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COLLEGE BOUND
THE NORTH PLATTE TELEGRAPH
SEPTEMBER 2021
College application mistakes to avoid LEE SHULMAN BIERER Tribune News Service C ollege applications are out; let the care- less errors begin. A sloppy college application, while one of the easiest students via email, and setting up a more professional account is an easy way to dodge a red flag. Inappropriate material on social media “be safe and sanitize.” Procrastination Applications are due as early as mid-October with the majority of regular decision deadlines hitting on or around Jan. 1. Why do as many as 50% of students wait until the last day, or even the last hour, to submit their applications? the last minute?” Avoid this experience at all costs, start the applicationsnow, andplan to submit them at least one week prior to the deadline. Misspellings
There is a lot of buzz in the college admissions community and among students and parents about themoral- ity and the reality of college admis- sions professionals checking up on the Facebook and Twitter accounts of applicants. I tell students, “If you aren’t comfortable with your grand- mother seeing/readingwhat youhave out there in cyberspace, remove it dur- ing your college admissions process.” Vulgar language and inappropriate photos and posts (drinking, etc.) are obvious candidates for removal, but if you or your student thinks some- thing is questionable, my advice is to
Spell-check is not a college appli- cant’s friend. Most applications are not enabled with spell-check, and that means that all your mistakes and careless errors are in full view. I recommend at least two rounds of proofing. Don’t use abbreviations unless you’re short on space. Be con- sistent with how you refer to organi- zations (i.e., your use of acronyms, uppercase and lowercase, etc.). One of the most common errors is that students forget to capitalize “i” — likely a carryover from texting. Proof, take a break of two or more days, reproof and then submit.
missteps to avoid, is probably among the most common mistake appli- cants make. Here are pitfalls that you can eas- ily prevent: A silly email address If your student created their email address in the second grade and it sounds something like “beachbum- 4life” or “cheerleadercutie,” it’s time for an update. Students can create an “acceptable” email account with Gmail in just a fewminutes. Colleges communicate almost exclusivelywith
Every year, without fail, college computer servers get overloaded with applicants applying at the last minute and shut down. “Panic- stricken” is probably a mild term for the chaos this creates in many households. You can imagine the conversation: Student: “Help, it’s not letting me submit my application.” Parent: “When is it due?” Student: “By midnight tonight.” Parent: “Why did you wait until
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