Summer College Checklist for Rising Seniors

So you are officially a senior...this is exciting right? Only one more year of high school and then you are off to pursue the major of your choice at hopefully the college of your choosing! Although many students would like the college application process to be over already, you still have many months left. Some of the more important months throughout this process are June, July and August. The summer is a crucial time to prepare, search, and begin to formalize your college application plans. It is definitely not a time to sit around and do nothing. So look at these following tips on ways you can best utilize your summer days to best prepare yourself for the fall when you finally apply to college!

Get Involved: Depending on the selectiveness of the colleges you are applying to, admissions counselors are looking for applicants who have done something positive during their time off. Whether it is traveling, taking a pre-college summer class, volunteering, or working, make sure you are doing something! It looks good on college applications and it is just good to stay active in a positive way!

Continue to visit schools: If you are able to get to college campuses during the school year, that is great, but it is not always possible. Although high school does not begin until September, many colleges start during the last week or two of August. Whether you can go in August, or the other summer months, visiting schools is a vital part of this process. Get to the campus, walk around, ask questions, and imagine if this is the best place for you. Make sure to contact the undergraduate admissions office prior to the visit, to see if they offer an information session or guided tour while you are there.

Begin narrowing down your college list: With many application deadlines beginning in November (some earlier), it is now time to eliminate some colleges from your list. You should end up with about 8-10 colleges on your list; all of which you would love to attend. Make sure to have at least 2-3 colleges that you are certain you will be accepted into, often referred to as safety schools. Safety schools should still be schools that you have investigated and would be happy attending. Your list should reflect hard work on your part, and you want to be completely satisfied with the final amount of schools you apply to in the fall.

Research school specific application guidelines: Colleges differ across the board on application procedures such as how to apply (Common Application or their own), deadlines for regular decision, early action/early decision, priority, and rolling decisions, and application requirements such as SATs, subject tests, and additional supplements. Be sure to have all of the requirements and deadlines organized in one centralized location to reference (i.e. your college list)

Work on your résumé for college: You are able to upload a résumé for many colleges, so you want to be prepared. Try your best to remember everything you have been involved in and accomplished during your time in high school, and get these down on paper in an organized template.

Make your plan for admission testing: You may be satisfied with your SAT and/or ACT scores, which is great! However, many students need to retake these tests in hopes of higher scores. For the SAT, there are testing dates in October, November, and December, which most likely are the latest ones you can take. For the ACT there are testing dates in September, October, and December. Also, if any of your colleges require subject tests (SAT II), remember to sign-up during one of these test dates. You cannot take the SAT and Subject test the same sitting, so please plan accordingly!

Begin the Common Application starting in August: The Common Application opens August 1st. Feel free to create an account and begin working on the application. There is no need to rush this, but it will be helpful to get familiar with the application and see what other supplements are needed for schools. Also, if you haven’t done so already, start writing the main CA essay, and feel free to send it to your college counselor to help with editing.


Keep in touch with your counselor: If you have any pressing questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to your college counselor. Also, once school begins, make an appointment to see your counselor and talk about a plan to apply to schools.

-Mr. Joe Korfmacher, MA

SAT Changes-Starting 2016

As many of you know by now, the SAT is getting a facelift in the next couple of years. These changes most likely will only affect current freshmen and the classes after them, as the new SAT will not appear until spring of 2016. However, I wanted to give you a breakdown of the basics of the changes that are coming our way. Overall, the SAT wanted to create a test that is tougher to prep for and is more relevant to what students are learning in the classroom. Below are the big changes:

·         The SAT is going back to 1600 points coming only from math and critical reading (2400 points had a good run, but it will be no more starting in 2016)

·         The essay will be optional (as with the ACT, the essay will be optional, but I would imagine students will want to take this part of the SAT) The essay will also be a combination of reading, comprehending, analyzing, and writing.

·         As with the ACT, there no longer will be a guessing penalty. That means the student will not lose points for a wrong answer.

·         Math will focus on three areas: linear equations; complex equations or functions; and ratios, percentages, and proportional reasoning. Also, calculators will only be permitted for part of the math section.

·         The reading and writing sections will include source documents from a wide range of areas, even science.

·         There will be fewer questions with a greater focus on in-depth analysis of content

These are exciting times for the SATs and students who will be taking them. If you are a freshmen in high school (or younger), or a parent of one, these changes will matter and it’s never too early to start getting prepared!


-Mr. Korfmacher, MA

New Common Application Tips

The Common Application is new and there have been problems. This is no surprise. Hopefully, these following trips can help over the course of the next few weeks when many students are submitting their applications. 

Early Decision agreements and outside recommenders: If you are applying to a school via early decision, you, a parent, and your counselor must approve this through signing an electronic document. This is done through the ‘assign recommenders’ section of the member school part of the CA. You will indicate that you are applying ED to one school, and then you will invite a parent. Make sure you accurately input their name and their email address. Then when you are done, you must assign the parent. Both of these steps must be done in order for the ED agreement to be sent. As long as you do your part on the CA and indicate on Naviance that you applying ED, your counselor will be able to submit his portion of the agreement.

For additional outside recommenders, the same process is necessary. You must invite each one, and then assign them. If you forget to assign a recommender, they will not be able to complete the recommendation. If your school uses Naviance e-docs, you will not need to invite your counselor or teacher recommenders. You only do this for additional, outside recommenders.

Reporting test scores: A new addition to the Common Application is that if the student decides to self-report the scores, then he will need to indicate all test-date scores, which is contrary to College Board’s ‘score choice’. Self-reporting is optional on the Common Application, and regardless what you do here, it is mandatory to submit scores through College Board or ACT Student directly to each college. My advice here is to not self-report scores on the CA. It is unnecessary, and if you have a test date you do not want to send to schools, there is no reason to show them the scores on the Common Application.

Inputting the college essay:  Please do not type the essay in the text box of the writing section. Complete all of your edits and revisions in a Word document.  Keep the formatting simple and at the end of each paragraph, you should hit the ‘enter’ key twice. There also is no need to indent the essay. Once you input your essay, you can go through the text box, and make sure it looks good.  At times, you may need to move the first word in some lines to the end of the previous line. Before you submit the application, you can review a PDF of the entire application, including the essay. Make sure the essay looks correct in this PDF. If it doesn’t, you can go back to the text box and make the necessary edits.

Do not wait until the last minute to submit the CA: It is well known that there are many problems with the new Common Application. I cannot predict the future, but I am going to go ahead and guess that the millions of people around the world who will be waiting until 11:59 on the last night before the deadline to hit “submit” may encounter some technical difficulties. Do not be one of these people. Please give yourself at least a full 24 hours before submitting the CA. That means reviewing all of the information on the CA and for each of the member school supplemental questions, and assuring everything is correct. Also, many schools are pushing back their 11/1 deadlines back a week. Don’t think that you should now wait to apply on the 7th. Give yourself time, and if any problems arise, then you will be able to fix them, instead of starting to freak out.


Pay once and SIGN your name: In order for the application to be complete and uploaded by colleges, the student must pay for each application (unless they have a fee waiver) and sign their name electronically. It is widely known that payment has been a problem with the new CA. For now, pay once and wait. It can take up to 48 hours for payment to be confirmed. If it has been 48 hours and you still have not received a confirmation for payment, then go to the Help Desk and inquire if there is a problem. Also, you MUST sign your name at the end. This sounds simple, but it is a step often skipped. Your application will not be reviewed unless you have signed it. When you are ready to submit applications, you do so through the Dashboard section on the CA. You must pay and submit each school individually. If you are unsure if the application has been received by the colleges, feel free to contact the admissions office and confirm that everything is in. 

-Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

August Checklist for Seniors



With the start of senior year only a few weeks away, take a moment to review the following list to put yourself in a good position to begin the college application process!

Continue to visit schools: If you are able to get to college campuses during the school year, that is great, but it is not always possible. Although high school does not begin until September, many colleges start during the last week or two of August. It is best to see the school in session, and get the feel of the student body and what the school has to offer. Make sure to contact the undergraduate admissions office prior to the visit, to see if they offer an information session or guided tour while you are there.

Work on narrowing down your college list: With application deadlines right around the corner, it is now time to eliminate some colleges from your list. You should end up with about 8-10 colleges on your list. Make sure to have at least 2-3 colleges that you are certain you will be accepted into, often referred to as safety schools. Safety schools should still be schools that you have investigated and would be happy attending.

Research school specific application guidelines: Colleges differ across the board on application procedures such as how to apply (Common Application or their own), deadlines for regular decision, early action/early decision, priority, and rolling decisions, and application requirements such as SATs, subject tests, and additional supplements. Be sure to have all of the requirements and deadlines organized in one centralized location to reference.

Finish admission testing: You may be satisfied with your SAT and/or ACT scores, which is great! However, many students need to retake these tests in hopes of higher scores. For the SAT, there are testing dates in October, November, and December, which most likely are the latest ones you can take. For the ACT there are testing dates in September, October, and December. Also, if any of your colleges require subject tests (SAT II), remember to sign-up during one of these test dates.

Begin the Common Application: The Common Application opened August 1st. Feel free to create an account and begin working on the application. There is no need to rush this, but it will be helpful to get familiar with the application and see what other supplements are needed for schools. Also, if you haven’t done so already, start writing the main CA essay, and feel free to send it to your college counselor to help with editing.

Keep in touch with your counselor: If you have any pressing questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to your college counselor. Also, once school begins, make an appointment to see your counselor and talk about a plan to apply to schools.


Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

The College Essay…Updated Prompts, But Still As Important As Ever


   For current juniors, the next year will be a whirlwind of activity during the college application process. There are numerous elements of a student’s application profile that will be scrutinized by admissions counselors across the country. The transcript, testing scores, résumé, and many others will all be submitted and reviewed. While the transcript and testing scores are important quantitative measures for students, the college essay is often the most important qualitative measure that colleges will look at while reviewing a student. Admissions counselors put a ton of emphasis on this part of the application because it gives them an inside look into who the student really is as an individual. Of course, it will help them see how the applicant is as a writer, but more importantly it hopefully will allow them to connect to the student on many levels. If the admissions counselors are impressed with the essay, it can often be the turning point for students being accepted into the institution.

   The college essay is not something students should wait to complete at the last minute. Contemplating, researching, drafting, and reviewing should all start before the senior year of high school. In a short amount of words, students should try to demonstrate their writing skills and explain something about their own life and personality that cannot be seen anywhere else in their application.

   As of last year, there were six essay prompts, one of which was topic of your choice. This will no longer be the case. As the Common Application has announced “the new prompts and the written guidance around them are the culmination of two years of discussion about the role writing plays in a holistic selection process.”  These new prompts should be reviewed in the coming months and students should choose the essay topic that will most effectively allow their voice and personality to shine.

   Besides the change in topics, there are two other important edits to the essay portion of the Common Application. 1) There will no longer be a topic of your choice, leaving five guided prompts and 2) students MUST write essays that are between 250-650 words. This will be strictly enforced and electronic uploads will not accept essays that do not meet the word specification.

   Please be on the lookout for information on the INTENSIVE COLLEGE APPLICATION PROGRAM that will run throughout the summer. There will be different sessions to best accommodate anyone interested in the program. Each program will last only two weeks (about 2 hours per day) and students will leave with a completed and polished Common Application essay and short answer, a résumé, a completed version of the Common Application, a refined college list, interview skills, college visits and a better understanding of the entire admissions process. Once the dates are finalized, information on this program will be mailed out. Space is very limited with only 40-50 spots available, so start thinking about if you would like to be part of this program now. This intensive program is a great way for students to have most of the application aspects completed before senior year even starts!   

Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA