For my younger demographic, it is a constant struggle to figure out ways to enhance your college application. Some will join a dozen clubs, some will study vigorously to get the best test scores, and some will do hundreds of hours of community service. These are all good things to a certain extent, but investing all of your time into these things is actually lowering your chances of admission. Change your ways by following these simple guidelines:
Be UNIQUE
This is for the people who follow the standard actions while trying to get admitted. While community service and clubs aren’t necessarily bad, at least put your own spin on it. For example, if you are going to be a business major, don’t go outside and pick up trash. Instead, create a small start-up and donate a percentage of your proceeds to a charity that matters to YOU. Also, contrary to popular belief, colleges aren’t necessarily looking for someone who can do a little bit of everything. Instead, selective schools are now looking for students who have made real-life contributions to a specific field of expertise. This means that most of your extra-curricular activities should reflect your desired major. In my case, my two passions are basketball and business management, so I started a website that reflects both and I am in the process of founding clubs to showcase my leadership skills. Ultimately, identify your passion and direct the majority of your actions toward that passion.
Take a Rigorous Schedule
This means take all the AP classes you can if you go to a public school. The fact of the matter is that classes in public school are elementary at best. A business class is just simply the construction of a common email. An engineering class won’t feature any challenging projects. Enrichment classes are just a review of your previous knowledge. In my experience with a common public school, AP classes(even if you are not interested in the subject) are simply the only classes that give any real load of information. If your school does not offer AP courses, then self-study. This also shows colleges that you are self-motivated enough to work on your own. All of these challenging courses will definitely pay off in the long run.
Excel in School and on Standardized Tests
The most common mistake a high-schooler can make is to actually follow along with the work the teacher assigns. Now in no way does this mean to not complete the packet your teacher gave you. What I mean is, to really master the material, watch a video on the topic you are studying and recall all the information you remember. Then, complete a few of the required assignments. Then, read more on your topic, recall the information, and show your learning through your assignment. School work does not have to be ‘useless’ or ‘hard’ if you follow these steps to truly maximize your learning.
I know exactly what you are thinking, “I don’t have time for this.” And to that I reply: if you think success comes easily, then you are wrong. You must be willing to put in countless hours to get admitted into your dream school. With that being said, the strategy I just outlined saves you plenty of stress and review time. Every one of your classmates will be stressing about the upcoming exam while you barely needed to study because that is how confident you are in your knowledge. Again, this hard work will all pay off in your higher education and career.
To get high SAT and ACT scores, simply read daily to learn words and, as long as you have retained high school math using the strategy I gave earlier,
your score should be near perfect with little to no studying. On the first try, however, order the score breakdown to get a feel for your weak concepts and learn them using my strategy to improve your score if it was less than desirable. Happy learning!
Show Leadership Qualities
This should be pretty simple, so I will list examples of useful leadership and useless leadership for college applications.
Useful :
Founding a club that will do something important(ex. research or competitive)
Starting a business
Leading a rally such as campaigning for a political candidate
Useless:
Founding a club that won’t have many meetings or purpose
Working a common summer job (ex. retail and fast food)
Common community service for no reason(ex. soup kitchen)
Write a Standout Essay
Your essay should be about the passions that you expressed through extra-curricular activities. Make it draw your reader in naturally in amazement at your accomplishments and clever wordplay. DO NOT use a hook, it WILL backfire!!! Ultimately, fulfill the requirements while humbly bragging on your successes throughout high school.
DO NOT follow the crowd when it comes to college! Take your own academic journey and be YOURSELF and express YOURSELF through impressive activities. Good luck with the admissions process and happy learning!!!
