Plan ahead to get into college

By CATHY FRISINGER

If you still need to take the SAT, your best bet is Nov. 1 to meet application deadlines.

You’ve heard the scary talk: “This will be the most competitive year for college admissions.”

It’s true, says Rob Franek, vice president and publisher of the Princeton Review, a college-entrance test-preparation company. “This year and fall 2009 are going to be the most competitive years, simply because there are so many college-bound students. There will be about 3 million students applying to colleges. Ten years ago, it was about 2.2 million.”

“There’s a place for everybody who wants to go to college,” says Michael Kaprelian, a counselor at Western Hills High School in the Fort Worth, Texas, school district.

There are more school options available than ever.

The application varies greatly depending on type of school, and it doesn’t have to be a killer.

There are all kinds of colleges out there: state schools, private schools, four-year schools, two-year schools, schools for kids who want to be roadies, schools for kids who want to be Rhodes scholars.

You’ve got your list of the schools you’re going to apply to all set, right? Well, you should. The College Board, the organization that administers the SAT, says college lists should be finalized by the end of the summer before senior year begins.

If you’re still working on your list, there are places to get help, including a free online tool called Best Fit College Search, offered by Princeton Review at www.princetonreview.com. Books like “Peterson’s Four Year Colleges 2008” offer information on thousands of schools and make comparisons easy.

The College Board has an online college search tool that lists both two- and four-year schools, and every school has a Web site that puts the school’s best foot forward.

When deciding where to apply, be both realistic and optimistic, and have a couple of backups.

Make a calendar. List every applicable date on it and check it weekly.

Hopefully, you took your SAT in March, May or June. If you didn’t, or if you weren’t satisfied with your results, you’ll want to sign up to take it on Nov. 1. The SAT is also given Dec. 6 and Jan. 24, but those dates will be too late for many of the selective schools.

If you don’t take a class, be sure to review the tips and practice questions on the College Board’s Web site, www.collegeboard.com, before taking the test.

What about the ACT? Should you take it as well? Generally, no. Almost all schools will accept either test.

R sum s aren’t just for job-seekers. These days, college-admissions counselors advise high school seniors to create a r sum . It makes filling out applications easier.

You’ll want to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Rather than putting down “Key Club, member, one year,” write about the fundraising fair you organized at a neighborhood grade school as a Key Club project.

Common applications have taken some of the pain out of the process.

You’ll likely want to use the Common Application found at www.commonapp.org, which is accepted by more than 300 schools, including many prestigious institutions such as Vassar College and Duke University.