College Planning 101

Click on a topic to read the information below.

The following criteria are offered for consideration in narrowing your list of colleges to which you plan on applying:

With a rigorous college preparatory curriculum, Mesilla Valley Christian School begins preparing its students for college when they enter as freshmen. During the first two years of high school, the most important things a student can do are strive for the best grades possible and look for areas to be involved. This is also a good time to develop good study habits. Remember that the further you are in your high school years, the more difficult it is to raise your GPA.

The college selection process begins in earnest during the junior year. Along with continuing to develop good study skills, academic performance, and participation, a student should:

In addition, all juniors will meet with the counselor beginning the second semester to review credits and have initial discussions about college selection, entrance requirements, and standardized testing. Juniors should begin preparing for the ACT and/or the SAT and should take their first ACT/SAT at least one time during the Spring Semester. Juniors are also encouraged to begin planning college visits as part of school holidays and family vacations. Contact colleges directly to find out how they handle visits. Student athletes considering organized sports in college should get registered with the NCAA Clearinghouse at www.ncaaclearinghouse.net. Finally, if a student is considering a highly selective school, they may want to consider taking the SAT II Subject Tests in June.

Beginning with the summer prior to the senior year, students should be narrowing down their college choices through visits and information gathering, namely reading about potential schools. Some good resources to consider are College Board's College Handbook, Princeton Review's Best 361, and The Fisk Guide to Colleges. During the first semester of the senior year, students should have finalized their list of schools, with 3 to 5 being a good number. Ideally, applications ought to be mailed prior to Christmas Break, unless a student is applying under Early Action or Early Decision. Seniors are reminded that although GPA's will not move much, a strong academic performance during the 7th semester is important. Colleges may wait to view these grades prior to making a decision on admission. Seniors who need to improve their scores should also register as soon as possible to retake the ACT, SAT, or both. Roughly 75% of students improve their scores in subsequent tests. Generally, colleges will accept a student's best score.

Starting with the second semester, seniors should finish mailing any outstanding applications, and then begin the financial aid application process as soon after January 1 as possible. Students and their parents will need to complete a FAFSA, and the preferred method of doing this is online. Apply for PIN # first at www.pin.ed.gov, then complete the FAFSA at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Students applying to in-state public schools should also register for the College Opportunity Fund at http://cof.college-access.net/cof/index.htm. Be sure to be timely in responding to requests for additional information from schools applied to or any of these agencies. Later in the Spring, seniors need to review all of their acceptances and financial aid offers, then make a final decision and notify their schools of that decision. A final transcript will be mailed to the school of choice after graduation.

Bear in mind that this is a general college timeline. As specific questions arise throughout the process, please ask. The college selection process by nature is lengthy and can be intense, confusing, and stressful. The hope is that this information provides enough education to make the process less stressful. MVCS Christian High School hopes that each student will find a school that is an ideal fit for them, providing appropriate levels of intellectual, academic, emotional, and spiritual challenge!

So, what are colleges really looking at in making a decision on whether or not a student gets accepted into their school? They ask for tons of information, including ACT/SAT scores, official transcripts, a resume, an essay, and recommendations, not to mention the application itself. What do they really do with all of this information, and how is it prioritized?

The answer depends somewhat on what kind school, and what size of school is being applied to. However, the first thing any admission counselor does is to review the high school transcript. Of primary concern will be the curriculum, or what classes were taken by the student. All colleges are looking for students who chose to challenge themselves throughout high school. Did a student stay in higher level math as a senior? Did they take advanced science and foreign language classes? Then, grades are evaluated, along with class rank. Generally, a student with a stronger, more challenging schedule will be more desirable then a student with better grades and a weaker schedule. Colleges will also often look for trends in grades; specifically an upward trend in the GPA during the junior and senior years.

After reviewing the transcript, admissions will look at the standardized test scores, or ACT and SAT scores. The vast majority of schools will accept either test, and will evaluate a student based on their highest score. Therefore, it is always advisable for a student to take the test(s) more then one time. The admissions office will only care about the highest scores, so make sure to begin preparing for and taking the test(s) during the junior year.

After these two major criteria, colleges diverge on how and what they use to determine admissions. They will strive to evaluate a student individually, but a small private school may weigh the essay more heavily then the recommendations, while a large university may care more about the resume then the essay. However, all schools will be concerned with traits such as leadership, commitment, and participation. Students are encouraged to get involved during high school.

A question often heard from students is "what should my essay be about?" Some schools provide specific questions for students to pick from, while others do not. Keep in mind that schools are looking for something about the student that they don't already know, and that isn't a repeat of info already on the application. They are most interested in how something impacted you.

Regarding the recommendations, students are encouraged to pick teachers who know them and their abilities well. Nonacademic recommendations such as ones from youth pastors or employers may help to portray a student as well rounded as well as shed some light on other strengths outside of school.

This is a general overview of how the admissions process works. Keep in mind that the evaluation process is a two way street, and students need to evaluate schools using their own criteria.

Mesilla Valley Christian sponsors a PSAT/SAT exam preparation course as well as a preparation course for the ACT during the course of the school year. MVCS also participates in various college fairs in the Las Cruces area. Keep watching the Events page to see scheduled dates and more information to take advantage of these great opportunities.

The graduates of the Class of 2005, the Class of 2006, and the Class of 2007 chose to attend the following colleges and universities: