For the most part, students tend to believe that their college application acceptance rate is mostly based on their standardized test scores (SAT/ACT) as well as their grade point average (GPA). What is important to understand, however, is that you are NOT a statistic; universities are taking into account your unique characteristics which may separate you from other students. Below, we’ve compiled a set college admission tips and considerations in order of importance to take into account when applying to your dream school; all of the factors are important and should be treated as such for one’s college application acceptance.
Note that fulfilling every suggestion in our college admission tips list is very useful, but they are NOT all mandatory in order to increase application acceptance rate. The best application would, of course, incorporate every factor into the essay and do it well. Though that may seem daunting to juggle every critical factor in the application essay –which is for good reason– those who are interested in maximizing their success rate should consider application services and editing.
A Strong Admissions Essay
This is an obvious answer; in fact, an admissions essay may be so important to your application, it may save and make up for a lower GPA or SAT/ACT score than what the average pool of competing applicants have. Here’s something important to know about the application essay: If you write your essay well, you have nothing but a better acceptance rate to gain. If you do not write your essay well, your chances of admission success are dropped SIGNIFICANTLY. To put things to scale, there were plenty of students with near perfect GPA and SAT/ACT scores who were rejected from all University of California schools due to a poor or ill-advised application essay.
The application essay is the ONLY section in the application process that differs from statistical differentiation; this means that the essay is the only time you get to “speak” and use your words to your advantage when applying. There are not other opportunities to do this, every other aspect of the application process waters you down to a statistic; therefore, it is VITAL that this is done correctly and not ill-advised by negligent teachers or apathetic friends and family.
Awards and Honorable Mentions
The same rule for the Application Essay applies to the Awards and Honorable Mentions: If you have a notable Award or Honorable Mention in your application, it may make up for a lower GPA or SAT/ACT score compared to other applications in the application pool. This is not a replacement for a bad GPA or SAT/ACT score, but it does provide a VERY IMPORTANT Influence on the success of your application. Unlike the Application Essay, which will severely hurt you if you do not write it correctly with the right knowledge, a lack of Awards and Honorable Mentions does not hinder your acceptance rate. Receiving such awards can be regional and preferably in a major region of your state. For instance, placing in first, second, or third in a competition for the northern or southern California region will provide a major boost to your application and will without a doubt make you more competitive than the rest of applicants. Note: They do not have to be as large as that region; however, it is preferable if your application took place later than earlier in your academic career. A good rule of thumb is noting all the awards you received starting from freshman year of highs school.
A Few Relevant AP Courses
One of the funny things to keep in mind about this topic is that most teachers and parents get AP courses and their place in the college admissions process wrong. They misunderstand how to best optimize Ap courses; in fact, many college admission tips wrongfully say that applicants should pepper their application with as many as possible. It’s true that one should challenge themselves in high school, and said challenging can become something admirable for university application officials. What should be noted, however, is that the most ideal setup for an application is one that is consistent with the courses you would like to take and the future career you have in mind. Take an applicant with the hopes of majoring in history. It wouldn’t make much sense for a student majoring in history to take a course on AP Physics or Biology; they two simply don’t hace enough of a correlation to make much sense. This does not mean, however, that one would want to stick to only one field of AP courses either; the general rule of thumb we recommend is to take 3 AP courses at most. This way, it would make sense to say the applicant was simply testing the waters with what it is they would like to invest their future academic career in. Sure, taking five AP courses will demonstrate that you are willing to put in the extra effort in school and you may receive an extra boost in application acceptance rate; but the benefit would be negligible for the amount of energy inputted compared to a strong application essay. Think of it like this: What is most beneficial to your application for the time that you have in your high school career? Hint: More often than not, you would not want to exceed 3 AP courses and you would want to spend the rest of the time working on a strong application essay, relevant community service, and Awards or Honorable Mentions.
Outside Studies
The admissions office will be more impressed with applications that include experiences and classes taken in other community colleges over the summer or overseas. These perks demonstrate commitment as well as a strong determination to expand experiences beyond ones borders and required obligations. Note that having the experience to study abroad is an experience not everyone has the privilege to afford. For those who want to increase the acceptance rate of their application without having to shell out thousands in travel and living expenses, they may want to consider attending community college courses during the summer. The advantage to this is having the extra credits needed to fulfill college requirements as well as possibly a much-needed increase to one’s grade point average. This is a rather important point that may become a game-changer for your application but requires the right permission from teachers and counselors fr the time; as such, there will be another article to discuss the vital preparations for foreign classes for GPA boosts in the future.
Have further questions about our college admission tips? Concerned whether your university application essay will save you from low test scores and falling grades? Thinking of having an expert craft your application essay for you to maximize your acceptance chances? That’s what services are for; it’s okay to admit that you need help. Everyone is talented in their own field, whether it be music, sports, history, STEM; not everyone can be talented in writing a masterfully crafted story for admissions officers. That’s what we’re here for: to maximize the chances of college application acceptance.
