Navigating the US College Applications

Photo by Matt Ragland on Unsplash

The US college application process is complicated. Someone who is familiar with the process might argue against this. After having applied, I can say that it’s not that complex. But for someone from a country like Nepal, where the process of getting into college is as straightforward as taking only an entrance exam, the US college application process is really overwhelming. At least it was for me during the initial days of my applications.

But first, let’s try to understand why the application process is so complex. Wouldn’t it make sense for universities to make it simple — just ask for an applicant’s high school grades and SAT scores — and choose the best? Not really. While in countries like Nepal, the admissions process is still completely ‘merit-based,’ US colleges conduct a ‘holistic’ review of the applicant. Colleges try to see the applicants beyond just their scores and grades. They seek to see you as a person, a member of your community — maybe your family, your society, or your high school club. With this holistic picture of the applicant, colleges see if you will fit in the university (and if the university is a fit for you). And this is a pretty subjective evaluation, which is why the process is overwhelming to someone new to this.

The Application

So, let’s try to break down the different aspects of the application briefly (you can see in-depth details by going to the individual articles).

1. Test scores: Most colleges require you to submit some form of standardized test scores as a tool to evaluate your ‘college-readiness.’ The most common ones are the SAT and the ACT. While an increasing number of colleges are adopting test-optional or test-flexible policies (more than 1,130 colleges and universities, according to FairTest.org), the policy might vary for international students. (For example, Skidmore College is test-optional for domestic students but still requires international and some other categories of students to send their test scores.) Besides the SAT and ACT, some colleges also require (MIT) or recommend (Harvard) submitting SAT Subject Tests. Also, international students from non-English-speaking countries might be required to prove their proficiency in English by taking and submitting English proficiency tests like TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, or others.
2. High School Transcripts: Since students are typically applying while they are still in high school, they won’t have their final transcript yet. So, colleges generally require a mid-term report along with the application and ask to submit the final transcript as soon as it is available. Transcripts are generally sent by their guidance counselor on behalf of the applicant. If you have already graduated from high school and are applying to colleges during a gap year (which is mostly the case with students in Nepal), you can submit the final transcript along with the application.
3. Essays: Application essays are one of the most (if not the most) important parts of the application. You will have to write a personal essay of fewer than 650 words, which will be sent to all the universities you apply to. In addition, individual colleges might require applicants to submit supplemental essays. These supplemental essays range from asking why you are applying to that particular university to writing a letter to your future roommate (Stanford). Please check out our blog on writing essays, which goes into detail over what I mention above.
4. Recommendations: Colleges also want to hear what others who know the student say about the student. So, they ask for recommendations, typically one from the guidance counselor and one or two from a subject teacher from high school. If you don’t have a designated guidance counselor in your school, which can be the case for international applicants, you can ask your principal or someone who knows you beyond just academics. Additionally, some colleges like Dartmouth also encourage applicants to submit a peer recommendation.
5. Portfolios: For someone interested in pursuing music and art, colleges might require the applicant to submit a portfolio in that discipline. Additionally, some schools like MIT also encourage applicants to submit a portfolio/short video of their prior work with the application.
6. Application Form: How do you submit all these things listed above? Colleges have application portals where you can access the application forms and fill in your application with essays, and upload your transcripts. For example, you can access MIT’s application portal at my.mit.edu. But given students apply to multiple colleges, it would have been a real pain to fill in the application for each college separately. Thankfully, you don’t have to. While some colleges like MIT do have college-specific application portals, many colleges use some common application portals for their applications. Common App is by far the most popular and widely used application portal, allowing applicants to apply to over 800 colleges. Besides, the Coalition Application is used by around 90 colleges, and a handful of colleges also use the Universal College Application. Furthermore, some colleges require applicants to mail the application and copies of documents directly.
7. Financial Aid Application: US colleges are expensive. But at the same time, most colleges are also pretty generous with the financial aid they give to students. This aid is typically of two types: merit-based scholarships and need-based financial assistance. Check out our blog on financial aid for details on this. Generally, merit-based scholarships require an additional application besides the college application, while for need-based aid, you have to apply by submitting your CSS (College Scholarship Service) Profile. This will require information regarding your family income and assets to assess your financial situation, based on which colleges provide their aid. Domestic students might be able to submit FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) for this purpose, which is free. For international students, some colleges accept ISFAA (International Student Financial Aid Application) or a college-specific financial aid application. In addition, some colleges also require applicants to submit a Certificate of Finance (COF) as proof of the amount they can pay for college regardless of whether they are applying for financial aid or not.

When to Apply?

Whew! That is surely a lot of things to do! But when are you supposed to apply? The answer varies depending on the colleges you are applying to. If you are applying for the fall semester, which generally starts in August/September, some colleges allow you to send your application as early as August of the previous year, while others accept applications until June/July of the same year (though this might not be feasible for international students). (Also, keep in mind that many colleges now also give you the option to take a gap year after you are accepted.) Most colleges have some form of deadlines for applications which are generally grouped into a few types:

1. Early Decision: Early Decision is generally the earliest round of deadlines in an application season. Most colleges that have this option (like the University of Pennsylvania, Duke) have their deadline for ED on or around November 1 and give out decisions in mid-December. It is important to note that Early Decision is binding, meaning that if you are accepted to the university where you applied for ED, you have to commit to that university. So, even though the proportion of students applying for ED might be small, colleges tend to admit a significant proportion of their incoming class from the ED pool because the student they select will surely enroll there.
2. Early Action: Early Action also falls around the same time as Early Decision, i.e., around November 1. In fact, Early Action is pretty much the same as Early Decision, the only difference being that you don’t have to commit to the college you are accepted to in Early Action. Applying early might be one way to demonstrate your interest in the college (which might play a factor in your application depending on the college). Some colleges with Early Action are Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and Princeton. One interesting thing to note here is that colleges like Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford have Single Choice Early Action (SCEA), meaning that you are not allowed to apply to any other colleges in the early rounds if you’re applying to them.
3. Early Decision II: Yes, you guessed it right — it is the second round of Early Decision offered by a handful of colleges like UChicago, Colgate, and Bowdoin. ED II deadlines are generally at the same time as Regular Decision, i.e., around January 1 or 15, but their decisions are released around mid-February. Again, if you really like a college, this is another chance to demonstrate your interest and commitment.
4. Regular Decision: This is where most colleges receive most of the applications. The deadline for RD varies widely, but most colleges have it between January 1 and 15, like Early Decision II. However, unlike ED II, the decisions for RD are generally released throughout the month of March, depending on the college.
5. Rolling Admission: Colleges with rolling admissions generally have an Early Action or priority deadline for applications, after which they accept applications and accept students on a rolling basis until the class is full (or until some deadline). Generally, these colleges are not very selective and focus their scholarships on applicants in Early Action.

And how much does it cost to apply?

The application fee to US universities varies from as low as $0 (yeah, there are many colleges that don’t have any application fee) to as high as $90. So, on average, if you are applying to 9 colleges, it might cost you around $400. While you can apply to most colleges online through Common App or their own portal, some colleges might require you to mail your application and/or documents, which will incur some extra shipping costs.

Besides the application fee, you will have to pay to send your official test scores from testing agencies to colleges. You can send scores for free to up to 4 colleges. After that, it costs $12 and $20 to send SAT and TOEFL scores, respectively, to one college. So $160 for the 5 colleges after you send the free scores to 4 colleges if you are applying to a total of 9. Additionally, if you are applying for financial aid, you will have to send CSS (more on this later), which will cost $16 to send to one college ($20 for the first time you send).

So, if you are applying to 9 colleges, it will cost you something around $600 (not considering the cost of the tests and application fee). This might pose a financial difficulty for some wishing to apply to US colleges. And colleges do understand this. So, most of the colleges waive the application fee if it poses a hardship to the applicant. How does this work? Generally, colleges accept a request from the applicant’s counselor to waive the fee given his/her financial background. There is an option in CommonApp for this, or the counselor could email the college on behalf of the student. Besides, some colleges also provide you with coupons to waive the CSS fee on request, and most colleges now accept self-reported scores which means that the applicant (or their counselor on their behalf) can submit their test scores instead of paying to get the scores sent from the testing agencies. With all this, the cost of application reduces significantly from the before-mentioned figures. To give my own example, I paid a total of around $100 while applying to 10 colleges including the application fees, CSS fees, and fee to send test scores.