PEORIA, Ill -- How early should someone start thinking about college? And what are the best schools looking for in those students who apply? You need a good education just to navigate the process.
Peoria Notre Dame senior Jimmy Montelongo has some homework to do.
He and his mother Kris, whose a counselor at Notre Dame, are pouring over brochures from about two dozen colleges.
The Montelongo's followed the same advice Kris gives other students and began doing their legwork early, when Jimmy was only a sophomore. Their first step was finding some helpful tools online.
"A really good website that helps students with the whole search process is www.CollegeBoard.com," said Kris. "I think it offers a lot of information to students parents. It has a really nice search tool and through that they can narrow down their search selection."
Another useful site www.CollegeNavigator.gov.
Jimmy's grades are good. His GPA is 3.8. And he's increased his chances of getting into a good school by taking the ACT college entrance exam four times.
"You want to take the ACT as many times as you can. I started taking it just before the start of my junior year and my scores constantly improved each time I took it," said Jimmy.
Students can take the ACT up to 12 times. And they might be surprised by some of the essay questions.
"I got some that were kind of fun, like whose your favorite superhero and why. Stuff like that," said Jimmy.
Susan Andrews, Interim Vice President of enrollment management at Bradley University said of those off-beat essay questions, "It gives the student an opportunity to show creativity, to show their authentic voice."
Andrews says teenagers preparing for college should have more than a good grade point average on their resume. Schools want students who are creative thinkers and who are engaged outside the classroom.
"What different schools look for these days is students who have been very involved, involved with their school, involved with their community, volunteering. Students today are more interested in changing the world," added Andrews.
But students also have to be comfortable with the world they're heading off to.
Marsha Dodson, the president and CEO of Empowering Parents, says for some students smaller schools are a better fit.
"If you go to a small university you can complete your education in 4 years. If you go to a large university it might take you 5 or 6 years because you just can't get the classes you want. And now your paying two extra years of tuition, which could be a large amount of money," explained Dodson.
And Dodson says don't let the price of a school discourage you from sending your child there. She says every student can apply for federal aid and you might not have to spend as much as you think.
"If your child wants to go to a university that costs $50,000 a year and your portion is only $5,000 then its affordable," said Dodson.
All of which makes getting in to college a learning experience for parents too.
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