 |
| |||||||
| |||||||
 |
|
Relax, seniors: applying to college just got a little easier Web-posted: 11:17 p.m. Oct. 27, 1999 Attention high school seniors! Feeling a little anxious? Are you keeping late hours, finding it hard to sleep, staring at the cold, icy moon for hours? Is it harder than ever to put up with, you know, the parents? Uh, oh. High school seniors have entered "The Application Zone," a place scarier than Halloween on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Please, step away from the caffeine. Hey, I've been there. My parents never went to college. They didn't understand the tedium of the process, the letters of recommendation, essays, campus visits, application fees. Yikes! Well, Buffy might have made the transition from Sunnydale High to college by combating bloodsuckers. Even so, my mortal friends, you can fly through the night all you want, but when you land, those applications will be waiting. Think of www.best schools usa.com as a virtual "watcher." In slayer-speak, that means someone who guides you on the right path. Offering a state-by-state alphabetical listing of colleges and universities, this Internet Web site takes students through the application process and gives tips on essay writing. Examples: "Avoid talking about your boyfriend or girlfriend. Avoid writing about subjects you know nothing about." Perhaps the most unique feature of the site is the comprehensive survey results. Bestschoolsusa.com surveyed about 2,000 schools, asking questions that include how much emphasis is given to GPA, SAT scores, volunteerism and other factors in selecting applicants. So far, about 130 schools have responded. "You can't find those answers all together in any book, on any web site," says Chacko Zachariah, president of the company that owns bestschoolsusa.com. In the survey, Duke University says it weighs grades, SAT scores, extra-curricular activities and essays evenly. Carnegie-Mellon University, however, weighs grades and SAT scores heavily, 30 percent each, allowing 5 percent each for most other areas. Nancy Artus, guidance director at Nova High School, says a comprehensive college site should be helpful to info-starved seniors. Artus says because of the high level of competition among Nova seniors, "We start the process freshman year, start with curriculum, getting them thinking about what they'll need to do to get into one school versus another." Just when it seems that choosing a college, applying for admission to a college, eat-drink-sleeping all about college has drained the last of your life's blood, then it's time to pledge your eternal soul to the Gods of Financial Aid. A lack of money need not drive a stake in the heart of college plans. Careers & Colleges magazine publisher Gail Karlitz offers straight-up advice. Probably the biggest misconception among seniors is, "I'll never get any money," says Karlitz. "In fact, there is $60 billion available for undergrads this year. Not everything is for minorities or special groups. There is something for everybody." Applying for scholarships takes patience, but it can reap big rewards. "Our teen advisors tell us the best thing is to apply for everything. All those little scholarships can add up," Karlitz says. Benjamin Kaplan, a Harvard senior, wrote a Careers & Colleges article detailing how his guerrilla tactics earned him $90,000 in scholarships. The January 2000 issue of Careers & Colleges is dedicated to how to pay for college. Another tip: Beware of the scam. "Any company that tells you to send money for a list of unclaimed scholarships…don't do it," Karlitz says. "They sometimes ask for your checking account number and say for a monthly fee they'll keep you on their lists. They can't give you anything that you couldn't get for free." Back in the dark ages, before vampires had television series, I stumbled through the scary world of student aid and college applications, piecing together information as I went. The Internet, however, offers sites such as finaid.org for seniors to troll for cash, as well as school information. Teens, this is it. Party like it's 1999, but, remember, graduation day arrives in 2000. Are you ready? To order the January Careers & Colleges, call 800-964-0763. Sherri Winston's column is published on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. She can be reached at swinston@sun-sentinel.com or 954-217-7156. |
 |
.gif){kind=spacer}