College Admissions & More Paperwork
It may seem like a hassle to fill out all your college admissions paperwork. You need grade transcripts, letters of recommendation, SAT scores, application forms, income information and an admission essay. Yet this will be just the beginning of a long line of document preparation you’ll be doing throughout your college career. Before you’re accepted, you should be looking at grants and scholarships for subsidizing your education and college loans to help you cover your expenses. Pretty soon you’ll need to start thinking about applying to internship programs, drawing up a resume and writing cover letters to help job providers recognize your talent.
As soon as the college admissions process is finished, you should immediately set your sights on funding college. Be sure to have an honest discussion with your parents and see if they’re willing to throw in anything to help you out. Look at your current job situation and your prospective job situation. If you’re keeping your current job, how many hours a week can you realistically work? If you’re going away to school, you need to begin applying in the town you’re moving to immediately before the late summer rush of applicants flood every possible job opportunity. Work won’t necessarily cover everything, though. You may also need to look for student financial aid to scrape together short-term cash to cover tuition and board. The last thing you want is to be de-registered from all your classes because you were late with your payment!
Most college admissions offices have a separate department to deal with financial aid for students, where you will find applications for college loans. There are Federal Perkins Loans that award undergrads up to $4,000/year and must be repaid to your school within 10 years after graduation, with a 5% interest rate. There are also FFEL Stafford Loans from credit unions or bank institutions, which may be subsidized for students with financial need or unsubsidized for other applicants; the amount awarded varies based on a number of factors and the repayment period could be as long as 25 years at 6.8% interest. Next you can apply for a Direct Stafford Loan from the US Department of Education, which operates under the same terms as the other Stafford loans. The FFEL Plus loans are for parents who wish to pay for their children’s education at an interest rate of 8.5% over 10-25 years. Similarly, Direct PLUS loans are for parents with a 7.9% interest rate.
Once college admissions and college loans have been taken care of, you will likely take a class on resume writing in your freshman year. Understanding how to write a good resume and cover letter will be essential to finding a summer internship opportunity and eventually, entry level jobs too. Education and experience mean little without a nice way of packaging it. You need to convey your strengths, work objectives and experience level to prospective employers to put your best foot forward. You will find many resources on campus if you ask your guidance counselor about the school’s career development center.
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