There are many factors to consider when it’s time to tackle college applications. While, it’s important to show off your grades, test scores, and extracurricular activities, being able to show the institutions who you are as a person and being unique is equally as significant. This will definitely help you stand out as a quality candidate among the sea of applications each school receives. Here are 3 things you can do to ensure your application is strong and memorable.
Do Your Research
Colleges love it when a prospective student shows initiative by doing research about the school. Even something as little as knowing the school’s mission statement, goals, or names of important faculty members shows the institution that this person is a self-starter and cares enough to conduct outside research, instead of waiting for that information to be given to them. This can allow the student to make potential connections with the staff to develop a working relationship before attending.
Make Your Essays Stand Out
Every college applicant is given the same essay prompt by the Common App or institution. It’s usually something along the lines of reflecting on an experience and how that has shaped you as an individual. In order for yours to be remembered, it must contain information that stands out to the readers in some way. This should be a specific moment in your life, such as the first time doing something out of your comfort zone or scoring the winning goal in a soccer tournament. You want to demonstrate to colleges your most authentic self through your writing and experiences, so they get a chance to know who you are outside of academics. Never lie about the skills you have or include something that doesn’t apply to you at all. If you need additional help, check out this John Hopkins article that provides example essays that worked.
Check Your Online Presence
This is something that sounds simple, but in my opinion of the most important. With social media being so prominent in our society today, you must be mindful about what you share, especially when applying for colleges and careers later down the line. Go through all of your social accounts and delete photos or posts that you should take down. Keep those selfies and party photos to yourselves. You never know what college admissions staff may find online when they’re verifying portions of your applications. However, if you have a portfolio of your professional work that you’d like to share, you can include a link to it in your application.
I hope these tips were helpful when your time comes to apply for colleges. Feel free to share these with anyone you know that might find this useful. As always please reach out to us if you have questions.