Your senior year of high school is full of so many things…taking senior pictures, ordering your cap and gown, sending out graduation announcements, submitting photos, planning parties, senior trips, and on and on! In the midst of it all, you’re probably dreaming of the independence of college. Maybe you already know your next life-destination is a Christian college or university, but the fall of 2021 still feels like the distant future. It may surprise you to realize: it’s closer than you think! With all of the many things still to do, NOW is a great time to start filling out your college applications!
But first things first! Have you made your list of potential colleges yet? If not, do some research right here at www.christianconnector.com and find out what schools might be a good fit for you, depending upon your desired major, preferred region of the country or economic factors. These days, experts recommend applying to a minimum of five colleges and say that even eight to ten is a good bet. A very simple way to apply to multiple Christian colleges at one time is to visit www.applicationU.com where you’re able to apply to as many schools as you’d like at one time. Your first three applications are totally free!
So…you still may be asking why it’s a good idea to get a jump on the college application process. Here are a few of the reasons:
Early admission can lead to early acceptance and planning. In general, applying early can increase your chances of acceptance, though it is certainly not the only factor. Certain Christian colleges have something known as an early admissions plan (or early action plan) which allows you to apply by the fall of your senior year and hear back whether or not you’ve been accepted by mid-December. This is definitely something worth checking into! Do be aware that some colleges only allow you to pursue one school for an early admissions decision (commonly known as restrictive early admissions or single choice early admissions) but this is not usually the case. Often the deadline for these plans is November 1 or 15, whereas most regular admissions (sometimes called rolling admissions) generally have deadlines in January or later. With regular admissions, colleges tend to wait until they have received a decent bulk of their expected applications and send out acceptance notifications sometime between March and April. So, if planning ahead matters to you, and you’d rather not wait until the spring to hear back, applying early is definitely to your advantage.
You’ll be able to move forward with other important steps towards college. Once you get the application ball rolling, you’ll be free to focus on other vital parts of the process such as requesting transcripts from your high school guidance counselor or necessary letters of recommendation from your teachers. You can also go ahead and fill out the FAFSA form (Free Application for Student Aid) which will eventually allow you to scope out and compare potential financial aid packages from the various schools to which you’ve applied and been accepted. Applying for scholarships can be overwhelming as well, but with your applications submitted, you can put that step behind you and focus on obtaining the financial assistance that is often right there waiting if you’ll put in a little leg work to get it!
You’ll free up time to enjoy the culmination of high school! A good mantra to keep in mind your senior year is: work hard now, play hard later. While procrastination feels good now it rarely pays off in the long run. No one enjoys the feelings of deadlines crunching in from all sides—and your senior year would not be complete without dozens of deadlines, big and small. Get a jump on things and don’t put off until tomorrow what could easily be done today–especially when you apply to your dream Christian college through www.applicationU.com and commit the process to God’s Hands! There are so many more wonderful opportunities in store for you … more memories waiting to be made (both in college, and yet in high school). Why not take the plunge and apply for college NOW? The day when you’ll finally get to launch that graduation cap high into the air signifying a job well-done is right around the corner. Work diligently now so that day can be met with full delight!