--- title: College Admissions News and ACT / SAT Strategy | Choosing a College description: Choosing a College | Stay current with the latest college application and admission news, as well as proven ACT and SAT strategies. --- # COllege Admissions News and ACT / SAT Strategy Stay current with the latest undergraduate college admissions news and proven ACT and Digital SAT strategies. Browse by All ACT ACT/SAT sat prep ACT/SAT study skills college tips college advice sat tutoring ACT prep sat tutors college student College Admissions High School Test Taking SAT college education college questions study skills ACT test SAT study plan college freshman advice SAT test College Applications SAT online tutoring college entrance college timeline ACT overview SAT math digital sat sat online studying for the SATs undergraduate student common questions ACT study plan ACT-Math practice SAT study help SAT study tips college tips for studying for the SATs ACT Science ACT math Reading Comprehension SAT practice tests SAT self-study admissions essays applying to college college admissions process college tuition sat reading test taking strategies ACT concepts ACT study help ACT tutoring AP tutoring Choosing a College Digital ACT SAT reading comprehension SAT writing act online act reading ap classes ap test prep college admissions essay cost of sat tutoring math skills sat help sat tutor cost sat tutor hourly rate studying for the ACT ACT english COVID sat Campus bound College Rankings GMAT Managing Stress Online Reputation Management PSAT SAT classes SAT redesign Standardized exams Study plans Uncategorized Writing Section act coronavirus admissions data chemistry chemistry subject test college ROI college athletics college coach college essay writing advice college essays college freshman questions college prep college recruiting college resume collegebound admissions cost of college desmos extracurriculars improve academic performance interview preparation logs in ACT-Math math new student FAQs process of elimination sat chemistry test standardized tests study abroad study tips studying for standardized exams submitting test scores test anxiety test optional test prep strategies tips for studying for the ACT writing an essay This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. ## Posts about Choosing a College: [College Applications](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/college-applications) [Choosing a College](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/choosing-a-college) [college advice](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/college-advice) [college entrance](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/college-entrance) [college admissions process](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/college-admissions-process) [college timeline](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/college-timeline) [applying to college](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/applying-to-college) [Campus bound](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/campus-bound) ![collegeadmissions.jpg](https://www.myguruedge.com/hs-fs/hubfs/collegeadmissions.jpg?width=310&height=163&name=collegeadmissions.jpg)You may have heard it said before that applying to college is a “process,” and it really is. Additionally, every student’s process is different. However, there are some typical stages a student may go through to find their ideal college, and in this blog we outline them for you. #### Getting Underway We recommend that students seriously begin the college process during their junior year. If students or families are college-focused, there are things freshman and sophomores can do, but they mostly revolve around earning strong grades and getting involved in activities. Toward the middle of junior year, students can kick- off the college process by determining what qualities they want in an ideal college. Students should consider size, location, major, and other factors to create an initial list of schools. #### Exploration During the next stage of the process, students will research potential colleges online, in books, through campus visits and other ways. By learning more about colleges, students can determine which schools they really like and which ones they don’t. They can also determine which criteria are more important than others (ie, “It’s really important to me that the school has an equestrian program, so I’ll look at schools smaller than I initially wanted.”) During this stage, it’s important that students verbalize their goals and be realistic about their expectations. It’s also helpful when families plan college visits and attend college-sponsored information sessions. #### Applications When it comes time to apply to colleges, the stress level can be at an all-time high. Deadlines, essays, resumes, interviews... the list goes on and it can be a lot for a student to manage alone. Parents, school counselors, admission counselors and college counselors are all helpful resources to help students during this time. #### Financing College At some point, hopefully earlier rather than later, families need to have a conversation about the cost of college and how to pay for it. Honesty is the best policy; parents should let students know what their realistic options are. Students may need to add less expensive colleges to the list, apply to schools where they are likely to receive a grant, and/or apply for scholarships. #### Decisions, Decisions The final stage of the process is usually the favorite one, but it doesn’t mean it’s always easy. Once a student has (hopefully) a few acceptances to various colleges, the family needs to sit down and weigh the pros and cons of each school. Sometimes it’s an easy decision, but occasionally it’s really difficult. Families need to have these discussions and come up with a decision that everyone is happy with. [ACT](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/act) [College Applications](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/college-applications) [College Admissions](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/college-admissions) [cost of college](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/cost-of-college) [Choosing a College](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/choosing-a-college) [College Rankings](https://www.myguruedge.com/our-thinking/actsat-and-applying-to-college/topic/college-rankings) ![act tutoring](https://www.myguruedge.com/hs-fs/file-24540337-png/images/act-tutoring.png?width=321&height=218&name=act-tutoring.png) In a [recent guest post for the College Solution](http://www.thecollegesolution.com/how-a-1-point-increase-on-the-act-can-equal-24000/#comments), we showed how *Indiana University* has a simple automatic scholarship system to attract top students that might otherwise choose more highly ranked schools.  This system is based on **an assessment of GPA and ACT score**.  For certain students, it provides an automatic $11,000 per year scholarship, making IU much more affordable than it otherwise would be.  So, I argued that, even if you already have a high ACT score, it could make sense to hire an ACT tutor and try to squeeze out another point, which would bump you into the $11,000 automatic scholarship range, and may impact which school you choose to attend. In this post, with the implications of part 1 in mind (i.e., significant reduction in the cost of attending IU) I’ll illustrate the potential decision faced by a high school senior from Illinois considering five schools: ### Follow this blog