Application Deadlines - It's Getting Real

Mauricio Vazquez Oct 26, 2023
7 People Read

We're close to submitting college applications, and here are some of the things racing through my mind.

Reality Check

Whoa. Our baby is applying for colleges. Where did the time go? Time to breathe in, stand back from life and give myself a pat on the back. I played a big role in helping form this kind, intelligent, empathetic, ambitious, and good human. College is another step on her journey through life. Let's see where this goes.

Early Action

Kiki is applying early action for five schools. This means that she will submit her applications to those schools on November 1st. We identified these five schools as being worth the early application. The main reasons being:

  • Higher odds of acceptance as it shows that we're serious.

  • Priority status for housing and roommate selection.

  • Better chance of getting in line early for financial aid.

For the non early action schools on her list, she will apply by the regular deadlines, most of which are in January.

Every kid and every family is different. The planning can be totally different. We are pretty much finished with preparing college applications, yet she has classmates who haven't started on their applications yet. And that's perfectly OK! Different game plans.

FAFSA

We have a call with our financial aid counselor to cross the T's and such scheduled for today. The FAFSA form is the all-important one we all need to fill out when applying for college admission. Accuracy is so key because it's never a good idea to bend the truth on anything government-related that has to do with finances.

I learned that the hard way long ago. Maybe that's for another post.

Cost of Apps

It dawned on me about one month ago that applying to college is not free. Kiki is applying to 15 colleges. Each application costs anywhere between $50 and $100, depending on the school. Yikes. I didn't fully realize this until recently. And that's one less Taylor Swift ticket we won't be buying.

Kidding, we were never going. I thought about it for a hot second and then came back to earth. We'll watch the movie.

She is applying to two or three schools that are "reaches". By that, I mean schools that likely won't accept her. But they are worth the shot. It might be a waste of money to apply, but we'll see.

So it's worth thinking about. We want to make sure that our application money is going toward schools that check as many boxes as possible.

  • Does she like the school? Do they offer what she wants?

  • Would the school likely want her? Odds of acceptance.

  • How likely is it that the school will give us their money? We want free money.

  • Can we afford the tuition/room/board? Assuming we get minimal financial aid.

Final Prep

Time to put those finishing touches on the main and supplemental essays. For the main essays, the key is to communicate passion. The reviewers are going through a lot of applications. Stand out. Make them remember you. Communicate in a memorable way why you want to attend their school.

Expectations

It's tougher than ever to get accepted into a 4-year college. I remember getting accepted into UCLA, UCSB, and CSUN. This was back in 1989. In 2023, with my grades and extracurriculars, I might not get into any of those schools. Plus, they were all affordable back then.

What happened to the world? Well, that's why I started this blog. Two parts education, two parts insight, and one part venting. Enjoy.