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Course: College admissions > Unit 4
Lesson 1: Introduction: Applying to collegeSal Khan's story: Applying to college
Sal shares his college application experience, emphasizing the importance of showcasing one's unique personality in essays and getting recommendations from people who know you well. He highlights the value of being genuine and letting your true self shine through in the application process. Created by Sal Khan.
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What are the most important things that can help me in getting into a good college?
What can I do know, in 9th grade to start preparing to college?(12 votes)
Based on what is happening with modern times, though, why is it so important to go to college when a person can get all the proper training online, at a library and through experience? Is it just for that piece of paper that costs so much money?(6 votes)
The advantage comes from the opportunity to study under experts in your respective field. There is obviously a lot of advantage in being taught by a retired nuclear physicists, one that you can't get by reading a book about nuclear physics in a library. Going to college will allow you to work on projects and develop things under the guide of these experienced professors, open up internship opportunities, provide a huge networking opportunity, and it's a pretty awesome social experience at college. Lots of development.
No corporation would trust someone who said they read about physics online, and choose them over someone who went to earn an MS in Physics at a respected university overseas.
That isn't just a piece of paper (what a silly way to view an education). The "paper" proves that you've learned what you learned, were able to be tested on it and pass, wrote about it in a thesis/dissertation, worked on projects relating to it, learned under great professors, were taught the right things, and did an internship and gained experience that way. Education is not a "piece of paper". It's knowledge. A way to prove that you know something.(13 votes)
I'm a seventh grader and I know it seems ridiculous for me to be watching stuff about college but I watch it for inspiration. What colleges should I think about? :P(4 votes)
It's not ridiculous. The time to start thinking about college seriously will creep up on you faster than you think. But for now, focus on good behavior, good grades, and some extra-curricular activities like scouting or sports.(8 votes)
Do non-USA-students have the same application as USA-students have?(3 votes)
It usually depends on the college you're applying to, but generally the application is pretty much the same besides a few questions relating to the country you come from.(6 votes)
how can I prepare for a career in computer science when i am in 8th grade?(3 votes)- You can start learning the topic and learning what you will need to succeed in the job of computer science(3 votes)
Do khan academy energy points work out?@ College Admissions(2 votes)
I think Khan Accademy is fair with energy points, or at least it seems fair to me. Why, do you think there is a problem?(5 votes)
- Are these videos useful for applying to a graduate program?(4 votes)
Not really, but applying to graduate school is usually pretty straight forward. Go to the graduate schools website (the specific department) and they should have some material on how and when to apply. Hope that helps.(4 votes)
- Is there any way to practice this is Elementary School other than following rules and getting good grades?(5 votes)
Public Charter elementary schools are basic. When you are in elementary school if you want to get ahead you should just study at home.(2 votes)
- When is it considered 'to late' to start thinking about college?(2 votes)
- Too late would be towards the end of your junior year. By then, you should have taken the SAT and you should have started visiting college campuses. Your senior year is when you apply.(5 votes)
Could you start applying to college at the end of your sophomore year in high school(2 votes)
If you’re looking to attend college the year after your sophomore year, the only college that I know would let you do that is Bard College at Simon’s Rock. Their deadline is June 1. Other colleges would likely technically consider you then, but your chances probably wouldn’t be very good at all.
If you’re looking to attend after senior year of high school, right after sophomore year probably isn’t the right time to apply. Schools like to see the rest of your high school career.
Does this help?(4 votes)
Video transcript
- So it's been about 20 years
since I applied to college, but I think I remember it pretty well. That's obviously a very
memorable time in your life. As you know from the other
videos, I was pretty set on applying to MIT, so early on-- and this was back in
the pre-Internet days-- as soon as it was
available, I contacted them. They mailed me the actual packet
that you used to fill out, and I got it from the other
schools that I applied to. And obviously, you fill out
all the forms, your data, your standardized test
scores, you had to send copies from the college board to those schools. But then, when you're
doing the application, at that point, one of the
things that you have a lot of control over-- your grades and your
standardized test scores are already there-- are your essays and your recommendations. I remember the first pass
that I took on my essay, and it was, I think I wrote
something that I thought that they wanted to read, and I had my sister review
it, who was, at that point, an undergrad at Brown, and she said, "Sal, this is a lame essay. "You just look like another
one of the thousands "of applications that they're gonna get. "I know you as a person. "You have a lot of personality. "You're sometimes a little eccentric. "Let that come out in the essay. "Don't go too far, but show who you are, "don't try to be someone that you're not "on either extreme." And so, she's like, "You're a
singer in a heavy metal band. "Let 'em know about that,
I mean, express yourself." And so I did. And once again, I didn't go too far, I didn't try to be something that I'm not. I tried my best to show what I am, and I guess it did work out at the end. The other piece, a very important piece, is recommendations, and for me, my three recommendations, one came from a Ms. Kennedy, who was our advisor for the school newspaper. I was the art editor, so I
had worked a lot with her, so she knew a lot about
how I work, my personality, my strengths and weaknesses. My other recommendation was Mr. Hernandez, who was a math teacher
but was also the advisor for the math team, and I was the captain, so he could write a lot about-- We had gone on trips together
and gone to competition, so he knew me really well. And then my third recommendation
was Doctor Hira Santonia, professor at University of New Orleans. I had taken several classes with him and I'd also been a
research assistant with him that previous summer. So yeah, I think it was
really good to have people who really knew me well and, once again, could show who I am
versus some, some, yeah. So I think it worked out well in the end.