AboutSue Kayton Expertise I can help with recommendations for high school students interested in math / science oriented fields at the highly-selective universities.
Experience I have been interviewing high school students for MIT for 29 years, and keep on top of what other competitive universities are doing. My website http://www.suekayton.com/college.htm provides a lot of information - read this first before asking a question, please.
Education/Credentials I graduated MIT and so did my son.
Question Hi Sue. I just started Summer Vacation and I am going to be a high school senior next school year. I have all ready taken my SAT and ACT tests but I am very confused as to what I should do now in the admissions process. I have a few schools that I plan on visiting. But when do I need to start filling out the paperwork and beginning my essay? When do colleges make these applications available? Also even though I have a few schools in mine, where can I find information on what schools have the best programs for business/medical etc.. ? What can I do over the summer to be more productive towards the acceptance process for colleges? ...I would really appreciate your help on these topics considering your expertise.
Thanks.
Answer Depending on which colleges you apply to, you may need to take one or more SAT-II tests, in which case you need to sign up now and take them in October or December. This means allocating time to study over the summer.
Most colleges already have their application forms online, which list the essay topics. That means you can start planning your essays and writing them NOW over the summer for the colleges that you know you will apply to. Make sure they are the forms for the coming fall since some colleges still have last year's forms online. You don't want to waste a lot of time on the wrong forms and wrong essay topics.
There are no "best" colleges. What is "best" for one person isn't "best" for someone else. There are, by contrast, plenty of terrible colleges that are wrong for everyone. Think about what you want in a college
- Big city, tiny town, suburban environment?
- Huge school, tiny college, something in between?
- Geographic location and weather considerations
- Close to home, very far away, in between?
- Are some schools too expensive to consider?
- Directly to 4 year college, or community college for first two years?
- Religious affiliation or not?
- Any particular sport, hobby or interest that college needs to support?
- Based on my high school grades and test scores, are there some schools that I shouldn't waste my time applying to?
Then email me with more specific questions. Most kids apply to one "safe" school that they know they will be admitted to, plus between 2 and 6 schools that they have a reasonable chance of getting in to, plus 1 or 2 "reach" schools that have a small probability of admission but look really interesting.
What can you do over the summer, besides start writing essays? Get a job to help you figure out what career or college major you want to pursue, read interesting books (http://www.suekayton.com/reading.htm has a nice list), volunteer community service if you can't find a paying job, etc.
I do NOT suggest visiting a bunch of colleges. Empty buildings all look a lot alike. Visit one or two local colleges in your local community to get an idea of what colleges in general look like, then visit college websites to get a look without a lot of time, travel, and expensve.
