How To Impress Potential Colleges
Selling yourself out there to colleges is easy. You just have to convince the admissions counselor that you are among the 2.5 million applicants. Forget about the fat envelope that you would send through mail if only you could crack the admissions code.
Creating An Impressive College Application
Create an impressive college application. An impressive college application goes beyond answering every question and submitting it on time. You need to go the extra mile to make the admissions counselors stop in their tracks and think to themselves how much they need such a student. With a bit of planning and determination, your application will be on top of the heap in no time.
You have to work on ways to impress college’s way before you ever touch an application. That means applying yourself to your schoolwork and participating in the student body.
Ways To Wow College Admission Reviewers
1. Submit Early
One way to impress college counselors is by submitting your application early. Being proactive not only show that you are not a procrastinator it also gives counselors a chance to take a look at you information while the volume of applications is relatively small. Your accomplishments are much more likely to stand out now rather than when inundated with applications. However, while it is a good idea to submit early it is not a good idea to rush through the process when filling out your application. Start early but take your time.
2. Be Relevant
It can be tempting to lay out everything you have ever done on a college application, but you can accomplish a lot in four year's time. You do not want to leave college admissions reviewers swimming in your achievements. Rather, choose only the best of the best to include on your application. This goes for any application, really, including scholarships. You want to point out the biggest accomplishments and the most noteworthy items before the reviewer moves on to the next applicant. It is all about catching their attention quickly.
Likewise, be careful to include information that is relevant to the particular question you are answering. It is easy to go on and on, but shows real restraint if you can make your answers concise and on topic.
3. Have Solid Academics
There is no going back in time for a do-over so it really is imperative to start planning for college in your earliest days of school as a teen. High grades will impress the reviewers immediately and could even make them look past a lack of extracurricular activities or community service, depending on the college to which you are applying. In addition, a high GPA and class ranking shows that you are committed to your schoolwork and ready for the challenges of college level work.
4. Do Not Shy Away From Extra-Curricular Activities
Colleges like to admit people with a well-rounded background. One of the best ways to show this is to have a slew of extracurricular activities under your belt. Maybe you are a part of the foreign language club and play a sport. Alternatively, perhaps you sing in the choir or dance. It is particularly helpful if you choose an activity or group that somehow ties into your impending major. However not every teen knows what they want in their futures.
The main thing is to be a participatory member of your school. No matter what the school activity, the importance lies in the fact that you are active on the school campus outside of school hours. This shows that you have the ability to maintain a balanced schedule and can keep your grades up while doing so. So, if you are in your junior year and have yet to do something extracurricular, please sign up for something you're interested in right away. Colleges will look on you much more favorably if you do.
5. Care For Your Community
In addition to extra school activities if you are able to give back to the community in any way it could spell the difference between being chosen or not. Even if it is visiting the elderly once a month, teaching an adult to read, or helping out at the local animal shelter, colleges like to bring in students who want to have a positive impact on the world. In addition, if you can ever sign up to take on a leadership role for even one project at college organization, you can impress reviewers by such efforts.
Impressing College Reviewers Through College Fairs And Informational Meetings
At the beginning of senior year, you start to hear phrases like ‘college meetings’ and ‘college fairs’. What is the difference? You ask. While college fairs and informational meetings are different, attending one, or both, if that floats your boat is a great way to show how interested you are in a certain University.
College Fairs
The college fair is like a big buffet for postsecondary education. According to the National Associations for College Admission Counseling, the National College Fair gives over 500,000 students a chance to learn more about numerous college and universities. In addition, with those numbers, you can expect a college fair to be chaos. Fairs are often hectic, busy, and sometimes it can be hard to visit the tables of each college you are interested. National college fairs usually visit cities, but your high school may set up a smaller college fair for your grade. If you plan on going to a college fair, you should prepare. If you have access to a list of colleges attending a college fair, it can be helpful to plan which college to see first and what specific questions you plan to ask.
Informational Meetings
Similar to college fairs, informational meetings are a way to learn about different colleges. They usually take place during school and are much smaller than a college fair. Unlike college fairs, informational meetings usually only involve one college, which makes it easier to ask a representative questions.
Conclusion
When trying to get into the college of your dreams it all comes down to what you have done and what you have not done. If you have not held good grades, you obviously cannot do anything about that on your college application. Yet all the other extras mentioned can at least give you some kind of fighting chance. Truthfully, it is incredibly important start thinking about college long before ever getting there because good grades are really just the basics on what makes an application sing. The best colleges are seeking well-rounded individuals who are willing to work hard and engage with the educational process.