DEC. 5, 2017
Winter break allows college-bound high school seniors to enjoy quality time at home and complete these tasks. But it’s not an ideal period to finish college applications since teens will need time to edit and review their work before they submit. Many regular decision admissions deadlines occur right after New Year’s.
Teens who applied for early college admission will receive a decision soon. If your student was deferred or denied admission, join us on Thursday, Dec. 14 at 3:30 p.m. EST for a live chat on YouTube and Facebook. We'll talk to admissions officials from Bowdoin College, Amherst College and the University at Albany—SUNY about how to recover from an early admission rejection. Submit questions for the experts to answer here.
Happy Tuesday!
The U.S. News Education newsletter team: Alexandra @alipannoni and Briana @B_Boyington.
Gear Up and Get Applications Done
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Teens should take stock of remaining college admissions tasks, along with their other commitments, and make a detailed schedule to ensure applications are finished on time.
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There are a few ways for students to apply to college: The Common App, Coalition Application and individual school applications. Applicants can consider this advice to select their method and should watch the clock if they plan to use more than one system.
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College application season can be grueling for high school seniors, but listening to their parents' advice can help, one student told U.S. News. Read more here.
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As teens finish up college applications, they shouldn’t forget about applying for scholarships. Most of these scholarship applications are due on Dec. 15, so teens who wish to apply need to get to work. |
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Some students thrive in smaller classes and many colleges offer intimate courses that offer individualized attention.
At The New School in New York, for instance, 90.5 percent of fall 2016 classes had fewer than 20 students.
See the full list of the 10 National Universities where classes are small here and check out all the Best Colleges rankings and lists here.
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College Prep for Younger Students
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Winter break is a good time for teens to take multiple SAT and ACT practice tests, which require several hours to complete.
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Students may want to consider adding Advanced Placement work to their winter break schedule. Teens can spend time rereading key texts or reading ahead, along with these tasks. |
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Students can narrow down their list of colleges to apply to by selecting ones that interest them using our compare tool. We’ll show how they stack up to help students find the right fit.
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Words to Live By
"No matter how organized or unorganized you are, it’s going to be incredibly stressful."
– Zachary Taylor, a freshman at Loyola Marymount University who applied to four colleges
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