Is your mailbox bulging with college literature already?
Here's how to keep the stuff straight and make yourself a great candidate for college acceptance:
Arrange Campus Visits
The best way to help narrow your college search is to visit campuses in person. Luther offers group visit events and individualized visits for prospective students all year-round.
It's a good idea to plan visits during the academic year so you get a realistic feel for campus life while school is in session. Summer visits are great too, though, if that's the best time for you and your family.
Schedule a visit to Luther here: www.luther.edu/admissions/visit/
Choose Your Classes Carefully
Make sure you're taking classes that help you meet college admission standards. Also, keep in mind that the grades you earn this year will figure prominently in your applications to colleges next year. Luther recommends the following high school coursework:
- Four years of English, which may include one year of speech, communication, or journalism
- Three years of mathematics
- Three years of social science
- Two years of natural science, including one year of laboratory science
- Two years of foreign language study (recommended)
If you're planning to take AP classes, you'll want to score a 4 or better on the exams to earn credit at Luther.
Collect Deadlines
Start a master list of important dates and deadlines at the colleges you plan to visit and apply to.
For Luther, for example, you'll want to get your application together in the fall of your senior year. That might mean requesting your letter of reference from a teacher or guidance counselor in the spring of your junior year—so he/she has time to work on it over the summer. Teachers and counselors are often overwhelmed with recommendation requests at the last minute—and sometimes end up sending references that sound generic and impersonal.
You'll also want to consider applying for financial aid after January 1 of your senior year by filing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Establish an E-mail Account for College Correspondence
You can cut down on the sheer volume of snail-mail you receive from colleges by encouraging admissions personnel to communicate with you via e-mail. Choose a straightforward new e-mail address and check it often.
This gives you an opportunity to perhaps choose a professional-sounding address—such as "yourname@gmail.com"—to replace the more informal address you might use for personal e-mail.
Get Ready to Take Tests
Plan to take the ACT, PSAT, and/or SAT this year. You'll need either ACT or SAT scores to apply to colleges. Luther's admission standard is an ACT score (or equivalent) of 21 or better; the student body's median ACT composite is 26.
If you take the test(s) and feel you could do better, you'll have time to enroll in another test session in the summer or fall. Luther accepts your best composite score, regardless of when you earn it.
The PSAT, a practice test for the SAT college entrance exam, can qualify you for the National Merit Scholarship, National Achievement Scholarship, and/or National Hispanic Scholarship. Most students take this test regardless of their intent to take the SAT.
In addition, admissions personnel provide resources for high school guidance libraries, including course catalogs, paper applications, program brochures, and questionnaires for prospective athletes. For specific materials, please e-mail admissions@luther.edu.