Many students plan road trips to decide right school for them
BY ANGELIQUE SOENARIE
Staff Writer
Shifali Baliga is heading to New York for spring break. She doesn't plan to check out the latest fashion or catch a play, but she will shop for colleges.
"Before I make any final decision to apply, I'm definitely going to visit the campuses" said Baliga, 15, a junior at Brookstone School, who wants to be a pediatrician. In April, she will visit New York University and Columbia University.
While she's touring the colleges, she plans to "eat the food on campus, stay overnight with someone and ask college students what they like about the schools."
In the valley, Baliga is one of many high school students looking to visit colleges and universities between spring and summer. Before they decide which schools to apply to, students will consider many factors including location, finances, social activities, scholarships, family traditions and special programs.
Special programs
Corey Phillips, 17, a senior at Carver High School, will be the first in his family to go to college. His father is a truck driver and his mother stays at home. The Carver senior, who wants to be an engineer, has applied to Texas A&M University and Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
"Texas A&M offers one of the best nuclear engineering programs in the nation," said Phillips, who has visited the campus several times. "And Washington University has a really good physics program and it's really researched based."
Following tradition
Attending an historical black college or university is important to Shaquaya Lewis, 17, a senior at Carver High School. She began looking at colleges in the ninth grade and, at one point, was interested in Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, but decided not to apply because the private school was too expensive. Now, she's considering going to Albany State University.
"My father's family is from Albany and most of them attended Albany State," said Lewis, who has visited the university's campus on numerous occasions. "I like the campus, I like the town, and I have family. I won't be lonely and I have a lot of friends that want to go, too."
In college, Lewis plans to major in criminal justice and join a sorority.
"I plan to pledge Delta (Sigma Theta)," Lewis said, adding that two of her cousins are members of the organization. "That particular group promotes sisterhood and has good role models."
How to get there
Having a list of colleges to check out by your senior year is the first step to knowing which college you want to attend.
Next, you need to take ACT and SAT tests. Then, send off college applications during the fall of your senior year. Karen Webb at the University of Georgia in Athens, urges students to start choosing colleges as soon as they enter high school.
"By the summer of their junior year and the summer prior to their senior year, they should've narrowed that list to about five schools that they want to apply to," she said. "It's good to have that so they can take their time over the summer to start working with teachers and on letters of recommendations."
Webb said many universities have applications online. A student can work on the application several times before submitting it. She strongly advises students not to wait until the night before the deadline to apply.
"The advantage of applying early is you can get a decision," Webb said, adding that seniors should send their applications by November.
Making it on their own
With one year left of high school, Baliga is interested in four colleges: New York University, N.Y., Columbia University, N.Y., Princeton University, N.J, and George Washington University, Washington D.C.
"A lot of the schools I'm looking at are in the northeast, because I like the feel of being in the northeast," she said. "Like New York there are so many different people, and it's always busy, and it's always thriving and exciting."
Phillips, who grew up in the South, is also looking at college as his freedom of independence and striking it on his own.
"I want to go somewhere where I haven't lived. I want to experience a new place since college will be a new thing," he said. "I really like the fact that I'm going to meet new people and the fact that it will probably be diverse."
ONLINE TREND The number of college applications has increased over the past 10 years partly because of the availability of college information and admission applications online, said Judy Hingle, a director at the National Association for College Admission based in Virginia. Should students send a college resume? Send one when it's requested or if you want to add information not included in the application, said Karen Webb at the University of Georgia in Athens. "It's to the student's advantage to submit any information that may provide additional information about his or her credentials. For example, if a university did not ask for leadership activities or awards then it would be a good idea to send information that may address that so that it can be considered in the application process," she said. TIPS FOR SENIORS • Gather college admission applications and financial aid forms. • Pay attention to application deadlines. • Review your academic and personal record with your guidance counselor. • Take the ACT and/or SAT. • Ask counselors and teachers to write letters of recommendation. • Schedule college visits and set up interviews during school breaks. Plus, read college newspapers and bulletin boards. Find more information at
www.ledger-enquirer.com To follow a schedule to prepare for college from freshman to senior year check out these sites.
www.nacacnet.org www.GAcollege411.org www.collegeboard.com
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Saturday, February 25th 2006 at 8:04AM
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