Getting Started

This section provides an in depth look at choosing the right community college. We’ll cover the reasons why community college is a good choice and the best steps to take when making your decision. Find tips and resources to aid in your search for the perfect school.

View the most popular articles in Getting Started:

How to Get the Most Out of Your College Visits this Summer

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How to Get the Most Out of Your College Visits this Summer
If you're preparing to apply to college, use your summer wisely and complete a few college visits. Read on to learn how to plan and how to get the most from each visit.

Whether you’re planning to attend an Ivy League school, or you want to start out at community college, it’s important to find the right fit. There are so many colleges and universities out there that there’s no reason you can’t find one that suits your needs and preferences.

But how do you go about choosing the perfect college?

You have to start somewhere, so talk to your high school counselor, do some research online, or ask around with your friends and family to start making a list of colleges you may be interested in. As you go deeper with your research, you’ll start to get a feel for each school, and you’ll start to get an idea whether you would fit in there.

Once you have narrowed down your list to a few top picks, it’s time to take the next step – college visits. In this article, we’ll talk about the importance of college visits and how to do them right.

Why Is It Important to Do College Visits?

The college application process is very time-consuming, and it can be stressful knowing that every detail of your application could be scrutinized. When you work that hard to put together the perfect application, you want to know that it’s being sent in the right direction. If you don’t take the time to visit and learn about the schools you’re applying to, it could be wasted effort.

On the other side of things, completing a college visit can

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An In-Depth Guide to Crafting the Perfect College Admissions Essay

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An In-Depth Guide to Crafting the Perfect College Admissions Essay
Read on to learn the ins and outs of crafting the perfect college application essay.

Every year, colleges receive thousands of applications from qualified students. Each school has its own criteria for admission, but test scores and your high school GPA will only get you so far. In addition to these metrics, colleges and universities use various other things to narrow down their list of applications – a college admissions essay is one of them.

When filling out college applications, you have the opportunity to highlight your accomplishments and relevant experiences, but those things don’t necessarily paint an accurate picture of who you are. That’s where the admissions essay comes in – it’s a chance for you to tell your story and to give the admissions committee an idea of what makes you unique and why you would be a good fit for their school.

Writing a college admissions essay can be a nerve-wracking experience because there is so much riding on it. Keep reading to receive an in-depth guide to crafting the perfect college admissions essay.

General Guidelines for Admissions Essays

Before we get into the nitty-gritty details of crafting an unforgettable essay, let’s highlight some simple tips to keep in mind as you write:

  • Keep it concise. Even if the application doesn’t specify a word limit, most admissions counselors will start to get bored around the 500-word mark. Definitely meet the minimum word requirement, but don’t write a novel.
  • Be yourself. It may seem like the point
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Simple Tips for Bulking Up Your Community College Application

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Simple Tips for Bulking Up Your Community College Application
Though many people assume community college is easier than "real" college, you still need to have a strong application if you want to get in. Keep reading to learn more.

Though many people assume that community college is somehow less of a “real” school than traditional colleges and universities, students at a community college must go through the same admissions process. Community colleges each have their own set of requirements for potential students which vary depending on a number of factors. The size of the school, its location, and the programs offered will all affect the admissions process.

Though each school is unique in terms of its requirements, the same basic rules apply to all college applicants. You’ll need to have some kind of standardized test score (either SAT or ACT) and a high school transcript. You may be required to submit letters of recommendation and some kind of personal essay. The admissions team will also want to know about any extra-curricular activities you’ve been involved in because they are looking to create a diverse, well-rounded student body. Keep reading to learn some simple tips for bulking up your community college application.

What Do Admissions Officers Look For?

When a college admissions officer looks over your application, there are several things they’re going to look for. First of all, they’re going to look at your high school transcript but, despite what you might have been told, your grades aren’t the only thing they consider. More important than the grades you get in your classes are the classes themselves as well as the difficulty of the high school curriculum as a whole. Admissions officers look to make

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What to Consider When Choosing a Community College

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What to Consider When Choosing a Community College
There are thousands of different schools out there, so how do you make your choice? Consider these three categories to narrow your search and find the perfect school.

For many high school students, attending college is the next logical step after graduation. According to the U.S. Department of Education, there are more than 2,300 institutions that grant 4-year degrees and around 1,500 community colleges. With so many options out there, making a decision can be quite difficult. If you want to make sure that you end up going to the right school, take the time to think about your future before you start shopping for schools then consider each option in depth, focusing on three categories in particular – academics, student life, and finances.

Before You Start Looking

Though many students look at it this way, college is not just something you do after high school – it is a wonderful opportunity to shape your future and it is an important choice that will affect the rest of your life. This being the case, you need to do some thinking and planning before you actually start shopping for schools so you have some idea about what you are looking for. First, think about your professional goals for the future – what kind of job do you see yourself having ten years down the line? Next, take that idea and delve a little deeper into the industry – are there any requirements or certifications you will need and how stable is a job in that industry? Finally, think about where you want to go to school – do you want to stay close to home or take

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The Top 10 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Community College

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The Top 10 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Community College
Going to college is a big deal and so is choosing the right one. Keep reading to learn the top 10 questions to ask yourself before attending college and the best questions to help you make the right choice.

Choosing a college is a major decision that will affect at least the next two to four years of your life, depending on which school and which program you choose. Many students attend college right out of high school simply because it seems like the logical next step. With college tuition rising each year and millions of college graduates still struggling to start a career, however, it is important to think through this decision systematically before you make your choice.

Here are the top ten questions to ask yourself before going to college, as well as some important questions to ask when it comes to making your decision.

This video explains why community college is a good choice.

Ten Questions to Ask Yourself Before Going to College

Before you even decide to attend college, there are some important questions that you need to ask yourself. Your answers to these questions will help you to determine if the timing is right for you to attend college or if you might be better off waiting a few years. These questions will also help you to narrow down your choice for a major so you can choose the best college to fit your interests. Here are the top ten questions to ask yourself as you think about attending college:

  1. Do you know what you want to study? If you don’t already have some idea of what you
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Choosing a School