What Matters Most on the College Application? (2023)

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What Matters Most on the College Application?

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According to the National Association For College Admission Counseling (NACAC) the factors that admission officers use to evaluate applications from first-time freshmen have remained largely consistent over the past 20 years. Students’ academic achievements—which include grades, strength of curriculum, and admission test scores—constitute the most important factors in the admission decision.” NACAC’s report also highlights other important factors that colleges consider, including “the essay, a student’s demonstrated interest, counselor and teacher recommendations, class rank, and extracurricular activities.”

It goes without saying, colleges are looking for students who are intelligent, hard-working, and passionate about their studies, regardless of the specific attributes or skills they value. As a result, the focus of your college application should be on your strongest assets. For example, it's important to mention your love for the piano and how much you want to attend music school. You should mention this in several parts of your application, such as your personal statement.

A well-written college application will also demonstrate your genuine interest in the university. There must be a compelling reason for you to apply to college, right? If you're writing a "Why This College" essay, explain how you came to be interested in the school and why you think it's a suitable fit for your educational and career aspirations. College applications are designed to make you stand out from the crowd in a favorable and memorable way. In addition to key personality traits, such as ambition, passion, genuine interest, and academic curiosity, what looks really good on a college application?

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Let’s dive in!

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A strong application will often contain most or all of the following components:

• A high GPA (compared to the average of admitted students) and a demanding curriculum
• Good test results (relative to what admitted students have)
• A concise, sincere, and well written personal essay
• A distinct extracurricular passion or interest
• Volunteer work with measurable results
• letters of recommendation that are persuasive and written in your favor
• Work experience, especially jobs that are relevant to your academic or career interests

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Here’s what colleges look out for on your application:

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1. Great Grades in Hard Courses

The most important component is unquestionably your transcript. Your performance in various topic areas with various teaching methods and grading standards is shown on your transcript. It is also known as the best indicator of college achievement. However, what matters most is that your GPA is greater than the average of admitted students at the college you are applying to, not just that you have a high GPA generally.

It is not simply your grades that count. Admissions officers also consider the quality and selection of the courses. You need to enroll in advanced courses in the subjects that interest you, not in all subject areas. Colleges also want to know that you intentionally challenged yourself by enrolling in harder classes, in addition to the fact that you did so. You are unable to change the past. But starting right now, you can alter your future.

Your application should highlight an upward grade trend, even if you started out in high school with lesser marks. This indicates that you are able to bounce back from any setbacks and are prepared to put in the effort required to succeed in college.

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2. High Test Scores

Scores on college admissions tests are the next most essential element in admissions, despite their position at the bottom of the list. Over the past few years, this landscape has evolved dramatically:

• Students can submit the SAT or ACT for college admissions at most colleges. Some colleges are test-blind, though, and do not want to see test scores.
• Although it is hard to say without knowing a student’s background, if a test score is a positive part of their application, they should submit it. If the test score does not help their application and the college is test-optional, do not submit it.

One way for students to find out their percentile percent on the SAT and ACT is to take practice tests. It is now possible for them to concentrate on the test that they perform better on.

Free SAT prep is available through Khan Academy. The ACT offers free prep and tutoring for its test. Also, the high school and public library may offer test prep. School counselors will have specific suggestions. You should aim for a SAT/ACT score that will get you into all of the universities to which you're applying, since you're most certainly applying to more than one. Make a list of all the colleges you're considering for which you'd like to achieve a specific GPA.

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3. Write a Sincere, Personal Essay

In your college application, the personal statement is one of the few places where you may truly express yourself. The 2019 NACAC poll found that 56% of schools place a moderate or substantial value on the essay portion of the application process. Despite the fact that some universities do not require an essay, those that do often place a moderate amount of significance on them. Colleges are looking for information in your essay that is not readily apparent from your application.

Generally, colleges are looking for three main qualities in a personal essay:

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• Honesty: What you write about should have genuinely occurred and should be how you actually feel. Exaggerating information and plain lying are significant no-noes here!
• Specificity: Using clear details to successfully portray your thoughts, view, and experiences can make your essay a lot more memorable, personal, and—most importantly—unique.
• Eloquence: Make sure your essay is not poorly written and full of grammar and spelling issues. A perfect personal statement has a rational organization, offers a captivating tale, and is absolutely devoid of technical faults.

How you write your college essay will depend on the prompt(s) your school gives you or the prompt(s) you choose (for example, the Common App and Coalition App allow you to choose from among several prompts for your essay).

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4. After School Activities

You'll be asked this question by nearly every college you apply to about your extracurricular activities and interests. In fact, 49% of institutions questioned place a moderate or substantial value on students' extracurricular activities. Take a moment to think about what you enjoy doing outside of school. As a candidate, you should focus on one or two of your most cherished interests and highlight any notable accomplishments you've made in those pursuits rather than a long list of random activities. Say, for example, that you want to study science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM). If you have a lot of biology or science experience, that will make you stand out as a candidate. You might be in the biology club at your school or have volunteered at a local research lab, which taught you how to use lab equipment.

You want to show that you have a lot of different experiences and enough background knowledge in the field. You also want to highlight any major accomplishments that are relevant to the job. For example, you may have won a science fair in your sophomore year of high school. More recently, you may have entered a national contest with an invention idea that won an award.

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5. Recommendation Letters

Most colleges want you to have at least one letter of recommendation from a high school teacher or counselor (or both).

If you need a letter from a teacher, choose someone in whose class you did well (ideally got an A) and who knows about your skills, goals, and interests. Usually, you'll need to send at least one letter from a teacher who taught a core class, such as math, English, science, or social studies/history. A letter from a teacher who works in the field you want to major in is also a good idea. So, if you got an A in AP English and want to major in English, asking that teacher for a letter of recommendation would help your application a lot.

You don't have to be best friends with the teacher you ask, but they should know you well outside of the classroom so they can tell admissions committees what makes you special, or why they should let you in.

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6. Experienced Volunteering With Measurable Impact

Colleges appreciate applications from candidates who have not only volunteered but have had a demonstrable impact. The group, community, or region you were trying to aid should have undergone a discernible, positive change as a result of your support if you have volunteered somewhere or for an organization.

Think about the neighborhood city hall where you volunteered, for instance. Perhaps you had the notion to organize a “build it together” campaign since the city hall was having trouble raising money to keep running. The amount raised by the fundraiser—more than $3,000—would serve as a tangible measure of the beneficial effect your service had on the hall. So you may specifically note how your initiative caused the hall to stay open in your college application.

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7. Work Experience

Having some work experience on your college applications, particularly any jobs that are connected to what you want to study or do professionally, will help you stand out in a positive way even though you are not needed to take a part-time job while in high school.

Any (part-time) work experience you have will be great to list on your application, even if it is unrelated to a long-term academic or career goal you have, as it highlights your sense of responsibility, maturity, and willingness to work toward your objectives—qualities that are frequently regarded as crucial for success in college.

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Before You Begin Your Application

Make sure you are not responding in a general way that might apply to any college or giving unimpressive data from the website if a college asks, as they frequently do, "Why do you want to attend our college?" Never inform a college of something they already know. They wrote it before you did, so you know they are aware of it.

Do not forget these tips:

• Comb through the college's website thoroughly
• Visit the school, whether in person or online
• Speak with current and former students
• Check out the college's official social media channels and read the online student newspaper

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Before You Submit Your Application

Use your school email account or create a regular email address for your applications; be professional and avoid anything that can detract from your application.

It is a fact and a characteristic of people that, until you arrive on campus, and begin your first day of classes, people will judge you on the basis of your transcript, your essay, your activities, your recommendations, your supplements, and, possibly, your test scores. You can do this! Finally, while you begin the process of applying to colleges and brainstorming ideas for your personal statement, keep in mind the following facts regarding the application process:

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Do no forget these tips:

• Instead of being perfectly round, it is better to stick out.
• There's no avoiding essays! They are really important
• A B score in a hard course is more impressive than an A score in an easy course
• Even if your application isn't perfect, you can still get into the school of your dreams

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