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Principia School

Application Process

Once you have selected the colleges you’ll be applying to, it’s time to begin the application process. Most applications are open August 1.

Seniors will apply to their chosen colleges using the platforms they require (Common App, Coalition, a school's own application, University of California Admissions, Apply Texas, etc.). See these instructions to get started, and be sure to update your MaiaLearning account throughout the application process.

The Common Application

The Common Application allows students to apply to a number of colleges through one application. More than 800 colleges and universities take this application, so check the college websites to see if your colleges are included. You will need to link your Common Application account to your MaiaLearning account to apply to Common App schools. Counselors will help with this process.

Individual schools may also require a supplemental essay unique to their college, so be sure to check the essays tab under Universities in MaiaLearning. Forgetting supplements can result in processing delays and possibly missed deadlines. 

Application Deadlines

It is critical to know your colleges’ application, financial aid, and scholarship deadlines. Application deadlines vary depending on the admissions policies described below. If you decide to pursue one of the early admissions options, you need to meet the deadlines and understand the commitments of each option. 

  • Regular Decision: This is the most common option. Applications need to be received by a specific date and students will receive a decision in a stated period of time, usually by April 1.
  • Rolling Admission: Decisions are made throughout the admissions period. Colleges will consider a student’s application as soon as all supporting documents are received and will give a decision shortly thereafter.
  • Early Action: Students apply by a specific early date and also receive an early decision but are not required to accept until May 1. Some schools have Restrictive Early Action. If you apply under this option, you will sign a statement saying you agree to submit only one early application. If accepted, you have until May 1 to make a decision. Applying Early Action signals that you are very interested in a school and it may increase your chances of getting in. Hearing back early can also help you narrow down your choices.
  • Early Decision—includes a Binding Commitment: Students apply for this option when they have a clear first-choice school and will commit to enroll if they are admitted. The application and decision deadline are early. Colleges select a significant percentage of their freshman class from early-decision applicants because they understand students will attend if accepted. While you may increase your chances of getting into a college by applying Early Decision, it’s also important to consider that you’ll only have this school’s financial aid offer before committing. You won’t have the opportunity to compare financial aid packages from several schools. 

Resumes

The purpose of the high school resume for college applications is to give college admissions offices a brief one-page summary of your abilities, education, and extracurricular and job experiences. Most colleges do not require them but they have become more common, especially for more elite colleges. We feel that making a resume is a good exercise for all seniors since it allows you to focus on your strengths and can help prepare you for a college interview.

You’ve been encouraged to update your activities, awards, and work experiences each year in the Portfolio/Experiences section of MaiaLearning. Please check to be sure everything is accurate and up-to-date as the MaiaLearning software will populate a resume for you with the information you have entered.

College Essays

The college application essay gives you a special opportunity to express something unique and interesting about you that isn’t apparent through other parts of your application. It is a way to further personalize your application and set you apart from other equally qualified students. It can also help show the college what kind of writer you are.

As a final assignment in your junior English class, you will complete a draft of the Common Application essay. Please take time over the summer to further edit this essay, since there may be additional essays to write for each school when you apply in the fall. The English Department faculty is prepared to assist you with any of your college essays.

Many public universities do not require an essay, but most private schools and some scholarship applications do. Here are some tips to get you started and guide you through the essay-writing process.

Choosing a Topic

Colleges may assign a topic, give a choice of topics, or let you choose your own. Listed below are a few topics from previous years’ Common Applications. 

  • Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
  • The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
  • Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

If you choose your own topic, be sure to choose one that is unique to you, not one that you think might make you look good to the admissions committee or that you think they want to hear. See all required and supplemental essays for your schools in MaiaLearning under Universities—Essays.

Tips for Writing the Essay

  • Start off with a strong opening paragraph that will capture the reader’s attention. Admission officers read many essays, so it’s helpful to grab their attention with the first sentence.
  • Use your own voice; write from your heart about a topic that is important to you.
  • Make a point and stick with it. Don’t try to tackle too much. The reader should be able to find the main idea immediately and follow it from beginning to end.
  • Write in a way that shows rather than just tells. Write succinctly and imaginatively; use specifics and details.
  • Make more than one draft, then edit and revise. This is a process that takes time.
  • Remember to proofread and don’t rely on the computer’s spellchecker. Typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors will be noticed by the admissions reader.

Sending Test Scores

Most colleges require that test scores be sent directly from the testing agency while some may accept the scores with your transcript. It’s important to check the score-reporting policy of each school. The Counseling Office gives you the option of sending test scores with the transcript; if you do choose to send them, we will send all scores. There is no score choice.

Score choice is allowed by both SAT and ACT. This lets you determine which set of scores to send to colleges or scholarship programs by test date. However, some colleges and universities will require that all scores be sent. If so, most colleges will superscore the SAT which means they’ll take the best score from each section, no matter the date, to create the highest combined SAT score.

Superscoring is also allowed by ACT. Students are given the option of superscoring after they have taken the test a second or multiple times. The superscore is based on the average of the four best subject scores (English, math, reading, and science) from each of the student’s ACT tests and ACT section retests.

When a college or university requires that official scores be sent directly from the testing agency, it is your responsibility to have the SAT and/or ACT results sent to them. Except for the four free test reports allowed at the time of test registration and up to five (ACT) and nine (SAT) days after, there will be an additional fee for any scores sent at a later date.

Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation from teachers, your counselor, and possibly a coach can make an important contribution to college and scholarship applications. They take time to prepare, so please be respectful of the process and ask for a recommendation at least two weeks before the submission deadline. 

Your counselor will ask you to complete the Letter of Recommendation Questions Form in May of junior year to help her write your letter of recommendation. As you apply to colleges, you will use MaiaLearning to invite your teachers and/or coach to submit recommendation letters for you. Select Request Recs under Universities for further information. Your counselor will automatically write your letter of recommendation and will not need a separate invitation. 

Think carefully about which two teachers you’d like to write recommendation letters for you as they will give helpful insights into who you are as a student. Your selected teachers should be from different subject areas. Often your English teacher is a good choice since she can speak to your writing ability. 

Please remember to write a thank you note to each teacher, coach, or whomever writes a recommendation letter for you.  

College Interview

Most colleges do not require an interview, and those that do offer them in different ways. If it is an option for you, it is wise to take advantage of it so that you can learn more about the college and the college can get to know you too. The interview may take place when you visit a college, when a college rep visits St. Louis, on the phone with an admissions officer, or with an alumni representative in person or by phone. With a little preparation, these interviews can and should be easy and natural conversations.

Listed below are some tips to help you prepare for your interview. Your counselor is also happy to do a mock interview with you.

College Interview Tips

  • Research the college well so that you have good questions that aren’t answered easily through the website. Give thought to the specific reasons this college is of interest to you and what you feel you can contribute to it.
  • Dress neatly and modestly and be on time.
  • Greet the interviewer by name, smile, use a firm handshake and maintain eye contact throughout.
  • The interview should be a conversation, not simply a question and answer session. Be prepared to elaborate on your answers. Try to avoid the words “like”, “um” and “you know.”
  • At the end of the interview, be sure to thank the interviewer. You should also follow up with a thank-you email to show your continued interest in the school and ask any further questions you may have.

Questions an Interviewer Might Ask

  • What books have you read lately? What movies have you seen?
  • What are your best academic and personal qualities?
  • What area of your life would you like to improve upon?
  • What extracurricular activity is your favorite?
  • If you could invite anyone to dinner, historical or current, who would it be and what would you ask first?
  • What is your proudest moment?

Most importantly, be yourself and stay calm and confident.

Completing Applications

When filling out applications, it’s important to be accurate and honest on every aspect of the application. Be sure to spell accurately and use correct grammar and appropriate capitalization and punctuation. When you have completed all parts of the application, you should proof it to be sure everything is included and is formatted correctly. You may ask an adult to help proof your application, but keep in mind that all work on the application should be yours only.

Midyear Report

Most college applications require that a Midyear Report be submitted after your first semester grades have been earned. Your counselor will submit this for you through MaiaLearning. Colleges want to be sure you are continuing to perform well academically. They will also want to see your end-of-year transcript, so it is important to be consistent in holding a high academic standard throughout your senior year.

Reporting Disciplinary Issues

College applications will often ask if an applicant has been dismissed or suspended from school. Most students will simply answer no, but for others this question could loom large. You should answer openly and honestly, telling about the issue and the disciplinary action that followed. Most importantly, you should explain what you have learned from the experience. Colleges want to be sure that you can contribute positively to their communities.

The Counselor Report may also ask about a student’s disciplinary record. Our office will report disciplinary issues when specifically asked to do so. If there have been any significant changes in an applicant’s file after applications have been submitted, the Counseling Office will normally report these changes as well.

Information for Artists and Musicians

High-level student musicians or artists who want to pursue their skills in college should check the specific guidelines for each college to learn what additional materials are needed for the application.

The Common Application and many college websites have an arts supplement that can be submitted to show, not just tell, a college about a student’s talent in the visual or performing arts. This supplement is meant for students who have excelled in the arts, have been practicing or performing for years, and who may plan to major in this field in college. It is not for those who have a more casual interest in the arts. In fact, a mediocre arts supplement can work against a college application.

Often students need to supply an art portfolio, a video of a theater performance, or a recording of a musical performance. It is your responsibility to prepare and submit whatever is needed for each college.

Admissions offices will send arts supplements to the appropriate faculty in their arts departments. The faculty will evaluate the supplement and give it a rating before sending it back to the admissions office to be included with a student’s file.

Information for Athletes

If you have excelled in one or more sports in high school, you may be thinking about what commitment you want to make to sports in college. Colleges with sports teams that compete with other schools are organized into associations and divisions. NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) and NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) are the most common. These associations set standards for recruitment and competition and protect student-athletes. They also set eligibility requirements that place importance on a certain level of academic achievement that is working toward graduation.

NCAA and NAIA Division Sports

The majority of Principia Upper School student athletes go on to NCAA Division III colleges. Your coach can help you decide which division is right for you and can tell you about the experiences of former Upper School athletes. 

NCAA I and II and NAIA schools may require a full-year commitment to a sport, even extending into the summer months. The opportunity to play at this high level may well be worth the commitment. At NCAA III schools, students may be able to play more than one sport and have a more balanced college life.

Division I schools generally have the most students and the largest athletic budgets and can offer full and partial athletic scholarships, although Ivy League Division I schools do not offer athletic scholarships. Division II schools are generally smaller and athletic scholarships are available. Division III schools do not offer athletic scholarships and, while less competitive than larger schools, there is still a big difference between high school athletics and playing at any college level. Sports at NAIA colleges and universities are comparable to NCAA Division II and athletic scholarships are available.

While scholarships are available, it’s important to keep in mind that only two percent of high school athletes receive NCAA athletic scholarships and, among those, only a small number receive full rides.

Registering with Online Eligibility Centers

If you expect to be recruited to play NCAA Division I or II sports, you should register during your junior year. To play at NAIA schools, you need to register during junior year and no later than senior year. Both sites have information to help guide you through the process. Your counselor will need to send an official transcript following junior year and again after graduation. 

Highlight Videos and Resume

Given the large number of high school students, it is rare for student athletes to be discovered by college coaches. In most cases, it is up to you to bring yourself to the coach’s attention. First, check the college website for a recruiting questionnaire form and use that to make initial contact with a coach. If that is not available, contact the coaches directly at schools you are interested in. Either way, you’ll want to include a resume listing your athletic and academic accomplishments and also ask if the coach would like to see a highlight video. The response from the coach will partly depend on the recruiting rules of the NCAA and NAIA. See your counselor for video and resume tips and samples.

Acceptance at a Division I or II School

  • Even though you may have had positive communication with a coach at a school of your choice, it’s important to remember that the final decision on acceptance will come from the admissions office, not the athletic department.
  • If you are recruited to play at a college and you have been accepted, there will be official papers to sign, usually including a National Letter of Intent. Before signing, it’s best to review all papers with a parent or coach so that you know exactly what your commitment is. It’s important to know that if you sign this letter and then decide to attend another college, you will lose a year of eligibility. You’d have to complete a year at the new school before being allowed to participate in athletics.

Principia College

Principia is the college choice for a third to a half of Upper School seniors each year. The College’s strong academic programs, breadth of opportunities, small class sizes, and Christian Science atmosphere are a natural fit for many students, but not all. An important part of our college-counseling philosophy is to work with each student to find the right fit based on the student’s needs, abilities, and desires.

For students interested in Principia College, a visiting weekend is highly recommended. It’s easy to visit from the School campus, and a visiting weekend can help dispel the common myth that Principia College is simply an extension of the Upper School. Learn more and sign up for a visit during your junior or senior year. You’ll also need to fill out an Upper School pre-excused-absence form available from your counselor.

You will apply to the College using the Common Application.

Financial aid at Principia College is generous. Please note that the FAFSA is not used at the College.