When watching the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, I was in awe of the high school-aged kids like Chloe Kim and Red Gerard on Team USA. How do they balance their intensive training and extensive travel schedules with homework and school commitments? Surely being an Olympic athlete is impressive, but how do sports affect the college admissions process for regular students?
Applying to medical school is a very different process than the undergraduate admissions process that students have already experienced. While MCAT scores, applications, interviews, and prerequisite courses are important, it’s also critical for med school applicants inject their personality into their applications and find ways to stand out in the increasingly competitive medical school admissions process.
There are so few places in the college application process for a student’s voice to be truly heard. Sure there’s the essay and email communication with an admissions representative, but what makes a college admissions interview such a valuable opportunity is the chance to talk about yourself in a less structured and less formal way. It’s an opportunity to share your story the way you want it to be heard.
When making admissions decisions, colleges and universities in the U.S. don’t just look at grades and test scores. There is a myriad of factors that admissions officers consider when evaluating college applications, and it’s important to understand what colleges are looking for in order to have the best chance of admission to your top-choice colleges.
When applying to college, the goal of most students is to “stand out.” They want to know what they can do to differentiate themselves from the thousands of other applicants they are competing against to win a spot at their top-choice college. Some students think a stellar essay will separate them from the pack. While others think a lengthy activity list, or an outstanding teacher recommendation, will tip the scales in their favor. While these are all important elements of college applications, one of the best ways to stand out when applying to college is to show how you’ve made an impact with your interests inside — and outside — of the classroom.
There are some advantages to applying Early Decision or Early Action to your top-choice college. However, when developing an application strategy it’s important to know when it’s appropriate to apply in the early round — and when you should hold off.
Whether you’re working with your school-based college counselor, an independent college admissions consultant, or both during your college admissions journey, there’s one thing that you can’t afford to do, and that’s miss opportunities to tap the knowledge and resources of the staff and teachers at your school.
Families preparing for the college admissions process hear a lot about the ROI of a college degree. Which school gives you the most return on your investment? Which major will pay off the most immediately after graduation and the years after? What many families forget to consider, however, is why college matters outside of the measurable metrics. While earning more income after graduation is one major reason to attend college, students also want to further explore their interests, discover more about themselves, and enhance their lives.
There are many nuances to the college admissions process, and one of the aspects that can be hard for students to navigate is whether or not applying to their parents’ alma mater will impact their chances of admission. Legacy status in college admissions can be a confusing avenue to travel, but there can be some benefits — and drawbacks — to applying to college as a legacy.
The most important piece of information that students will receive after taking the ACT is their Score Report. The ACT Score Report is multi-faceted, and contains information that not only lets students know how they did, but also understand their specific and relative strengths and weaknesses to help guide their preparation for the next test sitting. So how can students and parents use this information to improve their scores in the future?
