Amanda Slaughter is the assistant director of admissions at Belhaven College in North Jackson. She’s been working at Belhaven since last summer, but has been assisting students in the admissions field for four years. As school starts back, many high school seniors are preparing for college. She recently sat down with Northside Sun Staff Writer Anthony Warren to discuss what students need to do to prepare.

What should seniors be doing now?

“Around this time, they should be making choices on the top five or 10 colleges that they would like to go to and should begin visiting them. If college-bound students haven’t taken the ACT or the SAT, they should register to do so as soon as possible.”

When should students begin narrowing their choices for college and begin applying?

“This is the high season of admissions at many colleges. Schools around here have open enrollment and will continue to take students until they’re full. Most schools look for students to apply by March 1, which is usually a priority deadline for financial aid. In general, I believe students should begin narrowing their choices in the junior year, because the pressure is off. It’s not about getting the scholarships or financial aid or getting accepted. It doesn’t mean that now is too late, obviously.”

What should students consider most important in choosing a college?

“I believe they should pay more attention to the environment of the campus, who is teaching and what they’re teaching. They should choose more based on the academics, the curriculum and the environment. Obviously, the people you respect, you will listen to their opinion. But what might be right for one student might not be right for another. Visiting a campus before you go to school there is still important.”

What do colleges, including Belhaven, look for in a student?

“In addition to the academic side, colleges are also looking for well rounded students. Admissions offices look to see if they’ve been involved in extra curricular activities in their high school, the community and church. Obviously, athletics can also play a part overall.”

When do applications typically begin rolling in?

“Applications begin coming in between the end of November through the end of February.”

As the school year starts back, many seniors might suffer from spring fever. Are the last semester’s grades as important as the previous three-and-a-half years of school?

“From the freshman year to the end of the junior year is the main portion colleges look at. Students generally apply to a school before they get their fall grades. In that regard, some schools don’t even look at the last semester of a senior year. At Belhaven, we do preliminary and final acceptance. Basically, based on what a student has done up to his or her senior year, we make a preliminary decision. When the grades come in their senior year, we make a final decision. If students do poorly during their senior year and spring semester, we have the option of not admitting them. We rarely do that.”

Are there caps on how much money the federal government will give out? Is there a deadline for applying for governmental aid?

“There are caps set in the amount of federal and state money that is given out every year. That information is out there for students to access. At Belhaven, we never give more than 80 percent of the tuition costs in institutional funds (money rewarded from the college). It doesn’t necessarily mean that students won’t get up to the cost of education. It could be exceeded with federal and state money.”

Is there tougher competition to get into college for students today?

“I think there is a myth out there that the admission standards are getting higher. There aren’t many schools that have a cutoff on what grade point averages and ACT scores are, because they look at each student individually. More schools are looking at students on an individual basis, instead of putting them up against other students for admission.”

Why do you believe that is?

“The faith in test scores, I believe, has changed. Admissions standards are changing, because we have so many students applying who went to community colleges and home school students.”