Reminders for students

Well, this is partly that I don’t have any big subjects to cover today, but it’s also convenient that now is a good time for some reminders and notifications, just so all of those potential students can keep an eye on the future. We’re about five weeks into the semester, and there are a few big events just around the corner. No deadlines have passed just yet, but a couple are on their way.

First things first, I want to remind everyone that there isn’t an application deadline per se; the admissions deadline is determined by a student’s desires as far as scholarships, housing, and orientation. As a rule, I always say that sooner is better than later for a student’s application for admissions (at least here at Grand Valley). Students can’t even sign up for orientation until after the new year, so we’ll skip that topic right now, but one reason for an early application is to be sure that you meet the scholarship deadline. Students who want to be considered for a couple of our automatic scholarships need to make sure that they have a complete application in by December 31.

Along those lines, if any seniors right now are planning to retake the ACT or have not yet taken it, there are a couple more dates you can do that. The October session is of note in particular, just because if a student takes the ACT then, there is still enough time for us to receive the scores by the scholarship deadline (just make sure you select GVSU as one of the schools you want the scores sent to). If you’ve already taken the ACT once, you may be hesitant to take it again (read: really don’t want to spend your Saturday in school taking a larger-than-normal test). From personal experience, you want to avoid this attitude. I took the ACT twice, and the second time my score only rose a couple points, but that was enough to bump me into a new scholarship bracket. Yes, it’s a terrible way to spend a Saturday, and I’m sure I hated doing it when I was a senior in high school, but I’m pretty happy about the money that I’ve saved over the last four years due to that new ACT score. But hey, that’s just my opinion, take it for what it’s worth.

The housing deadline isn’t until May 1, but potential students still want to be thinking about Grand Valley housing, because it’s all distributed on a first-come-first-serve basis, meaning the sooner you apply for housing, the more options that are available to you (students can apply for housing as soon as they’re admitted to the university).

Finally, I wanted to remind everyone that we have a couple of big events coming up soon, namely, the Student Visitation days. These will be large events held in the field house of the Allendale campus on Saturday October 16 and Friday October 22. There will be presentations from admissions, financial aid, and housing, as well as sessions with a wide range of academic departments, student panels, and tours of the campus. So it’s basically one stop for just about any questions you may have.

And one last note before signing off, be sure to leave enough time for your high school counselor to send us your transcripts. Even if you submit your application to us on one day, it doesn’t count as a complete application until we have all of the components (application, application fee, ACT scores, and high school transcript). Keep in touch with your counselors and keep an eye on how much time they need to process and send your transcripts. But that’s about it for today, ask any questions you’ve got on your mind.

-Kyle