For this week's post, we asked current admissions counselor Liz Coleman to share what she thinks are the most important things for a prospective student to know about the college decision process. Liz is a SWU alumna and former student athlete. Read her advice below!

Be Picky

My best advice for students preparing for college is to only apply to 3-5 schools. The more schools you apply to, the more stress you add to your plate, and the more schools you have hounding you about your decision. Only apply to those colleges that you for sure know that you could see yourself attending. The application for SWU is free and only takes a 10-15 minutes to complete!

Ask Questions (lots of them)!

As far as what I look for in an applicant - I absolutely love working with students that have questions about our school, financial aid, academics, student life, etc. My job is to help students figure out if SWU is the place for them, and I can only do that if students are willing to engage in that awesome dialogue. Another thing that helps students stand out is when they share their personal story on their application. We have a series of questions listed on the app that are completely optional, but allow the students to share what their passions are and why they want to be at SWU. I’ve read some that have made me laugh and others that have made me cry. We want so badly to know our students on a deep and personal level, so to have the student feel open to sharing who they are with us is AH-MAY-ZING!!

My job is to help students figure out if SWU is the place for them, and I can only do that if students are willing to engage in that awesome dialogue.

Visit, Visit, Visit!

Make sure that you visit campus either before or as soon as you apply. Try to make it a goal to start visiting colleges the summer before your junior year, but don’t visit too many because then you will again feel overwhelmed. Visit your local community college, small school, large schools, private schools, & public schools. You don’t know if you like broccoli unless you try it, and the same thing applies to college!

The best way to sign up for a tour is to go online and sign up for either a Preview Day or Personal Visit. Both are great options! I prefer personal visits because you are able to get that individualized attention from admissions, financial aid, professors, athletics, fine arts, or students life; however, Preview Day is also great because you get to meet other potential incoming SWUdents and we feed you…for FREE!

Meet People

My advice to students looking to visit is to set aside at least half a day and commit to sitting down with those departments they have questions about. Also be sure to ask the tour guide (who is most likely a student), what they like and dislike about the college. No one will be more open and honest with you than you future peers.

Special thanks to Liz for sharing this advice. We have a great team here at SWU ready to answer your questions and help you navigate the admissions process! Click here for more information on the admissions process at SWU.