Copyright Page

A Map of US College Admissions for Everyone (Korean title: 『모두를 위한 미국 대학 진학 지도』) Read this before you hire a consultant: draw the road first

Author: Jason Lee Publisher: AI Financial Investing LLC

Edition and date: (to be entered at publication) ISBN: (to be entered at publication) Screen reference date: November 2, 2026 Errata: (to be entered at publication)

The author and the publisher are the operators of the AI College Pals website introduced in this book.

This book is research and educational material. It does not guarantee admission results and is not personal admissions advice. Dates, deadlines and amounts change every year, so check the official pages again before you apply.

This is the English draft translated from the Korean edition (Korean-edition numbers and sources are inherited as they are). The English title, the language-specific adaptations for English-reading families and the English-interface screen captures are still to be done.

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Preface — What This Book Sets Out to Do

"A Map of US College Admissions for Everyone" (Korean title: 『모두를 위한 미국 대학 진학 지도』) "Read this before you hire a consultant: draw the road first"

When you begin preparing for US college admissions, it can be hard to know where to start. The grade numbers, the test names and the way applications are submitted are all unfamiliar. That is often the moment families start looking at private admissions consulting.

Private consulting can be expensive. Chapter 10 lays out the kinds of consulting and their price ranges (some cases that appeared in our research materials). It also lists the public and nonprofit resources to look at first, and the questions to ask before you sign a contract.

There is also research that shows, in numbers, that admissions can work differently for different families: NBER Working Paper 31492 (revised August 2025). The study analyzed 12 colleges: the eight Ivy League schools plus Duke, Stanford, the University of Chicago and MIT. It compared students with the same SAT or ACT scores. Children from families in the top 1% of parental income attended these schools at more than twice the rate of children from middle-class families (parental income at the 70th–80th percentile). The enrollment data cover the classes that entered in 2010–15. Looking at admission rather than enrollment, applicants from top-1% families had a 58% higher admission rate.

Keep a few things in mind when you read these numbers. The study covers only 12 colleges. It is not a picture of US higher education as a whole. And this book does not say that consulting created the gap. It does not use this study to judge any school or any family. Chapter 1 gives the details.

What this book hopes for is simple: open the map before you set out. With a map, you can judge for yourselves what kind of help your family really needs.

What this book does

This book has two parts.

The first part (Chapters 1–10) organizes the whole of US college admissions from official sources. It covers the US school system and the year's timeline, what to do in each grade, tests, choosing schools, applying, and essays and interviews. It also covers what happens after results arrive, money, where to live and what it costs, and private consulting and alternatives. Paragraphs that contain dates and numbers end with their sources. What we could not confirm from official sources is not written as fact; instead we say what we could not confirm and whom to ask.

The second part (Chapters 11–16) is a guide to the screens of the AI College Pals website: getting started, grade-by-grade career planning, essays, the SAT, and the shared spaces. The last chapter describes the site's evidence and its limits. It shows how what the first part organized continues into screens on the site. The purpose of the book is that anyone can open it and read what the site shows.

What this book does not do

This book does not guarantee admission. It does not calculate the probability of admission. It does not rank schools or place them in any order.

This book is not personal admissions advice. It does not judge which school suits your child. It does not judge whether visa or financial-aid eligibility applies to your family. For those questions it points you to the school counselor at your school, the colleges you apply to, and official agencies.

This book does not claim to replace consulting. It does not tell you to hire a consultant or not to. It does not rate companies by name. Chapter 10 introduces school counselors and public and nonprofit resources first, and then sets out questions to ask before signing.

A disclosure

The author and the publisher, AI Financial Investing LLC, operate the AI College Pals website introduced in this book.

For that reason the body of the first part does not use the site's name. Only the end-of-chapter box "On the site" points to the matching chapter of the second part.

How to read this book

Chapter 0 explains how to read in detail. Here are just a few points first. This book is written for a parent and a student to read together. If this is your first time, we suggest starting with Chapter 1, "A Map of US College Admissions." After that you can go straight to the chapter for your current grade.

Each chapter opens with "Question for this chapter," "Answer" and "In one line." At the end of each chapter there are boxes for readers using the Korean edition and "On the site." The reference date of this book is November 2, 2026. Dates and numbers change every year. Before you act, always reopen that year's official pages.

Sections that apply only to some readers, such as visas and documents, begin with "If this applies to you." If it does not apply, you can skip it.

Before you look into consulting, draw the road first with this map.

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Chapter 0. How to Read This Book

Question for this chapter Who is this book for, and where and how should I start reading?

Answer It is a book for students preparing for US college admissions and their parents. The first part (Chapters 1–10) is admissions guidance, and the second part (Chapters 11–16) is a guide to the site's screens. Start with the chapter that matches your current grade. Read dates and numbers together with the source at the end of the paragraph.

In one line Open the chapter for your grade first, and read the source at the end of each paragraph with it.

The title of this book is 『모두를 위한 미국 대학 진학 지도』 (in this edition, "A Map of US College Admissions for Everyone"). Its subtitle is "Read this before you hire a consultant: draw the road first." This chapter gathers the ground rules worth knowing before you open the book.

0.1 Who is this book for?

This book is for students preparing for US college admissions and their parents.

• Read it together with a parent. A student may be a minor, so this book assumes it is read together with a parent. The text is written at a parent's level.
• This is an edition for readers of the Korean-language book, translated for English readers. It has in mind both families starting out from Korea who will enter a US school (high school or college) and families already living in the US. Sections written for readers coming from outside the US are marked.
• Read according to your situation. This book does not divide readers into groups. It divides by situation instead. A section that begins "If this applies to you" is for readers it applies to; if it does not apply, skip it.
• It does not ask. This book does not ask about, or guess, the reader's race, region, religion or immigration status.

0.2 Two parts

The first part is written so that you can read it without the site. The body does not use the site's name. Only the end-of-chapter box "On the site" points to the matching chapter of the second part. Chapter 10 introduces help from public and nonprofit organizations first.

The second part is a guide to the screens of the AI College Pals site. The site keeps changing. So the second part fixes the site's screens at one point in time and is written from those screens. That point is given as the "screen reference date" on the copyright page. If the screen in front of you differs from the book, check the screen reference date on the copyright page first. Features that did not yet exist at that point are not in the text; they are listed in one line in Appendix B.2.

The notice on the copyright page is repeated here word for word: "The author and the publisher (AI Financial Investing LLC) are the operators of the AI College Pals website introduced in this book."

0.3 Where to start, by grade

The table below is the reading order this book suggests. Confirm your school's actual schedule with your school counselor.

There is a reason Chapter 3 comes first for grades 10 and 11: the PSAT/NMSQT is taken in October, mostly in grade 11 and by some in grade 10. There is also a reason Chapters 5–8 come first for grade 12: college applications are submitted in grade 12. Sources: [3-1], [1-6]

Sections to read depending on your situation

• If you are moving from a school in Korea to a US school, read 1.5.
• If you are starting from outside the US and need a student visa, read 5.5.
• If you have income or assets outside the US, such as in Korea, read 8.9.
• If you will be living away from home, read Chapter 9.

0.4 Conventions used in this book

• Reference date: The schedules and rules described in this book were confirmed on official pages on November 2, 2026. Dates and numbers change every year. Reopen that year's official pages before you act. Research figures follow the original papers.
• Source numbers: A mark such as "Source: [1-1]" at the end of a paragraph is a number in Appendix C. Appendix C has the address and the date checked.
• "What this book could not confirm" boxes: What this book could not confirm from official originals is not stated flatly in the text. The text marks it "not confirmed by this book," and the box says where and what to ask to confirm it.
• Terms: At first appearance, a term is given as "explanation (English original term)," for example net price. After that, only the same term is used. Names of programs and agencies, such as FAFSA and CSS Profile, are written in the original. You can find terms again in Appendix A.
• School names: When several schools are listed together, they are listed in no particular order. This is not a ranking or an evaluation.
• Costs: Only numbers confirmed from official sources are used. Cells that could not be confirmed are left as "needs confirmation." Material provided by companies is not mixed with official numbers. The exception is the consulting price case in Chapter 10: it is one case that appeared in our research materials (the company is unknown), and it is not a market average.
• Reconfirmation just before publication: Some content costs a lot if it is wrong: visas and documents, financial-aid eligibility, contracts, and deadline and fee numbers. This kind of content was included only after being checked once more before printing. Part of Section 5.5 on visa documents (the visa application fee and procedure) was read from a web-archive copy saved on January 2, 2026, because the official page did not open, so it is "as of January 2026." For that part, the date the official page is reopened just before publication will be entered as the "date reconfirmed before publication."
• End-of-chapter boxes: At the end of each chapter there are two boxes: one for readers using the Korean edition and "On the site."
• Questions to ask: What you must ask a school or agency directly is set out separately as "Questions to ask."

0.5 For readers coming from outside the US

This edition has sections written separately for readers coming from outside the US, taking the Korean-language edition's reader as the example: 1.5 matching school systems, 5.5 visa documents, 6.7 essays in English, 8.9 income and financial-proof documents from abroad, 9.3 housing and meals for students starting from Korea, and 10.4 getting help in your own language. The end-of-chapter boxes for readers using the Korean edition are included here as well.

• Grades: Do not assume that a grade in Korea and a US grade are the same. The US school that accepts your child decides which grade to place them in. Take the checklist in 1.5 and confirm with the school.
• School-year notation: US school years are written across two years, as in "2026-27."
• The day-before-deadline rule: Deadline times are written in US local time, such as US Eastern or Central time. Do not calculate the time difference yourself. Make it a rule to finish every application by the day before the official deadline.
• Document terms: Check unfamiliar document names in the English original. Ask the school or agency that receives the document whether it applies to you.

0.6 What this book does not cover

• Eligibility rulings by immigration status: Eligibility for programs such as financial aid differs by program. This book does not judge whether a program applies to a given person. Confirm with the official guidance and the financial aid office of the college you apply to.
• Probability of admission, and guarantees: This book does not calculate the probability of admission. It does not guarantee admission either. It only shows what to confirm, and where, at each step.
• School rankings: This book does not rank schools or place them in any order.
• Evaluating companies: Private consulting is covered only by type and cost range. Companies are not evaluated.

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About the Author — Jason Lee

Jason Lee is a portfolio manager in Korea who has worked in asset management for more than 20 years. This book and the AI Retirement Investing and AI Family Investing series are written under the pen name Jason Lee. Some institution names are shown as "OO" for business reasons.

His career began in IT. In 2003 he joined a Korean asset manager as a developer and rebuilt its investment-management and fund-accounting systems, an environment where trade records and holdings records could not diverge by even one day. From 2007 he moved within the same firm to quantitative analysis, and for about ten years built quantitative strategies and risk frameworks, including the investment process and asset-liability management framework for the outsourced CIO work of an OO ministry fund. Leaving a written record of the grounds for decisions for the investment committee was a daily routine, and the habit of this series of writing the rules down first comes from there.

In 2017 he returned to study, earning a master's degree in financial engineering at KAIST, and spent one semester as an exchange student at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. From 2019 to 2021 he built factor and machine-learning asset-allocation models at a Korean asset manager, and from 2021 to 2026 he led asset-allocation research and asset-liability management at an institution with more than 2 trillion won in assets. Monte Carlo simulation, shortfall analysis and risk limits based on volatility forecasts were part of that work.

This book is a guide that organizes official sources. It is not admissions advice and does not guarantee admission.

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Chapter 1. A Map of US College Admissions

Question for this chapter For a family preparing for US college admissions for the first time, what should they learn first, and in what order?

Answer Fix four things on the map first: the grade numbers in US schools, the kinds of colleges, the big picture of how colleges look at applicants, and the year's timeline by grade. If your child has attended school in Korea, first confirm with the school they will attend how their grade will be matched.

In one line If you open the map before you set out, you will always know roughly where you are while you read Chapters 2 through 10.

This chapter is a map of the whole book. It gathers in one place only the big frame of what Chapters 2 through 10 cover in detail. On a first read, focus less on each number and more on "what exists, and when you do it."

How to read dates and sources

The schedules and rules in this chapter were confirmed on official pages on November 2, 2026. This book calls that day the "reference date." Research figures (the research on educational gaps) follow the original paper and are separate from the reference date. Dates and numbers change every year, so reopen that year's official pages before you act. A mark such as "Source: [1-1]" at the end of a section or table is a number in Appendix C.

Why open the map first?

There is research that shows, in numbers, that admissions can work differently for different families: NBER Working Paper 31492. It came out in July 2023, and there is a revised edition from August 2025.

The study analyzed 12 colleges: the eight Ivy League schools plus Duke, Stanford, the University of Chicago and MIT (school names here are in no particular order, not a ranking). The study calls this group "Ivy-Plus." That name is only the study's analysis group. This book does not rank schools or place them in any order.

The main findings of the study are these.

• Attendance rate: It compared students with the same SAT or ACT scores. Children from families in the top 1% of parental income (above $611,000 a year) attended Ivy-Plus colleges at more than twice the rate of children from middle-class families. Here "middle class" means parental income at the 70th–80th percentile ($91,000–$114,000).
• Data years: The enrollment data cover the classes that entered in 2010–15.
• Admission rate: Looking at admission rather than enrollment, applicants from top-1% families had a 58% higher admission rate.
• Makeup of the attendance gap: Breaking down the attendance gap, about two-thirds comes from the difference in admission rates. About 20% comes from the difference in application rates, and 12% from the difference in enrolling after admission.
• Makeup of the admission advantage: The admission advantage of top-1% children was broken down again. Recruitment of athletes explained 24%. Legacy preference, which favors applicants whose parents are alumni of the school, was 46%. Non-academic credentials such as extracurriculars and leadership were 31%. The total is 101% because of rounding.

Source: [1-1]

Keep two things in mind when you read these numbers. First, 24%, 46% and 31% do not divide the whole attendance gap. They divide the admission advantage of top-1% children. Second, the study covers only 12 colleges. It is not a picture of US higher education as a whole.

This book does not use the study to judge any school or any family. But at the schools the study covered, factors other than grades and test scores affected admission. Knowing in advance that such factors exist is where preparation starts. This book does not guarantee admission. Instead, it tells you what to confirm, and where, at each step.

1.1 The US school system and grades

Reading grade numbers

US schools number their grades continuously from kindergarten (K) through grade 12. So even when the level of school changes, the numbers do not start over; they keep rising. In this book "grade" always means this number.

How grades are grouped into school levels differs from district to district. Middle school is grades 6–8 in some districts and grades 7–8 in others. This book groups grades 9–12 as the high school years. That is this book's way of organizing, not an official rule. How the school your child attends actually divides them, confirm with the school directly.

Question to ask the school: "Which grades does this school cover, from which grade to which?"

This book centers on grades 6–12

You submit college applications in grade 12. But preparation can start earlier. So this book centers on grades 6–12.

College Board's BigFuture has an action plan for parents of middle schoolers. It recommends four things: a daily reading habit, checking homework, exploring clubs, and taking the most challenging classes your child can handle.

BigFuture also gives guidance on high school classes. Take English every year. Fill each term with about five solid academic subjects, such as math, lab science, social studies and a foreign language. For math, most colleges prefer three years, and highly competitive colleges prefer four. After the basics, it recommends courses such as honors, AP and IB.

Sources: [1-2], [1-3]

Tests you can take, by grade

• PSAT 8/9: A school-based test in the SAT Suite. It has a reading and writing section and a math section. College Board says to ask the principal or school counselor whether you can take it.
• PSAT/NMSQT: The test that is the entry point to the National Merit Scholarship Program. It is taken in October, mostly in grade 11 and by some in grade 10.
• SAT, ACT, AP: Dates are in 1.4, and details are in Chapter 3.

Sources: [1-8], [1-9]

Sources: [1-2], [1-3], [1-6]

1.2 Kinds of colleges

There are many colleges in the US. IPEDS, run by NCES, holds admissions statistics, tuition, financial aid and enrollment figures. The more choices there are, the better it is to first sort out "what kind of school it is."

Source: [1-20]

There are many terms for sorting colleges. This book uses the names below consistently. Next to each name, instead of a definition, we put a "question to ask that school," because even the same name means different things at different schools.

Community colleges and transfer paths are covered separately in 4.6. A guide for first-generation students (students who are the first in their family to attend college) is also in 4.6.

Official sources for checking school information

It is a good habit to check a school's type and character in official sources rather than in what other people say.

Sources: [1-20], [1-21], [1-22], [1-23]

Sticker price and net price

When you look at tuition, keep two terms apart.

• Sticker price (published tuition): The tuition the school publishes.
• Net price: The expected out-of-pocket cost, which is the sticker price minus scholarships and grants.

Net price differs from household to household. So this book does not calculate net price as a common number. Enter your own household income in the net price calculator on each college's website and see for yourself. Money is covered in detail in Chapter 8.

Sources: [1-5], [1-23]

1.3 Overview of admissions

What a college looks at is not one test score. This section introduces only the big frame. What each school looks at, and how much, we examine in Chapter 4 using what schools themselves have published.

① High school classes and grades

Which classes you took matters. BigFuture advises taking English every year, filling each term with academic subjects, and taking honors, AP and IB after the basics. How grades are turned into a grade point average (GPA) is something to confirm school by school.

Question to ask the school: "How does this school calculate GPA? From which grade do grades count?"

Source: [1-3]

② Activities

Bucknell University's admissions blog says that depth and consistency matter more than the number of activities. It explains that a few activities pursued for a long time stand out. This is one college's admissions office speaking. We cannot say it is every college's standard.

Source: [1-7]

③ Tests

The SAT, ACT, AP and PSAT are covered in Chapter 3. Whether you must submit test scores differs by school. A policy in which the school does not require test scores is called "test-optional" in this book. For each school you apply to, confirm the policy on the admissions office's official page.

Question to ask the admissions office: "Do I have to submit test scores to this school? If I don't, what will you look at?"

④ Essays, recommendations and the activities list

The writing and documents that go into an application are covered in Chapters 5 and 6. They are the personal statement, the supplemental essay, the letter of recommendation and the activities list.

We confirmed the personal essay prompts on official pages. The Common App has seven personal essay prompts for 2026-27. The last one lets you write on any topic you like. The Common App announced that it is leaving the 2026-27 prompts unchanged. For the writing and documents that each school asks for separately, confirm with the official guidance of the school you apply to.

Sources: [1-25], [1-26]

⑤ Other factors the research revealed

The NBER study above reports that, at the 12 Ivy-Plus colleges, athlete recruitment, legacy preference and non-academic credentials explained the admission advantage of children from top-1% families. This is an analysis of 12 colleges. The study gives no basis for assuming the same holds at other schools.

Source: [1-1]

How to apply

An online application that you can send to several colleges at once is called the Common App. The Common App's end-of-season report for 2024-25 gives the final number of applicants that year as 1,498,199.

According to the Common App's guidance, you can add up to 20 colleges to one application. It says that using the platform itself costs nothing. Some colleges charge an application fee and some do not. Many colleges offer fee waivers depending on circumstances such as financial need or veteran status. If you use the Common App fee waiver that a counselor confirms, or a waiver that a college runs itself, you may not have to pay the fee. Fees and waiver conditions can change, so confirm again when you apply.

Question to ask the counselor: "Could you check whether I qualify for a Common App fee waiver?"

Sources: [1-24], [1-27]

There are also different types of application timing and conditions.

Source: [1-17]

There are also approaches such as Regular Decision (RD) and rolling admission. For the conditions, see Chapter 5 and the admissions office guidance of the college you apply to.

Early decision (binding) is a promise to enroll if you are admitted. Talk it through thoroughly with your parent before you apply.

Deadlines for early action and early decision can differ by college. We could not confirm from the original sources whether there is a common date. Confirm the deadline directly on the official page of the admissions office of the college you apply to. Details are in Chapter 5.

Sources: [1-6], [1-17]

May 1

NACAC calls May 1 the "National Candidates Reply Date." The NACAC ethics guidance recommends that colleges not set their enrollment-confirmation deadline earlier than this date, and that they use this date as the earliest deadline. Because this day is a recommendation in an ethics guide, confirm each college's actual confirmation deadline in your admission notice. What happens after you receive results is covered in Chapter 7.

Source: [1-18]

1.4 The year's timeline

The dates in this section are for the 2026-27 school year. Dates change every year. Dates earlier than the reference date have already passed. Always reconfirm your actual plan against that year's official pages.

The big thread, grade by grade

Sources: [1-2], [1-3], [1-4], [1-6], [1-7], [1-9], [1-14], [1-18]

When to take the SAT or ACT, decide together with your school counselor, using Chapter 3.

When you meet the counselor

In the 2023-24 school year, the national ratio of students to school counselors was 376 to 1. When one counselor looks after many students, the counseling time for each student can be structurally short. If you write your questions down ahead of time, you can still ask what you need in a short time.

Source: [1-19]

The 2026-27 school-year calendar

Dates marked ※ have already passed before the reference date (2026-11-02). They are listed in date order.

| 2027-06-05 | SAT test date | SAT test takers | | 2027-06-12 | ACT test date (registration deadline 5/7) | ACT test takers | | 2027-07-10 | ACT test date (registration deadline 6/4) | ACT test takers | | July 2027 | AP scores released | AP students |

| Varies by college | Early decision and early action deadlines | Grade 12 |

Sources: [1-6], [1-9], [1-10], [1-11], [1-12], [1-13], [1-14], [1-18]

How to read the calendar

• SAT registration deadline: About two weeks before the test date. For example, for the November 7 test the deadline is October 23.
• ACT registration deadline: The deadline time is 11:59 p.m. US Central Time.
• AP exam "ordering": An AP exam is not something a student registers for alone. The school you attend orders the student's exams from College Board. So the student should first ask the school's coordinator by when they must say they plan to take the exam. Question to ask the school: "By when, and to whom, do I sign up for AP exams at our school?"
• Deadline times and time zones: "US Central Time" and "US Eastern Time" tell you by which US regional clock the deadline is measured. Even the same "11:59 p.m." may be a different date and time by the clock where you are. Do not calculate the time difference yourself; make it a rule to finish every application by the day before the official deadline. Question to ask the agency: "Which time zone is this deadline based on? Is there a separate deadline inside the school?"

Sources: [1-10], [1-11], [1-13]

FAFSA

The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is the basic application for federal and state aid. According to federal guidance updated on September 23, 2026, the 2027-28 FAFSA was already open to the public at that point. The exact opening date is not given on that page.

To receive federal aid through FAFSA, you must be eligible. The basic eligibility listed in the federal student aid guidance (studentaid.gov) includes the following.

• Be a US citizen or an eligible noncitizen
• Have a valid Social Security number (there are separate exceptions for the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau)
• For need-based federal aid, show financial need
• Approve the transfer of federal tax information
• Have a high school diploma or a GED

The same guidance says that if a person required to provide information on the application (a required contributor) does not approve, the student is not eligible for federal student aid. It also says that additional eligibility requirements may apply in certain situations, such as when the student is not a US citizen, has a criminal record, or has an intellectual disability. This book does not judge whether any of this applies to an individual. Confirm at studentaid.gov and with the financial aid office of the college you apply to. Chapter 8 shows the order in which to check eligibility first.

Sources: [1-5], [1-15], [1-16]

CSS Profile

The CSS Profile is an online application for non-federal financial aid (such as a college's own aid). It opens every year on October 1, and most students submit it in grade 12. Whether you must submit it, this book could not confirm from the original source. Confirm in the financial aid guidance of the schools you apply to. To receive federal aid, you need the FAFSA separately.

Source: [1-14]

1.5 The school system you know and the US system

This section applies if you have been attending school in Korea and are moving to, or entering, a US school. If it does not apply to you, you can skip it.

This book does not give a table that pairs each Korean grade with a US grade (grade) one by one. The US school that accepts your child decides which grade they are actually placed in. If you fill in the checklist below while talking with the school, you will miss less.

Our family's checklist

Kinds of school if you need a student visa

If you are starting from outside the US and will attend on an F-1 visa, whether you attend a public or a private school affects your grade planning. The US government's Study in the States guidance says the following. Rules can change, so reconfirm before you leave.

• Public schools cannot accept F-1 students from kindergarten through grade 8.
• An F-1 student can attend public high school for a combined maximum of 12 months. If you attend several public high schools, the periods are added together.
• An F-1 student at a public high school must pay the full per-student cost, without subsidy.
• If you keep aiming for a high school diploma, you can transfer from a public to a private high school.

Visa documents are covered separately in 5.5.

Source: [1-28]

Questions to ask the school

1. Which grade (grade) will you place my child in? Is the basis age or the grade completed?
2. The school year my child attended in Korea and this school's school year may start at different times. If so, how are grade and term decided?
3. In what form should Korean transcripts be submitted: originals, English translations or certified copies?
4. Which of the classes taken in Korea are recognized toward this school's graduation requirements?
5. From when, and under what conditions, can my child take honors, AP and IB courses?
6. Do Korean grades enter this school's GPA? If they do, how are they converted and recorded?
7. If English is not the first language, does this school have English-language support classes?
8. Which counselor handles college counseling, and from which grade can it begin?
9. Can my child take the PSAT 8/9 or the PSAT/NMSQT at this school?
10. If a student visa is needed, does this school accept F-1 students? If it does, what are the allowed period and the cost conditions?

It is good to receive answers in writing, like an email. You can take them out again later when you write college applications.

For readers coming from outside the US (For Readers of the Korean Edition) "Grade" is a number that runs from kindergarten (K) through grade 12. Do not assume it is exactly the same as the grade names used in Korea; use the checklist in 1.5 and confirm with the school. School years are written across two years, as in "2026-27." Deadline times are in US local time, so rather than calculating the time difference, finish by the day before the deadline. For terms in the FAFSA eligibility wording, such as "eligible noncitizen" and "Social Security number," check the English original, and ask the college financial aid office whether they apply to you.

What this book could not confirm

• How each US state or school district divides elementary, middle and high school into grades, this book could not confirm from official sources. Confirm directly with the school or district you attend (or will attend).
• At what age a child is placed in which grade, and whether standards differ by state, we could not confirm. Ask the school that will accept your child.
• How Korean school levels and grades correspond to US grades (grade), and the submission format (translation, certification) for Korean transcripts and proof of enrollment, we could not confirm. Confirm with the official guidance of the school that will accept your child.
• The official definitions and classification standards of 2-year and 4-year, public and private, liberal arts college and research university, we could not confirm. Confirm in the official guidance of the school you apply to.
• How GPA is calculated, and whether grade 9 grades are included, we could not confirm. Ask your school counselor.
• The official definitions of regular decision (RD) and rolling admission, we could not confirm. Confirm in the admissions office guidance of the college you apply to.
• The word count of the Common App personal essay, and the number of items and the character limits of the activities list, we could not confirm. Confirm in the Common App's official application guidance.
• College-specific application fee amounts differ by college, so they are not given. Confirm on the official page of the college you apply to.
• A common standard for in which grade it is good to take the SAT or ACT, we could not confirm. Decide with your school counselor.
• SAT and ACT fee-waiver eligibility and the number of waivers, we could not confirm. Open the waiver guidance on the College Board SAT schedule page [1-10] and the ACT fee-waiver guidance [1-29], or ask your counselor: "Am I eligible for a fee waiver? What is waived, and how many times?"
• The federal FAFSA deadline and special-circumstance rules such as family situations, we could not confirm. Confirm at studentaid.gov and with the financial aid office of the college you apply to.

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Chapter 2. What to Do in Each Grade

Question for this chapter From grade 6 through grade 12, what should we take care of each year?

Answer The official guidance names only a few things for each grade. In middle school, look after reading and homework habits and the level of your classes. In grade 9, the focus is the mix of classes and meeting the school counselor. In grades 10 and 11, look at the test schedules, starting with the PSAT/NMSQT. In grade 12, look after the application method and the financial-aid documents. Dates change every year, so reconfirm on that year's official pages.

In one line For each grade, write down separately "what the official guidance says" and "what to ask the school."

How to read this chapter

US schools call grades by number. The numbers run in one line from kindergarten (K) through grade 12. This chapter goes in order from grade 6 through grade 12.

Ask the school: "Which grade (grade) is my child registered in this year?"

This chapter includes only things we confirmed by opening the official pages ourselves. So the length is uneven from grade to grade: a grade for which the official guidance says little is short. That does not mean that grade matters less. What this book could not confirm is gathered in the end-of-chapter box "What this book could not confirm."

The dates are for the 2026-27 school year. All were confirmed on official pages on November 2, 2026 (the "reference date" below). Dates that had already passed by the reference date are left in the tables too, to show the flow of a year. Dates and deadlines can change, so reopen the official pages before you register.

A mark such as "Source: [2-number]" at the end of a table or section is a number in Appendix C. The address (URL) is given only once, in Appendix C.

Details are covered in other chapters: tests in Chapter 3, choosing schools in Chapter 4, applications in Chapter 5, what happens after results in Chapter 7, and money in Chapter 8. This chapter only sets the order of "what to take care of in which grade."

At a glance

Sources: [2-1] to [2-15]

Read the table this way. First find your child's grade in the left column. Next copy the items in the middle column into your family calendar or notes. Finally, in that year, reopen the source pages and check whether anything has changed.

2.1 Grades 6–8

The range of middle school differs by district. In some places grades 6–8 are middle school, and in others grades 7–8 are. Even with the same grade number, if the school divisions differ, the time at which you choose classes can differ.

Ask the school: "In our district, which grades does middle school cover?"

Action plan for middle-school parents

College Board's college-prep guidance, BigFuture, has an action plan for parents of middle schoolers. The plan recommends four things.

Source: [2-1]

None of the four lines is a grand plan. They are close to daily habits. What the parent does is mainly "checking" and "talking."

There is one thing to watch for in the last line. The official sentence does not say "the hardest classes." It says "the most challenging classes your child can handle." Where the limit of "can handle" lies differs from student to student. This book cannot decide it for you. Ask the teacher and the school counselor about the student's current level, and decide together.

Picturing high school classes in advance

In the last year of middle school you can start thinking ahead about high school classes. The official standards to refer to are gathered in the "High school course standards" table in 2.2. It covers whether to take English every year, how many years of math to take, and when to add advanced courses. What to do in middle school is for the parent and student to read that table together once.

PSAT 8/9

The PSAT 8/9 is a school-based test in the SAT Suite. It has a reading and writing section and a math section. The official guidance says to ask the principal or the school counselor whether you can take it. So the first step is to ask whether our school gives this test. The nature of the test and how it differs from other tests are covered in Chapter 3.

Source: [2-7]

Questions for grades 6–8 (to ask the school or counselor)

• Does our school give the PSAT 8/9? If so, when, and which grades take it?
• When, and with whom, are high school classes chosen?
• On what basis does the school judge the level of classes a student can handle?
• What clubs does the school have, and when can students join?

2.2 Grade 9

In a district where middle school ends at grade 8, grade 9 is the first year of high school. The official guidance points to four things in this grade: classes, meeting the counselor, summer activities, and learning about college costs in advance.

High school course standards

BigFuture's high school course guidance describes the high school courses colleges look at like this.

Source: [2-2]

This table is College Board's general guidance. It cannot be taken as the same as the courses individual colleges require. When you have colleges you are interested in, check the admissions office guidance of those colleges separately (Chapter 4).

The "years of math" row is worth counting from grade 9, because how many years of math you take in high school starts from the grade-9 schedule. For the "advanced courses" row, the order is the key: the official guidance recommends advanced courses after the basic courses.

Meeting the counselor

The BigFuture grade-9 plan advises the student to meet the school counselor and discuss course selection, graduation requirements and exploring career paths. Graduation requirements are set by the school and the district. So this book cannot list them. They are information you need to get directly from the counselor.

Source: [2-3]

If you bring written questions to the meeting, you can ask more in a short time. You can use the "Questions for grade 9" below as they are.

Depth over number of activities

Bucknell University's admissions blog says that depth and consistency matter more than the number of activities. It also writes that a few activities pursued for a long time stand out. It is a post from one college's admissions office, so it cannot be taken as every college's standard. Still, an activity you start in grade 9 has the longest time to continue until grade 12. That makes it worth reading in this grade.

Source: [2-6]

Summer after grade 9

The BigFuture grade-9 plan suggests the following for summer.

Source: [2-3]

Note that "keep free time" is on the list. Even the official guidance does not tell you to fill summer entirely with schedules.

Learning about college costs in advance

The BigFuture grade-9 plan recommends looking into a college savings plan and scholarships in advance.

BigFuture's college cost guidance explains two things. One is net price. Net price is the expected out-of-pocket cost, which is the sticker price (published tuition) minus scholarships and grants. The other is the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The guidance explains the FAFSA as the basic application you use to receive federal and state aid.

Sources: [2-3], [2-4]

In grade 9, what you need to do is just to know these words. Applying is a grade-12 matter (2.5). Which aid you are eligible for differs by situation. Chapter 8 covers how to check eligibility first, using official guidance.

Questions for grade 9 (to ask the school or counselor)

• What are our school's graduation requirements? How many terms of each subject must be taken?
• Do grade-9 grades count toward the cumulative grade point average (GPA)?
• In what order can math be taken over four years?
• From which grade, and under what conditions, can honors, AP and IB courses be taken?
• How do I request a meeting with the counselor? About how many times a year can we meet?
• Does the school give the PSAT 8/9 to grade 9 as well?

2.3 Grade 10

For grade 10, there is not much that this book confirmed from official wording. Three things were confirmed: the course standards (the table in 2.2), the PSAT/NMSQT for some grade-10 students, and depth of activities.

Continuing your classes

The high school course standards in 2.2 apply to grade 10 as they are: English every year, about five academic subjects per term. For math, most colleges prefer three years and highly competitive colleges prefer four. The guidance recommends advanced courses after the basic courses.

Source: [2-2]

When you build a grade-10 schedule, take the classes taken in grade 9 and count the grades that remain. See up to how many years of math can be taken. See whether there are courses where you have finished the basics and can move on to advanced ones. Confirm both with the counselor.

PSAT/NMSQT: some grade-10 students take it

The PSAT/NMSQT is taken mostly in grade 11, and some grade-10 students take it too. The schedule and nature of the test are explained in 2.4.

Whether to take it in grade 10 depends on whether the school gives it and on the student's situation. The official help page tells you to see the details of grade eligibility in the PSAT/NMSQT Student Guide.

Source: [2-8]

Continuing activities

As in the Bucknell University admissions blog we saw in 2.2, there are admissions-office writings saying that depth and consistency matter more than the number of activities. Grade 10 is a good time to sort out whether to continue the activities you started in grade 9. Write down the activity names and when each started. Then you can count how many years you have kept each one.

Source: [2-6]

Questions for grade 10 (to ask the school or counselor)

• Does our school give grade-10 students a chance to take the PSAT/NMSQT?
• Which honors, AP and IB courses can be taken in grade 11, and do grade-10 grades count as a condition?
• Is an order that allows four years of math possible?
• What activities (clubs, volunteering and so on) can be continued within the school?

2.4 Grade 11

Grade 11 is the grade in this chapter with the most dates. This is because the PSAT/NMSQT is mostly a grade-11 test and the SAT, ACT and AP schedules overlap within a single year. The tables below are only the dates for the 2026-27 school year. Which test to take in which grade is decided with the counselor, depending on the student's situation.

PSAT/NMSQT

The PSAT/NMSQT is described as the entry-level test for the National Merit Scholarship Program. It is taken mostly in grade 11 and is given in October. The 2026 school-based fall administration window ran from October 1 to October 30. By the reference date, that window had already passed.

Sources: [2-8], [2-9]

Because it is given school by school, ask the school for our school's actual test date.

SAT dates for 2026-27

Source: [2-9] · checked 2026-11-02; dates can change

The SAT registration deadline is about two weeks before each test date. For example, the registration deadline for the November 7 test is October 23. For the exact deadlines of the other test dates, check the official page when you register and write them on your calendar.

ACT dates for 2026-27

Source: [2-10] · checked 2026-11-02; dates can change

How to read deadline times The ACT registration deadline is 11:59 p.m. US Central Time. The time where you live may differ, so do not assume that the date in the table is the same day by your clock.

So this book does not calculate time differences and recommends one rule instead: finish registering by the day before the deadline. For example, for the December 12 test, write down finishing by November 5 as your goal.

Ask the ACT: "Which time zone is the deadline time shown on the registration screen based on?"

AP exams in 2027

AP exams are subject-by-subject tests. If you are taking an AP course, the schedule below applies regardless of grade.

Sources: [2-11], [2-12] · checked 2026-11-02

The school side of AP: what "ordering exams" means

For AP, there are separate deadlines by which the school orders exams. The table below shows deadlines that the school keeps, not the student.

Source: [2-12] · checked 2026-11-02

By when a student must sign up for an exam inside the school is not in this table, because it is something each school decides.

Ask the school: "By when, and to whom, must we sign up for AP exams inside the school?"

Fee waivers and test-score submission policy

Test fee waiver programs and colleges' test-score submission policies are covered in Chapter 3. Whether a college requires test scores differs by school. Chapter 3 explains how to check it school by school.

Questions for grade 11 (to ask the school or counselor)

• When was our school's PSAT/NMSQT test date? How do we get the results?
• Is there a chance to take the SAT or ACT inside our school?
• If there are AP courses taken only in the spring term, is the exam sign-up time different?
• Whom should we ask whether we can get a test fee waiver?

2.5 Grade 12

The official schedule for grade 12 has three main threads: the application method and deadlines, the financial-aid documents, and May 1. The applications themselves are covered in detail in Chapter 5, money in Chapter 8, and what happens after results in Chapter 7. Here we only look at the order.

Application method: early decision and early action

NACAC describes the two early options like this.

Source: [2-13]

Early decision (binding) is a condition under which you must enroll if admitted. So talk it over thoroughly as a family before you apply. The relationship between early decision and financial aid is covered in Chapters 5 and 8.

A common deadline for early decision, early action and regular decision (RD) was not on the official pages this book read. Deadlines differ by college. The College Board grade-12 timeline also says to check early-application deadlines college by college. For each college you apply to, check the deadline on the admissions office's official page and put it in a table.

Sources: [2-5], [2-13]

Financial-aid document: FAFSA

The College Board grade-12 timeline gives October 1 as the first day you can submit the FAFSA.

A federal FSA Partner site announcement (updated 2026-09-23) says that the 2027-28 FAFSA was already open to the public at that point. The exact opening date does not appear in that announcement. On 2026-10-06 the final PDF form of the 2027-28 FAFSA was posted.

Sources: [2-5], [2-16]

To receive federal aid through the FAFSA, you must be eligible. The eligibility page of the official federal student aid site (studentaid.gov) lists the following as basic requirements.

Source: [2-17] · checked 2026-11-02

The same page adds two more things. First, if a family member who must provide information (a contributor) does not approve, the student cannot receive federal student aid. Second, additional requirements may apply in some situations, including when the student is not a US citizen.

This book does not judge individual eligibility. If you wonder whether such a case applies to you, check first in 8.6 of Chapter 8 and on the official page above.

Financial-aid document: CSS Profile

The CSS Profile (a financial-aid document that some colleges require in addition) is an online application used to apply for a college's own financial aid, not federal aid. It opens every year on October 1, and most students apply in grade 12. Whether you must submit it, this book could not confirm from the original source. Confirm in the financial aid guidance of the schools you apply to. The guidance says you need the FAFSA to receive federal aid.

Whether a school you apply to requires the CSS Profile can be found in the list of participating institutions. As of the reference date, the page listing participating institutions for the 2027-28 school year was posted. Check the college's own financial aid guidance together with the list.

Source: [2-15]

May 1

NACAC calls May 1 the "National Candidates Reply Date." The NACAC ethics guidance says that when a college sets its enrollment-confirmation deadline, it should use this date as the earliest. The College Board grade-12 timeline also mentions May 1.

Sources: [2-14], [2-5]

In other words, May 1 is the earliest day on which a college can ask a student to decide. Each school's actual deadline, confirm in your admission notice. The rules on the waitlist and on enrollment deposits are covered in Chapter 7.

The grade-12 flow at a glance

Sources: [2-5], [2-13], [2-14], [2-15]

Questions for grade 12 (to ask the school or the college)

• What are the early decision, early action and regular decision deadlines of each college I will apply to?
• Which of the colleges I will apply to require the CSS Profile?
• By when does the school counselor need to receive application documents in order to prepare them?
• Is the enrollment-confirmation deadline written in the admission notice May 1, or later?

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Chapter 3. Tests

Question for this chapter Which tests do I need to take for US college applications, and when? Do I have to submit the scores?

Answer This chapter covers four tests: the PSAT/NMSQT, the SAT, the ACT and AP. The 2026-27 test dates are on each testing organization's official schedule page. Whether you must submit scores differs by school. So you need to check the admissions office page of each school you apply to, one by one.

In one line Check dates on the testing organization's official calendar. Check whether to submit at the school's admissions office, and fee waivers in the testing organization's guidance.

3.1 What the four tests are for

First, a word about grades. The US counts grades (grade) with numbers running from kindergarten (K) through grade 12. The grade 10 and grade 11 in this chapter use the same numbers. How to match them with Korean grades is set out in 1.5 of Chapter 1.

→ Question to ask the school: "In which grade, and by what method, do students at our school sign up for the PSAT/NMSQT and AP exams?"

Table 3-1 The four tests at a glance

Sources: [3-1] [3-2] [3-3] [3-4] [3-5] [3-6]

PSAT/NMSQT. College Board's help page describes this test as the entry-level test for the National Merit Scholarship Program. It is taken mostly in grade 11, and some grade-10 students take it too. It is given in October, school by school. The detailed conditions on which grades may take it are not on the help page. The help page tells you to see the PSAT/NMSQT Student Guide for this. College Board also has tests named PSAT 10 and PSAT 8/9. The help page has a separate entry asking how those tests differ from the PSAT/NMSQT.

Sources: [3-1] [3-2] [3-3]

SAT and ACT. Both tests appear as "test scores" on many colleges' admissions pages. But how scores are used differs by school. There are schools that require submission, schools that leave it optional, and schools that say they do not use scores in admission decisions (3.3).

Sources: [3-9] to [3-17]

AP. AP is both the name of a course taken in high school and the name of that course's exam. The exam is given in May, and the school orders the exams (3.2). AP appears on admissions pages too. Below are examples in alphabetical order, not a ranking.

• Notre Dame: says it looks at grades in challenging courses such as AP and IB.
• Stanford: says it has no minimum grade point average (GPA) or AP count standard.
• UC San Diego: says it gives extra weight to honors, AP and IB courses.

Sources: [3-10] [3-12] [3-17]

The evidence in this chapter is of three kinds.

• Test dates (Tables 3-2 to 3-4): We opened the official schedule pages of College Board and ACT on 2026-11-02 and checked.
• School test policies (Table 3-5): This book summarized 27 of 30 admissions-office official pages that opened. From them we picked only the sentences about tests. Because it is a summary, reopen the original before you apply.
• Evaluation factors (Table 3-6): Values that 47 colleges answered themselves in the Common Data Set.

Sources: [3-8] [3-9] to [3-17]

3.2 The 2026-27 schedule tables

The dates in Tables 3-2 to 3-4 are values we checked by opening each organization's official schedule page on 2026-11-02. The "as of 11/2" column calculates whether the date had passed as of that day. Dates change every year. Check the next school year's schedule again on the same pages.

How to read deadline times. Deadline times in the official schedules are written in US time zones. The ACT registration deadline is in US Central Time, and the final deadline for AP school orders is in US Eastern Time (ET). It is easy to make mistakes while converting to the time where you live. So this book does not calculate time differences and recommends just one rule: finish all sign-ups by the day before the written deadline date.

→ Question to ask the testing organization or school: "Which time zone is this deadline based on, and does registration close right after that time?"

Table 3-2 PSAT/NMSQT and SAT

Sources: [3-1] [3-3]

The SAT registration deadline is set for each test date and is about two weeks before it. The deadlines in the table above are values we checked again against College Board's official schedule page after November 2, 2026. The deadline time is 11:59 p.m. US Eastern Time. Check again on the same page before you register.

Table 3-3 ACT

Source: [3-4]

The ACT has 7 test dates from 2026-09-19 to 2027-07-10. The ACT's official schedule page lists a test-date change fee of $44. This amount may change, so check the official page again before you make a change.

Source: [3-4]

Table 3-4 AP

Sources: [3-5] [3-6]

Who orders AP exams? The ordering deadlines in the official AP calendar are the dates by which the school orders the exams. The date by which a student must sign up with the school is not in this calendar. The sign-up deadline inside the school may come before the school's ordering deadline, so ask early.

→ Question to ask the school: "By when, and to whom, do we sign up for AP exams this year?"

If you will be testing outside the US, check separately on each testing organization's official page whether the tables above apply as they are.

3.3 Check test submission policy school by school

A policy in which the school does not require test score submission is called test-optional. The policy differs by school. Some schools also state which school year it applies to. So you need to ask "what does this school require of this year's applicants?"

Table 3-5 What test policies look like on admissions-office pages School names are listed in no particular order. It has nothing to do with ranking or evaluation.

Sources: [3-9] to [3-17]

Even these 8 schools alone show that policies split into several shapes. This table is this book's summary of the admissions pages. Before you apply, be sure to reopen the original addresses in Appendix C.

What the Common Data Set shows. The Common Data Set (CDS) is a standard statistics document that colleges publish voluntarily. Item C7 in it is the cell where a school itself answers how important various evaluation factors are. This book gathered C7 for 47 colleges. The reference years are mixed: 46 colleges are 2024-25 and 1 is 2025-26.

Table 3-6 Some C7 evaluation factors (among these 47 colleges, values the schools answered themselves)

Source: [3-8]

Among these 47 colleges, 9 answered "very important" for standardized tests. "Important" is 10, "considered" is 21 and "not considered" is 7. In the same table, 41 colleges answered "very important" for rigor of academic record and 40 for academic GPA.

Observe the following when you read this table.

• These are values the schools answered themselves. They cannot be taken as the same as the weight actually used in selection.
• C7 is a cell that answers only importance. It does not tell you whether that school has a test-optional policy. An answer of "very important" alone does not mean scores are required. An answer of "not considered" alone does not mean the school does not accept scores.
• The 47 colleges are those whose CDS we could read among the schools chosen by this book's rules. It is a sample centered on highly selective colleges and does not represent US colleges as a whole. The rules for choosing are in 4.7 of Chapter 4.

The order for checking each school.

1. Find the "tests" paragraph on the admissions office's application requirements page.
2. See which school year's applicants that paragraph is for.
3. See whether requirements differ by college within the university or by major.
4. See whether conditions differ by type of applicant. Applying from outside the US or transferring are examples.
5. Write the date and address you checked in your list of candidate schools.

Questions to ask the admissions office.

• Do this year's applicants have to submit SAT or ACT scores, is it optional, or are scores not used?
• Do you accept scores from either the SAT or the ACT?
• If I do not submit scores, what else do you look at in reviewing the application?
• By when, and by what method, must scores be submitted?
• Do you accept AP exam scores at the application stage, or after enrollment?

If it is hard to meet a school counselor, or your school has no counselor, also look at the public and nonprofit counseling resources introduced in Chapter 10.

3.4 Test fee waivers

The SAT and ACT have fee waiver guidance. College Board's SAT schedule page has a link to waiver guidance, but there is no eligibility explanation on that page. The ACT publishes a waiver guidance PDF, but this book could not read its text. So this chapter does not state waiver eligibility, the number of waivers or the scope of benefits.

Whether a test waiver leads to a college application fee waiver also has to be checked school by school. For example, the California State University (CSU) application fee waiver page says it does not accept outside waiver forms, including College Board waivers.

Sources: [3-3] [3-7] [3-18]

Questions to ask when you open the official guidance.

• Who is eligible for a waiver? What proof is needed?
• Who applies: the student, or the school?
• How many times can a waiver be used?
• Does it apply to other costs besides registration, such as sending scores?
• Does it also apply when taking the test outside the US?
• Does the college I apply to link this waiver to an application fee waiver?
• Is there a reduction for the cost of the PSAT/NMSQT and AP exams too? (Ask the school.)

Application fee waivers are covered together in 8.5 of Chapter 8.

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Chapter 4. Choosing Schools

Question for this chapter On what basis should we choose the schools to apply to? How should we read the numbers schools publish?

Answer First write down your family's criteria and gather candidates broadly. Then narrow them by checking one school at a time against what the school itself has published and against public statistics. The numbers a school publishes are either a record of the school as a whole or the school's own report. They are not numbers that tell you your own result.

In one line Gather candidates broadly, check with official sources, and decide by your family's criteria.

The full chapter is available in the book. The web edition shows the opening of the book and a summary of each chapter. The tables and figures of this chapter are in the book.

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Chapter 5. Applying

Question for this chapter Where, when and with what do I submit a US college application?

Answer The channels for applying and the ways to apply can be sorted into a few kinds. But deadlines, fees and the number of recommendation letters needed differ by school and by channel. This chapter explains only the structure and dates we confirmed on official pages. For school-specific numbers, it shows you how to check directly.

In one line Decide the channel and the method first, and gather each school's deadlines and documents in one table. Finish submitting by the day before the deadline.

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Chapter 6. Essays and Interviews

Question for this chapter What are the writing (essays) and interviews in a US college application meant to look at, and what should I check first?

Answer The essay is the place that shows the student's thinking and voice, which a transcript and an activities list alone do not reveal. There are two kinds of essays: the personal essay that goes to many colleges together, and the supplemental essays that each school asks separately. The Common App has seven personal essay prompts for 2026-27. The prompts and length of supplemental essays differ by school and by year. How much weight interviews carry differs greatly by school. So start with the official guidance of the schools you apply to.

In one line Check prompts and length on official pages; what to write, and how, the student decides.

The full chapter is available in the book. The web edition shows the opening of the book and a summary of each chapter. The tables and figures of this chapter are in the book.

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Chapter 7. After the Results

Question for this chapter When results come from the colleges, what do I have to decide, and by when?

Answer There are three results: admitted, denied and waitlisted. If you applied early, there is also a result called deferred. NACAC recommends that colleges use May 1 as the earliest enrollment-confirmation deadline. It also advises US high school students to deposit at only one college by May 1. A waitlist offer can come after May 1.

In one line Gather all the results along with the financial-aid and housing information. Then put a deposit down at only one college, and let the other colleges know.

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Chapter 8. Money

Question for this chapter How should I read what US college costs? Where, and how, do I apply for help with tuition? Answer Start from the sticker price that the school publishes. The amount your family will actually pay (the net price) you calculate yourself with the school's official net price calculator. FAFSA, CSS Profile, scholarships and fee waivers each have different eligibility and documents. So check eligibility first, and submit only the documents the school asks for. When a notice arrives, copy it into the same boxes and compare. If your circumstances change, ask the school's financial aid office for an adjustment. In one line The sticker price is the starting point; get the net price from the school's calculator; check eligibility for each program first.

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Chapter 9. Where to Live and What It Costs

Question for this chapter If I leave home to attend a US school, where will I live? How should I weigh the costs?

Answer There are five main places to live: a dormitory, school housing with a meal plan, a boarding school, a homestay and private housing (a rented room or an apartment). Meals, commuting and daily-life support differ for each choice. This book could not confirm cost numbers from official sources, so it does not print them. Instead, it shows what to ask and how to write it down.

In one line Compare housing by "what is included." Write down the amounts yourself, together with the date you confirmed them in the official guidance of the school or agency.

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Chapter 10. Private Consulting and Alternative Resources

Question for this chapter While preparing for admissions, should I pay for private consulting? What kinds of help can I try before that?

Answer First check the school counselor at the school you attend, and public and nonprofit resources. If you are considering private consulting, you need to understand the kinds of service and the price structure. And before you sign, confirm the conditions one by one with a list of questions. This chapter does not recommend or evaluate any particular company.

In one line Use the alternative resources first, and weigh consulting with a written quote and pre-contract questions.

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Chapter 11. Getting Started with AI College Pals

Question for this chapter When I first open the site, what do I see, and what should I do first?

Answer On the first screen, pick Mung-i (the puppy) or Nyang-i (the kitten) and start. Answer the one-minute starting questions and you move to the "My Guide" screen. You change the language and screen brightness at the top of the screen. For now you use it without logging in, and your records stay only on the device you use.

In one line The starting questions ask only grade, field of interest, school type and the help you need. They do not ask for your name, race or address.

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Chapter 12. ① Grade-by-Grade Career Planning

Question for this chapter What screens does the site's first big menu, "Grade-by-grade career," have? Which chapter of the first part does each screen stand in for?

Answer There are seven tabs: My Guide, Grade Calendar, College Candidates, Application Schedule, Cost Calculator, Available Support and Document Reader. Here you check this month's tasks, gather candidate schools and write down deadlines. You add up tuition numbers and look for official guidance that could lower costs. The screens help with organizing and calculating. But they do not judge eligibility or promise admission results.

In one line In this menu you write what you read in Chapters 2, 4, 5, 8 and 9 of the first part into your own schedule and your own numbers.

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Chapter 13. ② Essays

Question for this chapter What can I do in the site's "Essay" menu? Is it a place that writes essays for me?

Answer No. The Essay menu is a place that helps you write it yourself. You choose a prompt, answer questions, build a skeleton, write a draft, choose a direction and revise. You follow these six steps in order. The introductions and examples the AI makes are for reference and not for submission.

In one line The site does not decide "how to write" for you; it helps in proportion to how much you write.

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Chapter 14. ③ SAT

Question for this chapter What can I do in the site's "SAT" menu? Is it a place that raises SAT scores?

Answer No. The SAT menu is a place to organize your preparation. It has three shortcut cards to official guidance, and three tools: a weekly study plan, a comparison of target scores with schools' score ranges, and an error log. It does not promise to raise your score, and it does not tell you your chance of admission.

In one line The official sites are the standard for dates and costs; this menu helps you organize the order of your own preparation.

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Chapter 15. Shared Spaces

Question for this chapter What are the "shared" screens on the site? Is it a place where you compete on scores?

Answer There are Today's News, the Story Square (including classes), My Home (growth and ranking), My Records and the Privacy Notice. These screens do not compete over admission results or grades. Rewards are given only for things you did yourself (reading, writing, making plans), and admission results, scores and school rankings do not go into the reward inputs.

In one line It is a place that helps you keep up your own preparation for a long time; competing for rank is not the purpose.

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Chapter 16. Evidence and Limits

Question for this chapter Where do the numbers and sentences the site shows come from, and how far can you trust them? What can this site not do?

Answer Code calculates numbers and schedules, and the site's own AI writes only explanations and drafts. It was designed to take the minimum input and to write "unknown" for what it does not know. And this site does not promise admission results and does not replace personal admissions advice. This chapter separates what is "already being done" from what is "designed to be done."

In one line The site helps with calculating and organizing; judgment and applying are done by the student and parent.

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Appendix A. Glossary

How to use it. Terms are listed in alphabetical order in A.1. The "First appears" column shows the chapter or section where you can read a fuller explanation and its sources. Reference dates (11/2) and sources in parentheses show the day and basis on which that number or date was confirmed.

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Appendix B. Screen-to-Chapter Index

A table connecting screen names with this book's chapters. The reference is November 2, 2026 (build r32), and it may differ if the site changes. Screen names here are translated from the Korean interface.

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Appendix C. Sources (number · address)

The original addresses behind the marks written as "Source: [chapter-number]" in this book (https:// omitted). Files of this book's own collected materials are given by file name only, and the same address is shortened to "=[number]".

The full chapter is available in the book. The web edition shows the opening of the book and a summary of each chapter. The tables and figures of this chapter are in the book.

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