Hi my name is Berenice and I’d like to give you some advice for applying to college. I recently applied to multiple colleges and so far I have gotten accepted into every school I’ve applied to! Here are my tips and tricks so that you can be successful too!

• Applying to college takes a lot of time!

You have to make time and effort in order to apply to schools because most applications are quite long and I’ve found that it takes about two hours per school (depending on what they ask for). You’ll need to have some basic information ready, like your family’s college history, your social security number (if you have one) and things like that. Gather all of that before you start! 

• Every college is going to ask slightly different essay questions, but they are mostly the same. 

 Make sure you copy and paste all of your essay questions into a document and save them! Chances are the next school you will apply to will ask you a question that is super similar, if not the exact same! Why rewrite the same thing over and over again if you can just save your answers and copy and paste them! Make sure they really are asking the same thing though…you might want to tweak your answers a bit to make it fit better. 

• Filling out a college essay is similar to writing a resume…look for key words to add from the college’s mission statement!

Usually on a college’s website, you can find a page with their mission statement. You should read this and get a feel for what they are looking for in potential students. If you see the word “motivated” mentioned multiple times, try to talk about what a highly motivated student you are in your essay. 

• Don’t be afraid to ask for help!

Many people are the first in their family to go to college, so their parents might not be able to help them very much with applications. Luckily, there are many people at MTS who would love to help with your college application. The English teachers can help with your essays, and Ms. Lane can help with FAFSA and other stuff like that.  

• Ask for letters of recommendation!

 Even if the college doesn’t require this, it makes you look really good if you have multiple letters of recommendation! Remember, when you ask for a letter you need to be very polite and appreciative. Also, make sure you give people enough time to write a quality letter and don’t rush them.