that this means something about getting your application done early and finding out before others about whether or not you’ve been accepted to the school. But do you really know what “early decision” means? How can you tell if it’s right for you?

While it may be true that no magic scholarship scout is going to come out of the woodwork to offer you free money, it’s not true that you have to be the crème de la crème of your class to get a college scholarship. College scholarships are available for all sorts of different students and you are almost guaranteed to be able to get one if you’re willing to do some footwork.

One of the biggest things which can cause you to not get into the college of your choice is your failure to stay organized during the application process. You wouldn’t believe how many students manage to miss their SAT tests because they overslept on the day of the exam or how many college applications don’t ever get looked at because the applicants failed to get them in to the college by deadline. If you can stay organized about the application process, meet or beat all deadlines involved in applying to school and know what you sent to where and when, you’ll be far ahead of the college application game. Creating a college application checklist for yourself can help.

The following is a general timeline of college preparation activities that you will find yourself engaging in during your high school years.

You haven’t even finished high school yet and already you’re being asked by everyone what you’re going to major in when you go to college. Maybe you’ve picked something out of the blue to tell people or maybe you just say, “I don’t know” when you’re asked this question but either way, in the back of your mind, you’re a little bit stressed about knowing that you need to choose a major. You feel like you’re planning out the rest of your life by making that decision and you just aren’t sure that you’re ready to do that.

College textbooks are pricey and the costs are only going up. But you don’t have to spend as much as it might seem when you first get your book list. Do your planning in advance, be wise about where you buy your books and always think used. Then you might have some money left over to do something fun on your weekends this semester!

[...]

[...]

[...]

[...]