The college application process can be really tricky. You spent the first three years of your high school life trying your hardest to get great grades, and to make yourself the best student possible. You participated in after school activities, and developed a plethora of talents and hobbies. But then, whether or not you get into your dream college comes down to a few text boxes. Colleges receive thousands and thousands of applications, and they use overly simplistic processes to weed out students. I studied their process, and developed these tips to help you stand out from the pack. These few pointers will make you much more likely to get into your dream school.
Attention to detail is so important. If your essays or transcripts are littered with spelling errors, your college assignments probably will be too. This matters. College application reviewers will immediately think less of you when they encounter spelling mistakes. Don’t let that happen. Microsoft Word’s spellcheck kind of sucks, and Google Docs’ is even worse. Use Grammarly to check for hundreds of spelling and grammatical errors: it will help you write better. When your applying to colleges, and writing a ton of essays for your senior year: use the quarterly paid tier for $59.95. It’s worth it.
In response to “Why do you want to attend our institution?” many students will start by writing something like “I really enjoyed my visit to Bryn Mawr blah, blah blah” and finish by writing “I really look forward to attending Cornell.” This makes you look generic, and the admissions committee will notice. This is some of the most important writing of your life: don’t play it safe. When your essay is creative, different, and eloquent, universities will likely think you are too. Your first essay shouldn’t be the essay you submit: write a few essays, review them, edit them, and decide what you like about each, and then compile them together. Never write one essay and submit it to every university: write for the unique qualities of every college.
Don’t say you attend 170 hours of activities per week — there are only 168 hours in a week, and you’ll look like a liar. Run the calculations over and over again. You want to put your best foot forward, but do it in a way that makes you look like a well-rounded, normal human. The selection committee wants to be excited about you, and for you: show academic strength, extracurricular strength, and an incredible balance. Balanced students are better students. It’s not about being the best or having the most superlatives.
One of the worst errors in an essay is a small slip-up that makes your application reviewer lose trust in you. If an essay begins with “myself” and ends with “my son,” you f*cked up. You need to be directly involved in your essay, and you need to write every line. If you hire outside help, that is okay: but you need to write your own essay. Hire help that makes you a better writer, and teaches you how to tell your story: the essay is the culmination of those two skills. Be genuine, and don’t put yourself in a situation where you can make this mistake.
Make sure that you apply to the right schools for the right reasons. Don’t apply to an Ivy League just to get the golden letter of admission. You will want to apply to schools that you will be happy at, and that will help you reach your goals. An acceptance to a ultra-competitive school won’t matter when you drop out after discovering that you hate it. Admissions officers can see through the Ivy clout — they’ll know if their school is just one on a list of a dozen. Be true to your own heart and apply to schools that can deliver on that.
Don’t waste your valuable essay to complain about your low scores. You shouldn’t talk about your scores or grades at all in your essay: this is your only opportunity to distinguish yourself. If your scores are excellent, but your essay isn’t, you’ll be seen as shallow. If your scores are bad, and you waste your essay explaining why, you look pretty bad: this was your opportunity, and you blew it. This is not the place to complain about your scores or your teachers. Tell your story, describe your powerful strengths: if you can write about yourself in an awesome way, you probably are awesome.
Waiting until the last minute means it’s already too late. College applications aren’t your parents’ responsibility, they’re yours. Take responsibility, and start very early. Writing a college essay that matches every other essay you wrote that year just isn’t good enough. Don’t procrastinate on your college applications while focussing on high school work. College essays are far more important than your dumb essay for a high school class. Take responsibility and prioritize your life. Start early; do more work than you think you need to.
The application process can be highly selective, but what the admissions committee is really looking for is authenticity. Be genuine. Present your life authentically — read opt-eds, read autobiographies, read hard-core journalism. You can learn how to not be boring while also being honest, and genuine. The combination is killer, and will get you accepted.
Don’t lose focus after you’ve been accepted into college. Admissions counselors do pay attention to your senior year grades. They sometimes revoke offers for students that have gone into a complete landslide. You can have fun for the remainder of your senior year, but you don’t want to completely blow it off. This sh*t matters.
— Brianne
