Applying to College

Spring of junior year is the best time to begin formal visits, however, if your travels take you to a location near a college, you can walk around campus or take a campus tour to get a sense of the place.

Visits during the school year allow you to view the student body and gain abetter feel for the vibrancy and daily life of the campus, but summer visits are helpful for initial impressions. If summer is the only time that allows for travel, take advantage of the free time and go to summer visit programs or schedule campus tours.

• Go on the campus tour.
• Attend the information session, if there is one.
• If you can, schedule an overnight visit and experience the daily life of a current student.
• Go to classes.
• Eat in the dining halls.
• Read in the library.
• Sample the cultural and social opportunities outside of the classroom.
• If you have a special interest in a department, sport or activity, try to meet with someone in that area.
• You may want to bring a portfolio, or a resume to discuss. Be thorough.
• Recognize first impressions but look beyond the surface stereotypes.

We encourage any student who wants an interview to seek an interview. An interview is one way to fully inject life into an application, to take it out of the realm of paper and numbers. Students who feel that their extracurricular records or special talents can be highlighted in an interview should pursue interviews. We suggest interviews at small colleges where the personal approach to education predominates.

Please note: Many large state universities and some selective private universities no longer offer interviews. Some colleges and universities offer them as a courtesy. Others assign them to their alumni. Still, others send admission officers to host regional interview sessions. These visits are announced, but you should call your schools just to ensure you don’t miss an opportunity.

Colleges tell us that the single most important part of a student’s application is his or her transcript. Admission committees like to see students doing well in the most rigorous course load he or she can handle, which is different from the most rigorous course load he or she can take. Simply put, what you do in class matters a lot.

The other big part of your application is your standardized test scores. A combination of high grades and solid SAT, ACT or TOEFL scores will put you in the driver’s seat in this process.

Colleges also look closely at your extra-curricular activities, community service, personal statement/essay and teacher and counselor recommendations to help them form a complete picture of you. However, more colleges are joining the score optional every year.

If more than one of your colleges accepts the Common Application, then, by all means, use it. It was designed to eliminate the “busy work” involved in the application process.

Many colleges require supplemental essays in addition to the main essay. Note the supplement requirements carefully for each of your colleges.

Just about every school will require at least one teacher recommendation.

• We encourage you to ask for a recommendation from one of those core subject teachers in the 11th and 12th grade in whose class you have been successful or for whom you worked very hard and showed improvement and commitment throughout the year.
• You may also want to ask an employer, coach, scoutmaster, etc., for a letter to support your efforts outside the classroom.
• Each student receives a holistic letter of recommendation from the college counselor.

Rolling Admission is a process used mainly by large state universities, although not exclusively.

• Under a Rolling Admissions policy, applications are read on a continual basis rather than all at once after a certain deadline.
• If you apply to a school with a rolling admission policy, we recommend getting that application in as early in the fall as you can.
• Decisions are generally released 2-3 weeks after your application file is complete.

You can fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) online at www.fafsa.ed.gov and register for the CSS/Financial Aid Profile online at www.collegeboard.com.

The NCAA Eligibility Center is a body that was created to maintain academic standards regarding student-athletes in college.

• Students register online at the website NCAAEligibilityCenter.org. All student-athletes who plan to participate in Division I or Division II sports should register.
• Transcripts from previous schools must be sent directly to the Eligibility Center.
• Standardized test scores must also be sent directly from the College Board or ACT. The Eligibility Center will not accept Bullis copies of reports.
• In order to have scores sent most expeditiously, enter code 9999 (Eligibility Center’s code) to receive scores when registering for tests.
• College counselors will work individually with students to ensure the registration process goes smoothly.

This is the responsibility of the student. No scores are reported on Bullis transcripts, so the student must contact The College Board for SAT scores (www.collegeboard.org) or the ACT for ACT scores (www.actstudent.org).