Take our advice on college applications

Name: Jake Mokris
Age: 18
Graduate of: Home-school
Going to: Johns Hopkins University
Majoring in: Physics and mathematics

Best advice: I applied to eight colleges: Princeton, Yale, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Franklin & Marshall, Cornell, the University of Pennsylvania and Lafayette. I was accepted into five of those schools. Even if I had approached the application process like one of those crazy students who applies to every Ivy League college and every other top college (by the way, don’t do that), I would not have found a “dream school.”

Dream schools do not exist — mostly because college isn’t free. No school has all the best qualities: attentive faculty, small class sizes, top academic programs, high financial aid awards, the right location and a user-friendly administration. Banish from your mind the thought that you can find a dream school.

Instead, choose several criteria and apply to the colleges that meet them. My goal was to get into a college with a really good physics program. I weeded out schools that didn’t have too great a physics program and then progressed through my other criteria. With that method, I decided against applying to York College, Gettysburg College, Columbia University, Drexel, Haverford and Swarthmore. After saying “pooh” to Harvard, I had my list.

After I got my acceptance packets, my wallet told me to choose among University of Pennsylvania, Lafayette and Johns Hopkins. Lafayette was too small for me, and Penn was too big, so there you go. I went to Johns Hopkins. Penn was tempting since it offered me a better financial aid package and a spot in its top undergraduate research program. But compare Penn’s physics building with the Bloomberg Center for Physics & Astronomy at Hopkins.

Other than that, start the application process as soon as possible. I would not have finished eight applications (with 20 essays) if I had procrastinated. Make a chart of everything required for each application, which colleges you need interviews for and of every deadline. I almost didn’t apply for Cornell’s financial aid; I didn’t find out until late in December that Cornell had a separate aid application.

Name: Samantha Provenza
Age: 17
Graduate of: York Catholic High School
Going to: Albright College
Majoring in: Fashion design

Best advice: I am the type of person who finds it impossible to make any type of decision on my own. I struggle with trying to decide what to order off a menu that lists more than one type of food. There are just too many choices!

My indecisiveness was a major obstacle to overcome when I was faced with the college selection process. There is an overwhelming number of colleges and universities in the United States alone, not to mention all the different majors, extracurriculars and special programs that each one had to offer.

My best advice to give to any rising senior or junior who is facing the ultimate decision of where to spend the next four years of their life is simple: process of elimination. Make a list of everything you are looking for in a college, including location, sports, majors and any extracurricular activities you might want to join. Using that list, compare it to colleges you are thinking about and eliminate any colleges that don’t match your list.

I spent way too much time looking at every college in every state before realizing I didn’t really want to be out-of-state. That eliminated a huge amount of potential colleges. The more specific your ideal college list is, the easier it is to find the perfect college for you.

Name: Laura Livaditis
Age: 17
Graduate of: Dallastown Area High School
Going to: Johns Hopkins University
Majoring in: English/pre-med

Best advice: To the class of ’08: Pick a variety of universities to which you’ll apply; you might not find that perfect school right away. Also, make your (and your guidance counselors’) lives easier by using the Common Application. Finally, enjoy your senior year and take advantage of your final days in high school!

Name: Jenna Jenkins
Age: 18
Graduate of: Spring Grove Area Senior High School
Going to: Penn State University
Majoring in: Communications

Best advice: Don’t wait until the last minute to apply or think about where you might want to spend the next four years of your life, and most definitely visit the places you might consider attending to get the full feeling of the college.

Name: Sophie Bushwick
Age: 18
Graduate of: York Suburban Senior High School
Going to: Carleton College
Majoring in: Undeclared

Best advice: Be sure to let your school guidance office know exactly what you need from him or her and when you need it. However, if something needs to be done, don’t just rely on the office — it’s your job to ensure that all the parts of your application are ready in time. If that means nagging your teachers to finish a recommendation or asking for yet another transcript release form, do it! Finally, it’s better to turn in your applications early than late — you don’t want to be biting your fingernails and wondering whether the application got through the mail in time.