As you develop a list of colleges that interest you, be sure you can answer these questions about them:
The Basics
- Where is the college?
- Have I taken the course work required for admission?
- Does the college offer majors in areas of interest to me?
- How selective is the college, i.e. what proporation of applicants were admitted-usually expressed as a percentage....acceptance rate-23%
- What is the annual cost for attending the college, including tuition, room, board, books, etc.?
- What type of financial aid is available? For international students?
- What percentage of students live on-campus?
- Is housing guaranteed? If so, for how many years?
Where Would I fit in?
- How do my SAT/ACT scores compare with the accepted applicants at the school?
- How does my GPA compare with the GPA's of accepted applicants to the school?
Academics
- What are the strong academic programs within the college?
- What are the distribution requirements?
- Are there special programs that interest me?
- Does the school have year aboard programs throughout the world?
- Is the school on the semester or quarter system?
- How many classes per term am I expected to take?
- What percentage of students graduate within 4 years? 5 years?
- What percentage of students go on to attain higher degrees?
Admissions Process
- What admissions categories does the college have? Early Decision? Early Action? Rolling Decision? Regular Decision? What are the deadlines for each of the application tracks?
- Is the college part of the Common Application group? Does it require supplemental forms?
- Does the college require SAT or ACT? Does it require Subject Tests? If so, how many? In what subjects?
- Is an interview required, suggested, optional or not required?
- Is the school on the list to visit AES?
- What are financial aid deadlines?
- Have I talked with my counselor or other students about this school to find out more?
Source: Adapted by Oren Ridenour from CollegeBoard
Korean Parents