How to Start Your College Application

Choosing a college major is indeed a problem for penultimate year students. Many of them are confused about what major to take in college until college admission arrives. When choosing a major we shall consider two crucial aspects: career and interest. Unfortunately, not all majors we love have a broad job prospect, and even many majors sadly have narrow job opportunities in the future. If you read thoroughly until the end, we assure you won’t get confused when choosing a college!

What should we prepare for college admission?
Being a freshman in college will make you confused because studying in college is different from studying at school. So before you enter college you must prepare several to adapt easier when you commence your study.

• Determine the college that you want to enter

Choosing the most suitable college for you is indeed a thoughtful task to do because you don’t want to spend your time, money and energy just to live in a not enjoyable college life right? So, It will be much better for you to make a pro-cons list of each college that you are interested in going into. Things that you need to consider in that pro-cons list are:

1. The availability of the major that you want to take in
2. The college’s location and environment
3. The alumni network and success rates.
4. Facilities and amenities that the college serve
5. The college’s accreditation

• Make a study plan to prepare for examination entry college.

When entering college, you usually should take an examination and follow some selection process first. You might be able to prepare for it from grade 10 because the examination material is about courses that you learn from grade 10 until grade 12. If you have difficulty understanding the material, you can ask your teacher or friends who understand the material to teach you. Self-taught by watching explanations on Youtube, Coursera, or another source is helpful as well! If you have more money, you can buy a book and follow tutoring after school. All references to study are the same; it depends on your intention. It is also imperative to learn regularly, at least one hour per day, working on some college practice questions obtained for free on the internet.

• Sort out your finances

This step may not seem like the most exciting task when preparing for college. Still, it’s mandatory to organize your finances before college life begins so you can do budgeting for the upcoming academic year. First, it’s pretty mandatory to open a bank account because most college payments use a bank account as the primary payment method. Next, research the tuition fee you have paid each month and discuss with your parents to arrange its budget. Not only that, the living cost should be things that you should be concerned about if you’re planning to live in a college dorm.

How to choose the right major for you?
Major is the primary field in the college. Therefore, choosing a major is vital before starting college because it will influence your education and career in college.

• Find out about the course in the major.

It is essential to take a course based on your ability to feel comfortable during the study. So, you must find out about the lesson you will learn during college later and choose a major under your passion, interest, and skill to avoid the wrong major.

• Find out about the job prospect of this major.

Keep in mind that the primary purpose of this college life is to prepare you for work life. Therefore, you need to wisely choose which faculty has a high demand in the future and is also suitable to your talent. If you think that you don’t have any particular skill at the moment, try to list all the things you love and hate to do. Next, research what activities will happen in a specific major, and then choose which major you think will include your favorite activity.

• Set a goal about the major that you want

If you don’t have some goal to reach before choosing a major, in the middle of your college life, there might be some thoughts such as “ Why do I even choose this major?” or “ I can’t continue learning this major anymore” and some kind of thoughts like that which may stress you a lot. Therefore, you need to set up your future goals, such as setting a target for your course grade or having a student internship in the 3rd year. This thing will help your college life be more guided.

Tips for writing a college admission essay
“Don’t exaggerate yourself” is the main principle in writing the college admission essay. At the beginning of the essay, you need to describe yourself as honestly as possible. Explain the reason why you chose the college as well as the major. Don’t forget to tell your dreams and hopes if you’re getting accepted into your dream college. State your opinion about the college as naturally as possible, and don’t make it too cliche. It will be better if you let someone proofread your essay to avoid any grammatical issues or miss typing.

“The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think — rather to improve our minds, to enable us to think for ourselves than to load the memory with thoughts of other men” — Bill Beatie.
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This quote can motivate you to study to prepare yourself better in the future because the time will not repeat twice, so don’t waste youth in vain. Instead, keep studying to learn, grow, and progress because we are agents of change in the future.

References
University of Sydney. (2019, August 9). How to prepare a strong scholarship recommendation. https://www.sydney.edu.au/study/why-choose-sydney/student-life/student-news/2019/08/09/how-to-prepare-a-strong-scholarship-application.html
University of Portland. (n.d.). How to prepare for college: College readiness guide. https://www.up.edu/ready-for-college/how-to-prepare-for-college.html
Campus Explorer. (2017, August 16). 5 Tips to help you choose a major. https://www.campusexplorer.com/college-advice-tips/3780DF0D/5-Tips-to-Help-You-Choose-a-Major/#:~:text=Tips%20for%20Choosing%20a%20Major.%20Choosing%20a%20 major,track%20in%20your%20 search%20for%20a%20major.%202
Ross, K.M., Haynie, D., & Moody, J. (2021, August 8). How to write a college essay. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-to-write-a-college-essay
Higginbotham, D. (July, 2021). 10 Things to do before starting university. https://www.prospects.ac.uk/applying-for-university/university-life/10-things-to-do-before-starting-university