Regardless of where your child applies to college, you can easily help them avoid the most common stumbling blocks to successful applications. Picking the wrong schools, not having an essay strategy, and focusing too much on testing instead of coursework and activities are just a few of the admissions mistakes we help our students avoid.
1. Picking the Wrong Schools
Many students and parents use inaccurate information from outdated sources to create a college list. They don’t understand this year’s admissions landscape. In the past, you could use data alone (mid-50% of test scores, average GPA, admit rate) to predict outcomes, but that is no longer the case. Because of our close relationships with college admissions offices and our deep understanding of current trends, we know how to pick the best colleges to fit our clients’ needs.
At Colledge, we begin with a “listening phase,” administering personality assessments, and getting to the heart of who your child is before suggesting colleges. Whether it’s selecting best fit colleges for a student with special talents (athletes, artists, scientists, coders) or special needs (learning disabilities, extra academic support, procrastination), we have first-hand knowledge about hundreds of colleges, their unique programs, and their current admissions processes.
2. Not Having an Essay Strategy
Many schools post essay prompts that your child can begin working on early in the summer. Waiting too long to write college essays can be a recipe for disaster; students find themselves in over their heads with writing demands that require more time and attention than anticipated without a hook to guide their strategy.
All kids have the potential for a great “hook” in their essay work. Having a hook simply means students know themselves deeply and can effectively communicate one or more special qualities to colleges. We know how to get the process started with a variety of different personalities. With skilled essay specialists and summer writing boot camps, many of our students finish 4-5 essays before schools starts in the fall!
Take Peter, currently a senior at MIT, for example – a brilliant mathematician and competitive fencer. Using our strategic essay guidance, we helped Peter craft the perfect essays about these two areas in his life, and he found much success.
Colleges want students who know themselves and will contribute to the campus community – whether it’s through their academic abilities or other factors. Students who have a “hook” that helps them stand out in the sea of applications tend to do better than those who do not.
3. Focusing Too Much on Testing and Not Enough on Coursework and Activities
Believe it or not, once a student has taken the SAT or ACT two times, research shows that they will probably not increase their score. You might be surprised to learn admissions officers are generally more concerned with the student’s academic rigor and performance in the classroom than test scores. Test scores do matter, but not to the exclusion of the student’s academic work. And the time spent preparing for the SAT or ACT could be better spent deepening their extracurricular involvement, and even discovering their true passions.
Contact us to discuss how we work with students to avoid these and other common admission pitfalls. Click HERE to set up a free phone consultation today.
