Navigating the College Process
What do competitive colleges and universities seek from their applicants? As might be expected, the answer to that question varies from one school to another. Because more than half of all applicants to competitive colleges meet the academic standards, these colleges often look beyond the objective information (strong grades and scores) of qualified candidates to select the student who will contribute in a significant way to the campus community. One school may place special emphasis on your teacher’s recommendation, another may stress your commitments and contributions outside the classroom. Each school’s objective criteria may change slightly year to year, depending on the needs and priorities of the college in a given year. Despite the differences among the colleges, most admissions officers would echo the same advice to students. Some of the most important factors are included below: