As students of Queens Preparatory Academy cross the border from the 11th into the 12th and final grade of their high school lives, the burden for improved grades seemingly drops. Instead, they are bombarded with the preparations for the next stage of their lives… college.

The Senior Year College Application

As the P in QPA says, our school has a duty to prepare students for college and the transition into young adulthood. The goal is to prepare students seeking a tertiary education to become useful and successful members of society. QPA also provides guidance for the application process which is overseen by college counselor Ms. Mamalakis Vasiliki, who walks students through the ordeal.

Here at QPA our students apply to colleges through two means: the first is the CUNY application on CUNYfirst which is compulsory for all students regardless of interest toward college education, and the common application (SUNY, private, and out of state colleges) on the common app which is optional.

Before You Start

Before you start applying to colleges, there are some important things you must take care of first. These are…

A CUNYfirst ID- To get, this just create a CUNYfirst account by completing the registration form online. To commence, one just needs to click this link and click Register Now at the bottom left of the page.

• At least three recommendation letters- These are obtained from teachers who have agreed to endorse you on paper. These recommendations make your college application look more enticing. This uses testimonies from your teachers, counselors, coaches, etc. about your character. To get a letter, you must hand out a completed brag sheet to your chosen endorser, then take note of their email addresses so you can report them to your counselor who will ask for their letter. In most cases, students will not get to see them.

• The college essay- The college essay is by far the most important thing one will need before actually attempting to apply for colleges through the CUNY and common app portals. This essay is just a short 650 word essay aimed at letting the colleges know more about you beyond your academic progress and achievements. It is possible to write about virtually anything as long as you connect it back to yourself, showing that what you’ve written about is significant to your growth and helped make up who you are now.

Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

With all these done, you can then begin your application. These three things are very necessary to make your application smoother so you can submit it on time.

Now, there are several steps for completing both applications, and although it sounds tedious, following the below steps after having completed the above required items will guarantee your ease during your application.

The CUNY Application

There are 9 steps to the CUNY application. They are:

Step 1: Search “The CUNY Application” or go tohttps://www.cuny.edu/admissions/undergraduate/apply/cuny-application/. Scroll down to “Future Students” and click “Start your Application”

Step 2: Using your account, log in with your username and password. If you forgot your login, click ‘Forgot Username/Password’ to reset your login.

Step 3: Click “Undergraduate Freshman”. If you do not see that option, click “Create New Application”.

Step 4: Fill in your personal information; including date of birth & gender, phone & email, address, and residency. If you have lived in NYC for at least 1 year, and will be graduating this year, be sure to check off  boxes 1,2,3, and 4.

Step 5: Fill in your background information: citizenship, us military status, ethnicity, languages and family information. Fill in your social security number if you are a citizen, or your alien registration number if you’re a permanent resident. However, you do not have to insert it if you don’t have one.

Step 6: Fill in your academic interest: 6 college and majors, interest in support programs. On the CUNY application, you click Add college and major/Academic Program and search for 6 colleges and select your desired major for each one. Not all colleges have what you want so make sure you have a backup.

Step 7: Fill in your high school courses in progress, and make sure to include AP and honors courses. Make sure you fill in your current high school (Queens Preparatory Academy) after you select ‘A U.S high school.’ Enter the day you began at QPA and the day you’re expected to graduate (estimate if you’re not sure).

Step 8: Enter all of your supplemental information: recommendations, extracurricular activities, and supporting materials. It will be the job of your counselor to input the names and email addresses of the recommenders. You are advised to waive your right to see your letters as colleges will suspect you of tampering with the original letter. You are also to upload your essay, resume and anything else you want your colleges to see, like internships and volunteer work.

Step 9: The final step! Here you are to fill in your application payment, but the CUNY application is free in October, which is when our school submits the applications. After you use the free waiver, read the terms, check the box and submit!

The Common Application

This application only has 5 steps:

Step 1: Create your common app account. Go to https://www.commonapp.org, click, Create an Account, select First year Student, and answer the questions to create your account.

Step 2: Click the common app tab and begin filling n personal, family, and education information + SAT/ACT scores (if you’d like to report), extracurricular activities, and your college essay.

Step 3: Go to the college search tab to search for the colleges from your official college list, and click the plus sign to add schools.

Step 4: All of the colleges you selected will be moved to My Colleges. Confirm that these colleges match the ones on your college list and review the requirements and application deadlines for the fall semester.

Step 5: Each college will have their own set of general, academic, and personal questions. Some colleges will require an additional piece of writing. Answer them to the best of your ability, and make sure they sound nice.

Whether you have plans for college or not, it will be incredibly wise to make preparations in senior year, as you may just change your mind when all the opportunities of a college education are made clear to you.

Just remember, a stitch in time saves nine!