Grades

Grades are extremely important when applying to colleges, however they are not everything. Colleges will look at your grades on a grade point average (GPA) scale, where they calculate an average of all your grades given in each class from freshman year on a scale of 0.0 to 4.0, however your GPA can be above 4.0 if you are taking AP classes. Some high schools rank their students and colleges look at that to determine how good your grades are compared to your classmates. Additionally, schools will look at the courses your school offered and see whether you took advantage of rigorous classes. 

Standardized Test Scores

Most schools require that you send in your scores from either the SAT or the ACT. For the SAT, not many schools require the essay portion of the test. All NYCDOE schools have a designated day where they administer the SAT without essay for free, however you can also visit the College Board website to register for another date at a price. Also, many schools are becoming more test flexible and even adopting test optional policies where students are not penalized for not sending test scores. Regarding AP scores, colleges can use that as an indication that you have taken harder classes if they were available to you. If you do well on these exams, then they will benefit you; however if you don’t do as well, then you don’t have to include it on your transcript. 

Extracurriculars

This part of college admissions can show who you are outside of school. Here, you will be able to list any volunteer work, internship, job, etc. you have done/currently do that will show that you are more than statistics. To accomplish this, you may want to create a resume.

Listing extracurriculars is especially important because colleges want to get to know and understand you when making their selection.

Special Circumstances

Colleges will evaluate what you have faced during your high school years and how it may make your situation different from other students applying. For example, if you experienced a severe injury, they will acknowledge that and keep it in mind when looking at your profile, as it could explain any outliers in your application, such as your grades slipping during a certain semester.

Scholarships are financial aid awards designed to help students further their education at a university. Sometimes a scholarship is a one-time check. Other school scholarships are renewable and provide money for students each semester or school year. There are different types of scholarships available to you, and if you choose to apply, you’ll have a chance of winning certain types. There are basically two types of scholarships—merit scholarships and private scholarship.

Merit scholarships are awarded to you by a college based on your skills, not based on your financial need. There are two main types of merit scholarships:

• Academic Scholarships: Academic scholarships are based on factors like your high school GPA, ACT or SAT test scores, and class rank. Private colleges and non-flagship state schools most often award academic scholarships.

• Athletic Scholarships: Athletic scholarships are usually awarded to students who play sports at NCAA Division I and II schools and NAIA schools.

The Posse Foundation Scholarship

By Ismail Abalo

“The Posse model works for both students and college campuses and is rooted in the belief that a small, diverse group of talented students—a Posse—carefully selected and trained, can serve as a catalyst for individual and community development. As the United States becomes an increasingly multicultural society, Posse believes that the leaders of the 21st century should reflect the country’s rich demographic mix. The key to a promising future for our nation rests on the ability of strong leaders from diverse backgrounds to develop consensus solutions to complex social problems. Posse’s primary aim is to train these leaders of tomorrow.”

              ~Posse’s Mission Statement

You may or may not have skipped that rather large chunk of words at the beginning. Please go back and read them. They are essential if you want to understand the goal of Posse and what you are signing up for if you plan on becoming a Posse scholar in the future.

Now that you are all caught up, I’ll do my best to break down what Posse is and what it means to me. Posse is a selective scholarship program that uses a series of interactive interviews(known as the Dynamic Assessment Process or DAP) in order to hand pick a group of ten students to send to top colleges throughout the country. Most of the time, people worry about how a foreign environment like college will be after having been so comfortable with day to day life as a high schooler. Posse strives to make this experience as easygoing as possible for their scholars. It’s almost like going into college with a team instead of going in alone. The best part about it all is that the team is not just limited to the nine other students that you are going into college with. The Posse network is very expansive and the amount of connections that it gives you access to is amazing. From writing coaches and trainers to internships and people from all kinds of professions, Posse makes sure that your personal needs as a student and in life never slip through the cracks. Some of these things(like writing coaches that will help edit your personal essay for college) are even accessible throughout the interview process.

In total, there are three rounds to make it through in order to become a Posse scholar. The way you get to the first interview is by being nominated by someone. It can be a counselor from your school, your employer (if they are associated with Posse), a current Posse scholar, a Posse Alum, and more. There are plenty of ways to be nominated for Posse and this is the first step in opening yourself up to this opportunity. You must show character that warrants a Posse nomination and also put yourself out there enough to have a connection with someone who can potentially nominate. In my case, I was nominated by my boss who suggested me to the New York City Urban Debate League, an organization that Posse works with to find nominees, The first round is a large scale activity based interview. Most of the activities are team based and they want to see how well you would work with a group of students. Remember, Posse wants to help train the “leaders of tomorrow” so your goal throughout this round and every future round is to display how good of a leader you could be on campus. Leaders are not just the people who talk the most or take charge in every activity. They are also people who are good at listening, following instructions, and filling whatever role they are needed in. So make sure that you are ready to exhibit all qualities of a leader when you arrive at any interview but especially, Posse interviews. 

The second round is a more personal interview where Posse gets to know more about you. One thing to note is that they are not looking for people who can list a bunch of achievements and a 4.0 GPA. They genuinely care about your vision and what change you want to make in the world. So, go into each interview being yourself. Seeing through actors is a specialty of all Posse staff. You were nominated for a reason so do not bring a different person into the interview. The second round is also where you solidify your ranking of schools that you want to be considered for. For the third round, you are paired with a school and you have to apply to that school early decision. There is a commitment that you have to make so keep that in mind. If you want to explore a lot of different options, Posse may not be the perfect match for you.

The third round interview is a lot like the first round interview but  on a much smaller scale. There are 20 finalists in a room and once again, there are a series of group based activities where you want to show that you have the potential to be a “leader of tomorrow.” This time around, there will be some representatives from the school that you are a finalist for. Once again, and I can not stress this enough, bring yourself to the interview. It can be nerve wracking knowing that the other 19 people in the room made it up to this point. They are all unique and intelligent so it’s probably going to be really hard to sound impressive to everyone else. Remember, you also made it up to that point and you are also unique. Your goal is not to impress anyone. It is to be confident enough in what you have done and what you plan to do and to be able to express that. After the third round, you’ll get an email in a week or two letting you know if you are a Posse scholar.

I have only been a Posse scholar for about six months but I am already certain that I have a support system that will be behind me far beyond college. I have met a group of nine others that are one of a kind, each with the potential to be special. We have trainers and mentors who care about us and want to see us blossom into better versions of ourselves. Of course, there are commitments that you need to make once you are in a Posse, such as a training session once a week and certain events that shall remain nameless. The commitments are worth it and as time passes along, they start to feel more like things that you anticipate. Oh, and I forgot to mention one thing: Posse completely covers your tuition fee for the 4 years that you are going to be in college. For a lot of people that is the main motivation for wanting to be a Posse scholar. There was a reason that I waited until all the way down here to even mention it. That is because the fact that Posse covers your tuition is just a plus (a very large plus but still just a plus). The doors that they open for you and the experience that you gain from being a part of the family is invaluable.