How to Make Your College Application Stand Out

Can you believe it is already November?

This edition of the newsletter is geared towards providing tips and

tricks to the college application process. However, the information

doesn’t start or stop with this newsletter, find us on Facebook,

attend a college-sponsored event AND meet with UT Outreach staff.

COLLEGE APPLICATION TIPS EDITION!

T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f T e x a s a t A u s t i n

November 2011

Volume 1, Issue 5

In This Issue:

How to make

College Application

Stand Out?

2

UT Outreach

Continues the Path

to Academic

Success

2

How to Prepare for

the SAT

3

Find us on

Facebook!

Search:

UT Outreach

Rio Grande Valley

Given there are thousands of

student applicants with a

strong GPA, how can your ap-

plication stand out? It seems

tough, but it can be done.

There are original and creative

ways to not only catch the ad-

missions committee's atten-

Did you know?

The University

of Texas at

Austin has

Seven museums

and 17 libraries!

tion, but the scholarship com-

mittee’s attention. How? At

some colleges & universities,

the same essay or letter of

recommendation is read for

awarding admission and

money! Now, you have two

reasons to get with it!

Upcoming Events!

Longhorn Round-up dates for the Valley Admissions Center:

Nov. 28th, 29th and 30th

For more information: http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/meetus/locations/vac

Dec. 30th registration Deadline for the SAT on January 28th

Apply to

UT Austin:

Summer/Fall

Deadline:

December 1

3rd Annual McAllen Family Engagement Conference

Page 2

Follow these steps and you’ll be on your way to the

college of your dreams:

The most effective and easiest way to stand out is

through your personal essay. You can put a crea-

tive twist to it and captivate the reader, while still

addressing the prompt. Use your essay to adver-

tise yourself as a mature and experienced individ-

ual and as someone who is able to think outside

the box.

Whatever your passion is, demonstrate it through

volunteer work. During the four years of high

school you should be looking into organizations,

clubs, or extracurricular activities that interest you.

Not only will they make your application stand out

How to Make Your College Application Stand Out, cont.

UT Outreach Reunion Mixes Fun Conversation

& Tips for Success

but they will help you discover your inner

passion and help you decide on future goals.

The admissions committee will see you as

another applicant, but by letters of recom-

mendation provide an opportunity to under-

stand you a little better. Pick your recom-

menders carefully. Recommenders will help

you stand out by praising all of your best

qualities and provide personal examples of

your unique experiences and personality.

Each recommender should be given informa-

tion about you they might not be aware of

and remember to give them enough time,

preferably three weeks.

On a balmy Monday afternoon, former UT Outreach students met in the new, state

-of-the-art Student Activities Center on the University of Texas at Austin campus.

These students didn’t come for a campus visit nor for a UIL competition. They rep-

resented the new UT Austin freshman class and the participants of the 1st Annual

UT Outreach Reunion ! These former UT Outreach students enjoyed pizza as they talked and laughed

with a lively bunch of current student leaders and the two executive directors for UT Outreach—

Austin and UT Outreach of South Texas. Each former outreach student was paired with a Longhorn

student leader and given a minute to share his/her background in what can best be described as

speed dating or more precisely, speed friendship building. The reunion’s purpose was to go beyond

the pre-college work that UT Outreach provides in

Austin, the Rio Grande Valley & San Antonio. Student

academic support services and mentoring opportunities

were shared with the students. Patrick Patterson, Ex-

ecutive Director of UT Outreach Austin & Dr. Rose Mar-

tinez, Executive Director of UT Outreach South Texas

announced the creation of a UT Outreach Student Advi-

sory Council. An invitation for former UT Outreach stu-

dents to be paired with a mentor was well received by

the freshmen. The program was such a success that

plans are underway to host a second reunion & to

create a UT Outreach Student Advisory Council.

“I feel more confident about college now.”

Alejandro Rodriguez, Alumnus of UT Outreach-Austin and First Year Nursing Student

How to Prepare for the SAT

Important Websites

Applying to Texas Universities? Application now open!

www.applytexas.org

The Gates Millennial Scholarship application is now open! Due January 11, 2012!

www.gmsp.org

Search for scholarships with free scholarship matching service

www.fastweb.com

Find official college planning and preparation tools

www.collegeboard.org

The Dell Scholars application is now open! Due January 15, 2012!

http://www.dellscholars.org/

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund application is now open! Due December 15, 2011!

http://www.hsf.net/

Page 3

As a high school student the chances that you have heard the acronym “SAT” are pretty high. But what exactly is the

SAT? Why on earth do you need to take it? And most importantly, how do you prepare for it? For starters, the SAT stands

for Scholastic Aptitude Test and universities require it for admission. The SAT is designed to determine how well you will

do at any university. SAT has two parts, SAT I and SAT II. SAT I is also called the SAT Reasoning Test and it is a compul-

sory exam. SAT I is designed to find out your reasoning abilities. SAT II, also called the SAT Subject Test, is an optional

test that can be taken for a particular subject from the fields of history, languages, mathematics and sciences. SAT II

gives you an opportunity to show your knowledge in a particular subject.

There is a lot of information on how to prepare for the SAT that you might not know where to start. It is not as confusing

as it might seem, especially if you follow the steps below:

Decide when you want to take the SAT. Register at least six months in advance so that you will have to prepare.

Obtain a good study guide that explains every section in detail and that has sample questions.

Enroll in an online course or join a SAT prep course. Some high schools offer courses like these. Ask your counselor

or UT Outreach Director for resources!

Start learning every concept carefully. Study the sample questions deliberately.

Once you have studied all the sections well enough you should start taking the mock tests. You must time yourself

while taking a mock test. Evaluate your performance at every mock test. Get feedback from experienced people.

Review the test taking tips on the day prior to your actual exam. Do not study the night prior to your exam.

Organize all the required documents ready before going to the exam center.

To register for the SAT, visit http://www.collegeboard.org/