10 Tips for Your College Application

I’ve read thousands of college applications, during my five years of experience working in admissions offices. I truly feel like I’ve seen it all! These 10 suggestions come directly from my experience reading files, and I hope they can help make your application process a little easier.

1) Proofread, Proofread, Proofread!

Sloppy typos indicate carelessness to an admissions reader. Take the time to read through the entirety of your application, and to have others proofread it too. This includes any component of your application that requires writing (e.g. extracurricular descriptions, additional info, and essays).

2) Don’t Sell Your Extracurriculars Short

When completing the extracurriculars section of the common app, everything counts! The extracurricular section is not just for varsity sports, or school clubs. Summer jobs, babysitting gigs, volunteering commitments – these all belong! I’ve read too many applications where students only list one or two activities in the common app, but then reference other commitments in various portions of the application. Everything counts! That said, be careful not to misrepresent your commitments, either. If your extracurricular list adds up to 50 hrs/week of commitments (yes, I’ve seen this), that’s likely to make the reader of your file skeptical.

3) Have Teachers Who Know You Best Write Your Recommendations

Teacher recommendations are a small part of the application, but a good recommendation can make a world of difference. Teachers are so inundated with recommendation requests, that the majority of letters of recommendation follow the same script. Consequently, choose wisely when asking for your teacher recommendations. Choosing teachers who really know you, and who can write about you in-depth, will help your recommendations stand out from the pack.

4) Take the Supplemental Essay Seriously

Most schools ask you to write an essay in addition to the Common App essay. This is called the supplemental essay. The supplemental essay prompt is usually some version of, “why would you be a good fit for our school?” The supplemental essay is so important, as it’s really your best opportunity to make a case that you’re a good fit for the college, and that the college is a good fit for you. The bottom line is that colleges want to admit students they think will attend their school. Think hard about why you want to attend the college you’re applying to, and be able to articulate why it stands out from similar schools. If you’re applying to a small liberal arts school on the West Coast, don’t say, “I’ve always wanted to go to a small college on the west coast.” That’s not specific to a given school! Instead, focus on a school’s unique culture, programs, faculty, and students.

5) Demonstrate Interest in the School

Colleges track something called demonstrated interest, which essentially means, “what evidence do we have to make us believe that if admitted, this student will attend our school?” Every interaction you have with a college is tracked. Every tour registration, email, interview, and phone call, is logged in your file. All other things being equal, a school will usually admit an applicant they think is interested in their school, over a student who they haven’t had much contact with. Schools need to yield a certain number of admitted student to meet class size goals. As such, they’ll always bet on the student that appears interested in attending. So, if you’re dead set on attending a school, visit campus, interview, and sit in on a class. Finally, don’t have your parents contact the school to ask questions on your behalf, unless it’s related to financial aid. Colleges will notice this, and may see it as a sign of irresponsibility.

6) Don’t Apply to Schools You Don’t Know Anything About

This may seem obvious, but don’t apply to a school if you’re not sure why you’d want to attend. Reasons like, “it’s in a cool city,” or “they have a good football team,” are factors, but not key reasons to apply to a school. Focus on learning about unique aspects of the academic and cultural makeup of a school, before deciding whether to apply. I’ve read many supplemental essays that could’ve been written about hundreds of different schools. Get an early start on building your college list, so that you can hone in on a list of schools you’re really passionate about, and would be excited to attend. If you don’t know anything about a school, it’s really hard to hide that in your application. 

7) Apply for Financial Aid, Even if You Don’t Think You’ll Qualify

Every college applicant should take the time to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly known as the FAFSA. Federal financial aid comes in the form of grants, student loans, and work-study positions. There is no income-cutoff for receiving financial aid, and different types of aid have different awarding criteria. For instance, you may not qualify for a federal grant, but could still qualify for a work-study position. Additionally, other factors, like having a sibling in college, can greatly increase your chances of receiving aid. This article is a great resource for further reading on financial aid. 

8) Interview with an Admissions Representative

Interviewing with an admissions representative, or an alumni, can positively impact your chances of admission. Interviews can be anxiety-provoking, and this scares a lot of students away. However, the interview rarely makes or breaks your overall application, and is really an opportunity for you to demonstrate your interest to a school representative. A college interview is not a job interview. Usually, it’s more of a conversation, where the school representative is just trying to get a sense of what you’re all about. The interviewer will submit a short write-up of the conversation, which will be included in your admissions application. Taking the time to interview indicates your interest in the school, and that alone helps your chances. If you aren’t able to visit campus, see if the school of interest offers alumni interviews your hometown. Most schools offer interviews with alumni in major, urban areas. School representatives may also offer interviews when visiting your high school. 

9) Take Advantage of the Common App’s Additional Info Section

The Common Application offers an “Additional Info” section where you can write anything that you’d like the admissions reader to know about your experience. Did you have a bad semester because of a death in the family? Have you been impacted by medical, or mental health issues? If so, the Additional Info section is a great place to give the reader more context about your academic performance. Think of it as an opportunity to provide the reader additional context with which to assess your overall body of work in high school. And don’t use this space to write another personal essay! 

10) Present Yourself Authentically

Finally, make sure every facet of your application is an authentic representation of who you are, and what you’re about. Remember, admissions officers are reading hundreds of applications each season, and it’s usually terribly obvious when a student caters their application to what they think the college wants to see/hear. It’s always better to represent yourself authentically than to stretch the truth about your achievements, and get caught. Plus, honest applications tend to stand out the most, because they give the reader the best sense of how you’d enrich campus, both academically and personally. Ultimately, that’s what the college application is all about.