—resource: college search and scholarship tips

Here's my promised guide for seniors/people looking into colleges and scholarships. Hope those of you who need it find it useful! I've also made this entry public, so I really encourage you all to maybe post a link to this entry on your journals. I wrote it specifically with a few of my favorite flisters in mind, but I understand that there are lots of people out there who need some help and encouragement.

If you don't want to link someone to this entry: gDoc | tumblr post


TABLE OF CONTENTS
   i.  introduction
   ii. college search
        overview
        research procedures
        where faor's bias is revealed
        what to do with a loaded history
        conclusion
   iii. scholarships
        overview
        scholarship searches list
        how to use this list
        conclusion
   vi. essay writing
        general tips
        what to do with a loaded history, take two
   v. conclusion


FAOR'S BIG OLE TIP LIST FOR THE PROSPECTIVE COLLEGE STUDENT
i. introduction
I'm in college now. It's been awesome so far, and as far as I can see it, Macalester was the perfect match for me intellectually, spiritually, and financially. But in order to get here, I did a lot of research, did a lot of freaking out, and did a lot of applying and deciding. It is a hard process for everyone for has to go through it. I've seen a lot of people on my flist going through this right now—asking a lot of questions and wondering about a lot of things—and so I wrote this compilation of tips I wish someone told me when I was applying to colleges and doing scholarships. Hope they help!

ii. college search
overview
Apply to Macalester College. It's awesome and everything anyone could want from a school. It has great financial aid, it is great about diversity (especially with international students), and you can easily find a niche for yourself. And I'm there, which makes it even more THE place to be.

And now with that plug aside, let's be serious about this. Deciding on which colleges to apply to is an overwhelming task. There are just so many, and it's impossible to carefully comb through all of them to find the one(s) that are just right for you. What you have to do is develop a system. Any system will do. It will organize your thoughts, it will give you direction, and it will set up your mindspace to be able to really handle creating your mission statement (AKA your college essay, extracurricular activities and recommendations). I'm going to give you what I did, but know that there's no one right way of doing it.
research procedures
The most important rule is to talk to people about college. Go to your college counselor, your school counselor, your boss, your teachers, your friends, your flisters, your followers, your parents, your mentors, your coaches, your principal. Anyone who could have any information about colleges is the place to go. It's important that you try to find someone who is aware of your situation and your passions, because it makes a huge difference on where they will try to send you. If you don't have someone who knows you that well, make someone into someone who can help. Find a teacher you trust/like, explain to them that you need help and would like them to mentor you through this process, and don't be afraid to share a little bit about yourself that you normally wouldn't, especially about financial need. I swear, my entire college search list was built on the recommendations my counselor, teachers, and principal gave me.

If you really need somewhere to start, I suggest looking at Colleges That Change Lives. It's a list of colleges that "share two essential elements: a familial sense of communal enterprise that gets students heavily involved in cooperative rather than competitive learning, and a faculty of scholars devoted to helping young people develop their powers, mentors who often become their valued friends." Half the schools I applied to came from this list, and I got recommended Macalester because of these. I would have been happy if I had gone to any of those listed here.

After you have a list, you have to narrow it down and/or find out about what the school is all about. You can do this in a lot of different ways, but what I suggest is just using these two fabulously helpful websites: college prowler and inside college. I love Inside College because it is organized in lists, which not only gives you a lot of great things about your school, but then also allows you to pick colleges that are on these awesome lists too. Basically, bounce back between these two, the school's website and its wiki—plus the advice given to you about them.

My favorite Inside College lists: for the english major | gay friendly | expensive colleges that can be affordable | where you don't need to be needy to get financial aid | best undergraduate colleges | colleges most like hogwarts | happy colleges | colleges for the B/B- student | great colleges for the B student | meets the financial needs of students | hidden gems.
where faor's bias is revealed
Okay. That last list? The hidden gems? That leads me to a very, very important issue that may be a little controversial, but it's important to me. And that is: Be wary of the Ivys. Be wary of the Big Names. Be wary of for-profits.

You all know what I'm talking about. This isn't to say that these are bad colleges. Hell, I have friends in almost every Ivy, and my best friend goes to a Big Name (NYU). But... okay. I don't care how good you are as a student, I just want to put it out there how risky it is to center all your choices around these Big Names. First of all, they are hard to get into. Second of all, they don't always have the most supportive, united atmosphere when there is so much grade competition being thrown about. And in the bigger schools, you will most likely be lost as "just another" student. Thirdly, financial aid may be crap at these schools, especially if they are a for-profit college.

Give small/smaller liberal arts colleges a try. I am saying this as a someone in a college that is small (just two thousand students) and nonprofit. These colleges go through a lot of effort to give their students a worthwhile, unforgettable experience. They want to do well, and they want to support you.

Another reason these colleges are awesome? They are more likely to give huge grants that make these extremely expensive colleges affordable. For example, Macalester costs about $54,000 a year. Frightening to look at, yes... until you count in the financial aid. I don't have the exact numbers on me, but basically, I got $46,000 in grants and scholarships, with the rest in loan. Macalester is a top-ranked college, and I'm only paying $24,000 for the whole four years on loan.

Opposition may say that certain students "deserve" Ivys and/or Big Names. My gut reaction is to call ELITISM, but since I'm a reasonable person, I always refrain. Being in a school where people instantly know the name of it may be convenient, but it doesn't mean that it's the only good options out there. What matters is not the prestige of the school, but the education you are getting. An employer or graduate program application reviewer may not know the name of your school if you go to a small one, but it will only take them a minute or two to simply look it up. Macalester is a little known school to those outside of Minnesota, but the people who do know it have been impressed, and people are equally as pleased when I tell them a little about it if they don't know. So, yes, maybe it doesn't have the immediate acknowledgement you get from going to a Big Name, but you don't need it. Yet again, the measure of a school is its mission and drive, and the students and faculty in it, NOT whether people will recognize it in a conversation.

So basically, at least think about it. Maybe have two smaller places thrown in in between your Ivys. And if you do end up searching for smaller liberal arts colleges, it might be harder to weed out the good small schools versus the bad ones, but it's so worth it in the end.
what to do with a loaded history
I am as smart as my high school friends. I am just as talented, I am just as driven, I suck at certain subjects but excel at others, I love school just as much as them, and I care as much about my future as they do. But, I knew I would not be able to apply to the schools they did. See, I fucked up big time for a while. I had an extremely legitimate excuse (one that was included time and time again in my applications), but if you are going in with a loaded history like I was, you have to be realistic. It's no reflection on your abilities or intelligence that you will not be able to get into an Ivy because xyz happened to you. (Hell, it's no reflection on you even if you had a totally normal life but didn't "excel" as much as a Ivy demands you to.) Apply to schools that care about their students personally, because they are more likely to understand you on a personal level during the application/acceptance process.

You must talk to people. Must. Ask them for advice and recommendations and whatever help they can give you.

Ask your counselor to write you an application supplement. This letter is not a recommendation, and you shouldn't count it as such. It should be an addendum to your transcript, where your counselor will discuss your personal issues, why your grades suck and/or what challenges you faced during your academic career. Tell your colleges beforehand that this letter is coming, and that they should not treat it as a recommendation. Even if it means that your counselor will need to mail them in individually, and that you will have to include a note about the letter in your supplemental documents upload section... DO THIS. This may mean you getting into a specific college and you not.
conclusion
It's going to be a hard decision no matter what you do. Just remember that in the end, college is what you make of it. Sure, the quality of the classes are determinate on where you're going, but even as a first semester freshman, I can see how much of my own experience is based on me and my choices. No matter where you end up, go out of your comfort zones and do a lot of shit, and you should be fine!

iii. scholarships
overview
Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Scholarships are the bane of a prospective student's existence. I'll talk more about how I feel about scholarships later, but know that this shit will eat up ALL your time if you do it correctly, even if it could be really worth your time.
scholarship searches list
Right now, I only use:
 cappex (My favorite.)
 fastweb (Acts as the supplement to cappex.)

I saw these in a scholarship how-to book (haven't looked at them yet):
 collegeboard
 collegeanswer
 fastaid
 scholarships.com
 finaid

My counselor recommended these (haven't looked at them yet):
 blackexcel
 blackscholar
 collegescholarships.com
 collegeview
 gocollege
 hispanicscholarshipfund
 studentawards
 supercollege
 collegetoolkit
 education planner
 salliemae
 american education services
 lesbian scholarships
 finaid for lgbtq
how to use this list
You probably don't need all of them. I suggest clicking through them, finding out which ones have layouts you like (very important), and which ones don't have too many overlapping scholarships (this may be a little harder to notice at first). I am only using the first two sites, and I have lined up about one-four scholarship possibilities a week. Also! When you've settled into a site, be sure to check out the funky deadline ones (they are usually at the bottom of the list). They tend to be monthly scholarships that you can apply to whenever! and monthly! These are good to help build up your Scholarship Essay Portfolio (because yes, scholarship essay writing is an art).

Don't ever pay for a scholarship or scholarship website. That means it is a scam. Also, be wary of scholarships even if they are listed on the websites I provided, so if you don't feel comfortable with something about them, don't do them.

APPLY TO $500 SCHOLARSHIPS. Hell, apply to $250. Apply to any prize-giving amount. Don't judge a competition based on the reward. Every little bit helps. And every time you win one, you can include that scholarship in your resume/application to another scholarship. They like seeing that.

When using these sites, DON'T SAVE OR DO SCHOLARSHIPS YOU DON'T LIKE. I'm serious. Just because I can write an essay on the importance and engineering of a type of equipment used in rescue missions, doesn't mean I have to or even should write it. People can tell when you really don't care, and it takes away from the essay.

Doing such a specific essay also means you cannot reuse it for another application, which really sucks because you should ALWAYS REUSE YOUR ESSAYS IF YOU CAN. But make sure to alter each so that they fit what the scholarship's goals are (IMPORTANT) and to answer the question at hand. Consider this situation: a scholarship [1] that's geared toward Leaders of the Future asks "Who has influenced you most in your life?" and a scholarship [2] that's geared toward rewarding creative thinkers asks "Name a role model who has had a great impact in your life." You can and should use the same essay for both applications. However, consider the differences in the questions, especially once you factor in the goals of the institution. [1] wants leaders. They want to know about someone who has influenced your life in a way that has made you into a stronger leader. [2] wants creative thinkers. You got to talk about how your role model opened your mind to new ideas. It's completely different approaches and topics, but you can make them the same with a little thinking/bullshitting. Most of the time, you will have to change a sentence or two (for a short essay) or the entire intro/ending (for a longer essay).
conclusion
You will not win every scholarship. You will put a lot of effort into them, maybe even go through a frenzy like I did. You may end up rewriting and editing and drafting a million times over. They might be really good fucking essays. But... you will not win all of them. Hell, you may not win any. There's all these success stories out there of people winning enough scholarships to pay for all their expenses, but those stories are isolated and are not the truth of what happens to everyone out there. You must be realistic. You may win one scholarship; you may win none. I applied to a ton of them, and won none. My essays were amazing, but I had personal issues that affected my grades for a while, so it makes it extremely hard to win anything.

I'm ending this section on such a party-pooper note because I think it's important. Do not rely on scholarship competitions. They should be a supplement to your financial aid reward, not your entire reward. And if you don't win, do not think it's a reflection of you. I am an awesome person. No really. I am an awesome person. But my track record is a little iffy at times, and it makes scholarship people wary. That doesn't make me less of a person. It just means that I will have to think harder about which scholarships make sense for me.

tl;dr: DON'T GIVE UP (BUT BE REALISTIC)!

iv.essay writing
general tips
NEVER LIE.

REUSE ESSAYS.

ANSWER THE GODDAMN QUESTION.

DON'T RUSH AN ESSAY. It's better if you just not apply that submit something you are unhappy with. Start earlier. DO IT. Once you have practice, it'll take you a lot less time, but for now, plan for to submit the application a week in advance.

EDIT AND HAVE SOMEONE ELSE READ IT. I'll admit I'm a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to this, but generally, you really should have someone read over your essay for you NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOU THINK YOU ARE. They can see what you miss; they can give you a perspective you might not have thought of before.

READ EXAMPLES OF GOOD ESSAYS. READ EXAMPLES OF BAD ESSAYS. It'll take you one afternoon in Barnes&Noble skimming over a book, and I cannot stress how important it was to me to have some idea of what to do/not to do.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR ESSAY AS A "BAD ESSAY." Then: FIX THAT BAD ESSAY.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO REWRITE AND RESTART FROM SCRATCH.

START EARLY. AS EARLY AS YOU CAN. PLEASE HEED THIS. There are actual scholarships available to students in grades as early as middle school, just as there are for lower term hs students. They are out there, and it's awesome to get started early because not as many people start applying to scholarships so early. Less competition for you. You may not get any—you're still a developing writer then—but hey, practice (and experience) makes perfect. You not only get to practice your writing skills, but you get an exclusive peek at what scholarships (and colleges!) are looking for every time you do them. Notice that you don't have any volunteer work to put in? Find something to do. Notice that you don't have any recommenders? Try to find a subject&teacher combo where you can put a little more effort in the class for for maximum profit.

ALWAYS DO THE "OPTIONAL" ESSAY. That "optional" is a lie.

TRY TO INCLUDE A SECOND ESSAY. This is for the overachievers in us. There are ways of doing this, you just have to figure it out. Like, there's this special area in the Common App where you can upload supplemental documents. In that section, I uploaded two/three things: one was a quick description about why my grades sucked, and the other was a second college essay. Even if the college can't/won't read it, it doesn't hurt to try, especially if you are really worried about your essay or are very confident about your writing. Just be sure that the BETTER essay is the main one submitted, and that the second essay is one that answers one from the Comm App questions (that isn't the same as your main essay).
what to do with a loaded history, take two
"Scholarship judges [and college admission panelists] don't want a sob story." I read this in a scholarship how-to, and it's something that's really influenced every one of my essays. I myself have come from a hard home situation, and it's really tempting to just write about my struggles and be done with it.

But the truth of the matter is that the person with the best essay will win, not the person with the worst history. Even when they ask you to describe a challenge that you've overcome, they don't just want the story. They really want to know how you've overcome it; what you've learned; how you've grown. In the end, it's all about maintaining a balance between getting your story across and talking about how insightful/thoughtful you are. Your goal is to make sure that instead of feeling (a) sorry for you because xyz happened, the scholarship judges walk away feeling (b) impressed by you because xyz happened and you were able to still have hope for a better tomorrow.

Oh, and sometimes, it's okay not to talk about the xyz thing that's happened, no matter how fitting it may be to include it. This doesn't apply to questions directly asking you to discuss your challenges. But say if a scholarship asks "Who has had the biggest impact on your life?" I can write about my father, all the stuff he did to me and how that revolutionized my life, but it doesn't mean I should. I didn't. I wrote about my teachers instead. While talking about my father would have made a better "sob story," writing about my teachers made a better essay, which is what you're actually aiming for. BUT creative thinking still let the judges know what was up: because it was my teachers who helped me through the difficult times, I was able to hint at and (in longer essays) include the story about my father.

College essays are a little tricker, because it's important for them to know and keep that in mind, especially if it had an impact on your grades. It's really up to you to decide how much is appropriate. Keep in mind that there's several sections where you can include extra information about yourself if there was something that affected your situation and/or grades. I know that there's specifically a section where you can upload supplemental documents. Include a concise essay there summarizing the events in your life that led to difficulty in your life without making it a sob story.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME, don't be afraid to tell your story. It's what's made you you, after all.

v. conclusion
OKAY SO I AM DONE. Good luck with all you do, and I hope you get in to somewhere that appreciates you NEARLY as much as I do you! Also: please share this entry. I've put a lot of time into it, and would love it if other people found out about it!