starting college not knowing anyone can be a daunting experience. you are experiencing a completely new environment with people you’ve never met before. clubs help you in this area by connecting you to other students with similar interests as you. for example, if you join photography club because you love photography, you are going to meet new friends who share the same passion as you! also, when you meet new people in clubs, they will connect you to other people they have met, and so on.
 

they look good on a resume

although future recruiters are mostly looking at your education, grades, and professional experience, they also want to see that you are well rounded. seeing that you have been a part of clubs shows that you are willing to take the extra step to get the most out of your college experience. it may also show that you are experienced in a leadership position or that your club experience relates to what career you are looking to get into.
 

they relieve stress

between all of your tests, homework, presentations and quizzes, clubs are a nice way to break up your day. you may think that joining a club will be just another obligation on your list, but it will be something you enjoy doing because you chose to join it. you are most likely going to be doing fun activities with fellow members, which will relive the stress of everyday college life.
 

you will be more connected to your school

colleges have an endless amount of resources, but you have to seek them out. being involved in clubs will allow you to feel like you are a part of your school, not just another student. for example, if you join your college’s marketing club, you may have the chance to travel the country to different competitions on behalf of your school. you represent your college when you join clubs on campus. you may also meet new faculty through activities you are involved in, which connects you to your school that much more.
 

you will discover your passions and strengths

there is no better way to discover what you like and what you’re good at than to try a little bit of everything. when you join multiple clubs on campus, you will find things you like and things you don’t like. these passions and strengths will follow you all throughout your life. when you discover something knew that you enjoy, you are going to continue to follow that passion. every new experience will expand your horizons!
 

article submitted by nextstepu | by alexa styliadis.
 

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internships, volunteering, job shadowing — there is no such thing as too early in your education to think about these words. whether you’re a freshman in high school, a senior in high school or senior in college, these are the experiences you need to help you reach your dream job.

the trend seems to be that most kids don’t intern or do anything hands-on in their field of study until their last two years of college. a main reason may be because most colleges won’t even give you credit for internships until your junior or senior year. perhaps this is because it is assumed that you do not have enough experience until this time to be of value to the place you’re interning, or just because you may not be prepared maturity wise.

this is something i strongly disagree with for two major reasons.

first, internships, job shadows or volunteering in the field you believe you want to have a career in is the only way to find out if it is really what you want to do. you will learn if it’s actually an environment you want to be in, a schedule you like and if it’s the type of work you expected. if you wait until late in your college career and realize it’s not what you thought it was…it may be too late to switch majors. the sooner you know a career path is not right for you, the better.

secondly, your out-of-school experiences in the field you want to work in are what you want to focus on your resume when it comes time to apply for a job. employers are not going to be interested in your gpa or how long you spent working at the local grocery store. beef up your resume with relevant, timely experiences related to the job you’re applying for. the best way to do that is to gain experience as many times and in as many places as possible before graduating from college. that way, you’ll have tons of quality work experiences to choose from — ones that employers really want to see.

even if you don’t get credit for an internship through school or any type of paid compensation, the hands-on experience you get outside of the classroom (good or bad) is something that will be of exceptional value later in your career.

for more information about internships, major and career advice, visit nextstepu.com!

by annalise cosco. annalise was born and raised in fairport, n.y and attended st. john fisher college in rochester, n.y. she recently moved to nashville, tenn., and has a love and passion for writing and is a complete “news junkie.”

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your college essay — probably the most daunting, dreaded and time-consuming part of the college application process. you might find yourself asking: what am i supposed to write about? how do i know if the admissions office will like it? these are just a few of the many questions you’re likely asking yourself and could be the reason why you might be procrastinating writing your essay.

unfortunately, your application isn’t complete until the essay is done, and it might be the one thing that sets you apart from every other applicant and gets you into your dream school. choosing the essay topic is the hardest part, but once you start, it’ll be done before you know it! here are my five tips for coming up with topics for your college essay.

1. show them who you are

your college essay is a time to show the admissions counselors who you are. if you have a unique interest or hobby that stands out and that most other applicants won’t have, talk about it. it shows the kind of person you are and tell the admissions office that you’ll add character and diversity to their school.
 

2. think about a life-changing event

you might still be young, but that doesn’t mean you haven’t learned a valuable lesson in your life. if you’ve had an experience that changed your life or taught you a valuable lesson, explain what that event was and why it made an impact on your character.
 

3. discuss future career goals

if you already know the career goal you have and it’s something you’ve known for a long time, you’ve got a topic! it shows the college why you’re choosing them and that you’re a driven person with goals you’re trying to achieve.
 

4. address a gap in your résumé

so maybe your activity resumé is a little on the bare side — that’s okay, but talk about why that is. if you were really dedicated to something outside of school or had a personal issue that held you back from being involved, this is your time to tell them. colleges want students who are well-rounded and involved, if your activity resumé doesn’t show that, you want to tell them why.
 

5. use humor

this one isn’t a topic or situation, but is something you can incorporate in your essay. if you are creative and have a great sense of humor, let it show. if you can make someone laugh in your essay, it’s a way they will remember you when it comes time to send out those acceptance letters.
 

author bio: written by annalise cosco — a writer for nextstepu.com. cosco attended st. john fisher college in rochester, n.y. she has a love and passion for writing and is a complete “news junkie.” she’s the kind of girl who loves shopping, chick flicks and pumpkin flavored everything, but is also a complete sports fanatic!

for more college planning advice, visit nextstepu.com!

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sometimes when you are researching colleges, it seems like you need either a 4.0 gpa or a 2400 on the sat to be taken seriously as an applicant. and it is true that admissions counselors expect a lot from you. but if you aren’t a straight a student, there are still ways you can grab their attention. extracurricular activities are excellent ways for you set yourself apart from the hundreds of other applications that counselors must sift through. the way i see it, there are two main options when it comes to extracurriculars:

•  join every club, team and organization that interests you. do a little bit of work for each of them.

or

• join one or two clubs, teams and organizations (or a combo of the two) and fully commit to them. (that means be a leader, spend a lot of your non-school time with them, and be one of the best members.)

if you picked the first option, admissions counselors will see that you are social, capable of time management and have a strong sense of community and service. those are all components that make an ideal college student. also, the admissions counselor might see past your lower gpa and assume you will be the next mr. or ms. [insert college name here], a.k.a. that one person in your class that is involved with everything and pops up all over campus.

if you are partial to the second option, the admissions counselors will see how dedicated and loyal are. and they will assume that if you are fully dedicated to seeing your team or volunteer work until the end then you will be equally committed to fulfilling your education. in other words, they know you are not wasting their time; when you set your mind to something, you accomplish it.

now you might be wondering to yourself, what extracurricular you should look for or how you will manage to fit it into your schedule. here are a few examples for you:

• an avid jogger can join track or try out another sport for fitness.

• an aspiring writer can form a book club or join an art group to learn about different forms of expression.

• someone who is already a fully committed swimmer can take chorus or band as a class to fulfill his or her interest in music.

• a student who is busy with homework throughout the week can take the weekend to volunteer at the local animal shelter.

• want to be involved with the school play, but don’t have enough time to memorize lines? help build the set and make the costumes.

with these kinds of experiences in high school, admissions counselors will see that you are a hard worker, are interested in school and excel in multiple areas. and that means much more than an imperfect gpa.

written by rachel montpelier. rachel is a senior at nazareth college in rochester, n.y. and is the editorial assistant at nextstepu.

looking for more advice on navigating your senior year? register at nextstepu.com and customize your path to success.

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standardized tests are becoming less important to the admissions process. more colleges are realizing that a student’s academic success cannot be boiled down to a mere test score. however, that does not mean that standardized tests will become extinct in the near future. they are still a very important part of your application. test scores are more apt to determine the type of scholarship you are offered at a prospective school.

high sat or act scores can give you an edge. you will stand out from the crowd if you have straight a’s, extracurricular activities, and decent test scores on your transcript. this shows admissions counselors that you are smart, and you are also willing to work hard on academics that are separate from school. you are proving to them that you carved out special time to study for the tests, took prep classes or worked on practice tests. as corny as it sounds, high standardized test scores demonstrate that you went the extra mile. it will definitely pay off if the financial aid department gives you a scholarship worthy of your hard work.

so what does this mean? i’m not saying that you will receive zero scholarship dollars if you have a high gpa with a less-than-stellar sat score. i’m saying that the scholarship will probably not be the highest amount the college is willing to shell out.

conversely, if you push yourself to study hard and ace the sat or act, that bottom line will look a whole lot better to you and your parents. often, a college will offer different levels/amounts of scholarship money. if you take a prep class and get a good sat score, that is potentially thousands of extra dollars for you each semester. in most cases, the higher the standardized test score, the better the scholarship will be.

long story short: a poor sat score will probably not determine an admissions office’s decision to accept you. however, there is a strong possibility that you will not get as much financial aid as possible. while getting into college might seem like the most important thing right now, paying for college is just as significant. and i’m sure you won’t want to say no to your first-choice college just because they didn’t give you as much scholarship money as possible. so do yourself a favor and study hard for the sat and/or act. you will be happy you did when you get your financial aid package.

written by rachel montpelier. rachel is a senior at nazareth college in rochester, n.y. and is the editorial assistant at nextstepu.

looking for more advice on navigating your senior year? register at nextstepu.com and customize your path to success.

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we are in the middle of october and you should aim to get your college applications done and sent out around thanksgiving. here is a list of what you might need to know about, and still need to include in your application:

1. knowledge of common application or alternate
find out whether your school accepts the common app or requires a different, personal application.

2. knowledge of early action, early decision or regular decision deadlines
find out the difference between the three, decide which deadline you want to stick with and turn in your application on time.

3. letter(s) of recommendation
include one to three recommendations. start reminding your teachers now because they are notorious for not getting them back to you for weeks and weeks.

4. application fees or waivers
make sure to include a check or other form of payment for your application. if you have a fee waiver from a tour or interview, send that instead.

5. transcript
this list of your past courses and grades must be official, sealed and stamped by the guidance office. again, get these squared away early.

6. essay
aim for an essay about two pages long that will respond to one of the prompts included on the application form.

7. test scores (sat, act, ap, etc.)
use the sat/college board and act codes to have your score reports sent directly to your selected colleges. if any of your schools are test-optional, make sure the scores will make you look good.

8. transcripts/grades/proof of enrollment for any college credit classes
send these to the admissions counselors to prove you are a good student and to ensure that these credits transfer.

9. portfolio (if needed/requested)
portfolios are usually, but not always, required from potential art students. a collection of your past work is an indicator of what kind of student you are and will be in college.

10. any supplemental materials
find out if there are any extra questionnaires, surveys or forms that you need to fill out and include in your application. different schools have different requirements.

yup, it’s a long list. start working on it now and aim to complete a couple of tasks each week. that way, you can enjoy turkey day festivities without panicking about finishing your applications. i spent my thanksgiving break hanging with my family and reading, done with my applications and totally relieved. if you follow this list, you will be the same way.

written by rachel montpelier. rachel is a senior at nazareth college in rochester, n.y. and is the editorial assistant at nextstepu.

> looking for more advice on navigating your senior year? register at nextstepu.com and customize your path to success.

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]]> //www.catharsisit.com/hs/college-admissions/guest-post-application-checklist-10-things-you-might-still-need-to-do/feed/ 0 rachel-headshot //www.catharsisit.com/hs/college-admissions/guest-post-what-should-you-discuss-during-your-college-interview/ //www.catharsisit.com/hs/college-admissions/guest-post-what-should-you-discuss-during-your-college-interview/#respond tue, 17 sep 2013 09:00:41 +0000 //www.catharsisit.com/sat/?p=1216 here’s a great blog post from our new friends over at nextstepu! check it out: fall is here and that means it is college application time! if you’re planning on scheduling a college interview, you might be a little nervous. to put you at ease, here’s a list of things to talk about during the […]

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]]> here’s a great blog post from our new friends over at nextstepu! check it out:

fall is here and that means it is college application time! if you’re planning on scheduling a college interview, you might be a little nervous. to put you at ease, here’s a list of things to talk about during the interview.

1. your achievements in high school
it is awkward to brag about yourself. i know this. however, you need to flaunt all the great things that you did in high school if you are going to convince the interviewer that you deserve to be accepted. take this moment and talk about your grades, clubs, teams and interests. your high school career is the best indicator of what kind of student you will be in college. so talk about it!
 
2. prospective majors
this is why you are applying, after all. take the time and ask the admissions officer about possible fields of study. the interviewer might recommend some classes to take and some professors to seek out. on the other hand, you might find out that the school does not offer a program that fits. it is important to ask either way.
 
3. financial aid
your college website will tell you that no one should have to choose a college because of money. and then the college will turn around and not give you enough aid for tuition. the college interview is the best time to discuss possible scholarships, grants and work study. you have the chance to find out what to really expect from your financial aid package.
 
4. questions
the admissions officer knows it all: classes, majors, teachers, clubs, activities, buildings, etc. if you have any questions about the faculty to student ratio, the dining hall, volunteer work, tutoring services, or anything involving the school, the interviewer will know the answer. the interview is about getting into college, but it is also about getting to know the college. let the admissions officer know if you are unsure about anything.

 

this post was written by rachel montpelier, editorial assistant at nextstepu.com. check them out to get all kinds of advice on college and career planning. they’re awesome!

 
 
 

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]]> //www.catharsisit.com/hs/college-admissions/guest-post-what-should-you-discuss-during-your-college-interview/feed/ 0 rachel-headshot