Responding effectively to college essay prompts

Responding effectively to college essay prompts is quite different from other essay writing. The combined challenge of addressing a question in an interesting way while avoiding clichés and making yourself stand out, all within a limited number of words, is something that students struggle with every year. With a wide variety of prompts used by each school, it can be overwhelming to write strong, memorable essays.

However, there are some standard practices that will help elevate your essay:

• Directly address any questions the prompt asks. Many essay prompts will ask you to write about extracurricular experiences in your life or to list interests such as your favorite movies or music. Be sure to include the answer to any questions and don't get distracted while providing context or other extra information.

• Use specific information. Make sure to mention the specific volunteer program you worked at or the name of your favorite instructor from your summer STEM camp. While it's important not to overburden your essay with small details, peppering in a few specifics will highlight what's important to you both academically and personally—in addition to giving admissions committees memorable details to file away about you as they sort through hundreds of other applicants’ essays.

• Create a narrative. Just like with any story or news article, you want to start your essays with a good hook. Setting the stage for your experiences, including anecdotes to drive home a point, or carrying a thematic element throughout your essay will help keep the reader interested and will show off your creativity.

• Reuse material. There’s no reason to write completely new supplemental essays for every school you’re applying to. Many schools ask the same questions with slightly different wording, like the commonly used “diversity essay,” which essentially asks how you contribute to and benefit from diversity. With some editing, a single essay could answer multiple prompts — and cut down on your stress! Just be sure that you’re still directly answering the prompt, and you’re still demonstrating fit.

• Demonstrate fit. Many supplemental essay prompts will ask you explicitly to tell them why you chose to apply to their school, or why you’re interested in pursuing your intended major at their school. In other words, they want you to demonstrate why you’re a good fit for their school—and why their school is a good fit for you. The best way to do this is by providing evidence to back up your claims about why their school is your “dream school,” or why their Biology major is “the perfect place” for you to prepare for a career in medicine. The strongest applicants may even demonstrate fit in response to prompts that don’t explicitly ask them to do so. For example, if you know that the school you’re applying to offers a unique elective course that closely aligns with your interests, you should find a way to mention it in one of your essays.

• Put yourself in your reader’s shoes. College admissions officers read hundreds of essays from hopeful applicants, each of whom think their personal experiences and reasons for applying to a particular school are unique. This contributes to the difficulty in standing out in your essays, since almost anything you write about will likely have been encountered by your reader before.

  Putting yourself in your reader’s shoes can help strengthen your writing. Remember, it’s not necessarily about what you say, but how you say it. If you read your essay back to yourself and some of the descriptions sound trite or typical, these are spots that are ripe for improvement.

  For example, if you describe a trip abroad to help build homes in a developing country with words like “life-changing” and “eye-opening,” you may run the risk of boring your reader. That experience could have been truly life-changing for you, but the simple act of thinking of more creative ways to express an idea not only makes your writing more interesting to read, it signals to your reader the amount of effort you’ve put into your essay.

  Describing an experience as transformative can sound less cliché and exaggerated. Moreover, allowing your experiences to speak for themselves (showing instead of telling) will display your imagination and grant you space to emphasize what you learned–something always popular with adcoms.

• Go through multiple drafts–and do so early. I can’t stress enough the importance of revision. While your initial ideas may be good, the first couple of drafts will never express them as well as they would after a few edits.

  Writing takes place in the mind. It’s a thought process that involves reflecting on your experiences and then translating that reflection into words and—most importantly—time. Make sure you start writing your essays as early as possible to grant yourself as much space as possible to revise.

• Be vulnerable and show emotion. Remember that college admissions officers are people, not robots reading an essay to make sure you’ve ticked all the boxes for a particular university. Showing some vulnerability or emotion in your writing can make your story come alive for the reader.

  Keep in mind there is a fine line between “showing emotion” and exaggerating your experiences just for the sake of a dramatic narrative. It’s a good thing to display your vulnerability in an essay, but adcoms can usually tell if you’re embellishing or exaggerating just for the shock value. And remember, emotion encompasses everything from feelings of triumph to feelings of despair — not all emotions are expressed with tears. Letting these shine through in your essay demonstrates your passion, which engages your reader.

Here are some example essays from some of the thousands of students we've helped get accepted to their dream school.

Note: Some personally identifying details have been changed.

College essay example #1

This is a college essay that worked for Harvard University.

This past summer, I had the privilege of participating in the University of Notre Dame’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program . Under the mentorship of Professor Wendy Bozeman and Professor Georgia Lebedev from the department of Biological Sciences, my goal this summer was to research the effects of cobalt iron oxide cored (CoFe2O3) titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles as a scaffold for drug delivery, specifically in the delivery of a compound known as curcumin, a flavonoid known for its anti-inflammatory effects. As a high school student trying to find a research opportunity, it was very difficult to find a place that was willing to take me in, but after many months of trying, I sought the help of my high school biology teacher, who used his resources to help me obtain a position in the program.

Using equipment that a high school student could only dream of using, I was able to map apoptosis (programmed cell death) versus necrosis (cell death due to damage) in HeLa cells, a cervical cancer line, after treating them with curcumin-bound nanoparticles. Using flow cytometry to excite each individually suspended cell with a laser, the scattered light from the cells helped to determine which cells were living, had died from apoptosis or had died from necrosis. Using this collected data, it was possible to determine if the curcumin and/or the nanoparticles had played any significant role on the cervical cancer cells. Later, I was able to image cells in 4D through con-focal microscopy. From growing HeLa cells to trying to kill them with different compounds, I was able to gain the hands-on experience necessary for me to realize once again why I love science.

Living on the Notre Dame campus with other REU students, UND athletes, and other summer school students was a whole other experience that prepared me for the world beyond high school. For 9 weeks, I worked, played and bonded with the other students, and had the opportunity to live the life of an independent college student.

Along with the individually tailored research projects and the housing opportunity, there were seminars on public speaking, trips to the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and one-on-one writing seminars for the end of the summer research papers we were each required to write. By the end of the summer, I wasn’t ready to leave the research that I was doing. While my research didn’t yield definitive results for the effects of curcumin on cervical cancer cells, my research on curcumin-functionalized CoFe2O4/TiO2 core-shell nanoconjugates indicated that there were many unknown factors affecting the HeLa cells, and spurred the lab to expand their research into determining whether or not the timing of the drug delivery mattered and whether or not the position of the binding site of the drugs would alter the results. Through this summer experience, I realized my ambition to pursue a career in research. I always knew that I would want to pursue a future in science, but the exciting world of research where the discoveries are limitless has captured my heart. This school year, the REU program has offered me a year-long job, and despite my obligations as a high school senior preparing for college, I couldn’t give up this offer, and so during this school year, I will be able to further both my research and interest in nanotechnology.

This is a college essay that worked for Duke University.

As soon as the patient room door opened, the worst stench I have ever encountered hit me square in the face. Though I had never smelled it before, I knew instinctively what it was: rotting flesh. A small, elderly woman sat in a wheelchair, dressed in a hospital gown and draped in blankets from the neck down with only her gauze-wrapped right leg peering out from under the green material. Dr. Q began unwrapping the leg, and there was no way to be prepared for what I saw next: gangrene-rotted tissue and blackened, dead toes.

Never before had I seen anything this gruesome–as even open surgery paled in comparison. These past two years of shadowing doctors in the operating room have been important for me in solidifying my commitment to pursue medicine, but this situation proved that time in the operating room alone did not quite provide a complete, accurate perspective of a surgeon’s occupation. Doctors in the operating room are calm, cool, and collected, making textbook incisions with machine-like, detached precision. It is a profession founded solely on skill and technique–or so I thought. This grisly experience exposed an entirely different side of this profession I hope to pursue.

Feeling the tug of nausea in my stomach, I forced my gaze from the terrifying wound onto the hopeful face of the ailing woman, seeking to objectively analyze the situation as Dr. Q was struggling to do himself. Slowly and with obvious difficulty, Dr. Q explained that an infection this severe calls for an AKA: Above the Knee Amputation. In the slow, grave silence that ensued, I reflected on how this desperate patient’s very life rests in the hands of a man who has dedicated his entire life to making such difficult decisions as these. I marveled at the compassion in Dr. Q’s promise that this aggressive approach would save the woman’s life. The patient wiped her watery eyes and smiled a long, sad smile. “I trust you, Doc. I trust you.” She shook Dr. Q’s hand, and the doctor and I left the room.

Back in his office, Dr. Q addressed my obvious state of contemplation: “This is the hardest part about what we do as surgeons,” he said, sincerely. “We hurt to heal, and often times people cannot understand that. However, knowing that I’m saving lives every time I operate makes the stress completely worth it.”

Suddenly, everything fell into place for me. This completely different perspective broadened my understanding of the surgical field and changed my initial perception of who and what a surgeon was. I not only want to help those who are ill and injured, but also to be entrusted with difficult decisions the occupation entails. Discovering that surgery is also a moral vocation beyond the generic application of a trained skill set encouraged me. I now understand surgeons to be much more complex practitioners of medicine, and I am certain that this is the field for me.

This is a college essay that worked for The University of Pennsylvania (UPenn).

When I was thirteen and visiting Liberia, I contracted what turned out to be yellow fever. I met with the local doctor, but he couldn’t make a diagnosis simply because he didn't have access to blood tests and because symptoms such as “My skin feels like it’s on fire” matched many tropical diseases. Luckily, my family managed to drive me several hours away to an urban hospital, where I was treated. Yellow fever shouldn’t be fatal, but in Africa it often is. I couldn’t believe that such a solvable issue could be so severe at the time—so I began to explore.

The exploration led me to the African Disease Prevention Project (ADPP), a non-profit organization associated with several universities. I decided to create the first high school branch of the organization; I liked its unique way of approaching health and social issues. Rather than just raising money and channeling it through third parties, each branch “adopts” one village and travels there to provide for its basic needs. As branch president, I organize events from small stands at public gatherings to 60-person dinner fundraisers in order to raise both money and awareness. I’ve learned how to encourage my peers to meet deadlines, to work around 30 different schedules at once, and to give presentations convincing people why my organization is worth their donation. But overall, ADPP has taught me that small changes can have immense impacts. My branch has helped raise almost $3,000 to build water sanitation plants, construct medical clinics, and develop health education programs in the small village of Zwedru. And the effect doesn’t stop there—by improving one area, our efforts permeate into neighboring villages as they mimic the lifestyle changes that they observe nearby—simple things, like making soap available—can have a big effect. The difference between ADPP and most other organizations is its emphasis on the basics and making changes that last. Working towards those changes to solve real life problems is what excites me.

I found that the same idea of change through simple solutions also rang true during my recent summer internship at Dr. Martin Warner’s lab at UCLA. Dr. Martin’s vision involves using already available digital technologies to improve the individualization of healthcare. By using a person’s genome to tailor a treatment for them or using someone’s personal smartphone as a mobile-monitor to remotely diagnose symptoms, everyday technology is harnessed to make significant strides forward. At the lab, I focused on parsing through medical databases and writing programs that analyze cancerous genomes to find relationships between certain cancers and drugs. My analysis resulted in a database of information that physicians can use to prescribe treatments for their patients’ unique cancerous mutations. Now, a pancreatic cancer patient does not need to be the “guinea-pig” for a prototype drug to have a shot at survival: a doctor can choose the best treatment by examining the patient individually instead of relying on population-wide trends. For the first time in my science career, my passion was going to have an immediate effect on other people, and to me, that was enthralling. Dr. Martin’s lab and his book, Digital Healthcare: A New Age of Medicine, have shown me that changing something as simple as how we treat a disease can have a huge impact. I have found that the search for the holy grail of a “cure for cancer” is problematic as nobody knows exactly what it is or where to look—but we can still move forward without it.

Working with Project ADPP and participating in medical research have taught me to approach problems in a new way. Whether it’s a complex genetic disease or a tropical fever, I’ve found that taking small steps often is the best approach. Finding those steps and achieving them is what gets me excited and hungry to explore new solutions in the future.

Supplemental Essay Questions

Many colleges and universities announce their supplemental essay prompts in the weeks leading up to the official opening of the Common Application on Aug. 1. The Common App essay prompts are already available for this cycle, allowing students applying to college this fall to get a head start on their personal statement. It’s a good idea to get started on your supplements in the summer before your senior year if you have access to the prompts for the upcoming admissions cycle. It can be hard to keep up with, so we’re posting supplemental essay prompts as they are announced prior to Aug. 1.

University of Chicago

Question 1 (Required): How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.

Question 2: Extended Essay (Required; Choose one):

1. We’re all familiar with green-eyed envy or feeling blue, but what about being “caught purple-handed”? Or “tickled orange”? Give an old color-infused expression a new hue and tell us what it represents.
– Inspired by Ramsey Bottorff, Class of 2026

2. “Ah, but I was so much older then / I’m younger than that now” – Bob Dylan. In what ways do we become younger as we get older?
– Inspired by Joshua Harris, Class of 2016

3. Pluto, the demoted planet. Ophiuchus, the thirteenth Zodiac. Andy Murray, the fourth to tennis’s Big Three. Every grouping has something that doesn’t quite fit in. Tell us about a group and its unofficial member, why (or why not) should it be excluded?
– Inspired by Veronica Chang, Class of 2022

4. “Daddy-o”, “Far Out”, “Gnarly”: the list of slang terms goes on and on. Sadly, most of these aren’t so “fly” anymore – “as if!” Name an outdated slang from any decade or language that you’d bring back and explain why you totally “dig it.”
– Inspired by Napat Sakdibhornssup, Class of 2028

5. How many piano tuners are there in Chicago? What is the total length of chalk used by UChicago professors in a year? How many pages of books are in the Regenstein Library? These questions are among a class of estimation problems named after University of Chicago physicist Enrico Fermi. Create your own Fermi estimation problem, give it your best answer, and show us how you got there.
– Inspired by Malhar Manek, Class of 2028

6. And, as always… the classic choose your own adventure option! In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, choose one of our past prompts (or create a question of your own). Be original, creative, thought provoking. Draw on your best qualities as a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the University of Chicago; take a little risk, and have fun! 

University of Richmond 

One essay response is required. Choose from the following prompts:

1. You have a platform to create change. What is an action or policy you might propose to address an issue of social injustice in your school or local community, or on a national or global scale?

2. Tell us about a time you learned something unexpected. What did you learn, and what happened next?

3. Richmond welcomes students from various backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences. What is at least one way you will contribute to our community that is not already mentioned in your application?

Word Limit: Minimum 350. Maximum 650 words. 

University of Texas at Austin

Summer/Fall 2025 Essay

Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design. Please keep your essay between 500–650 words (typically two to three paragraphs).

Short Answers

Submit the required short answers to prompts in your admission application. Answers are limited to no more than 40 lines, or about 250–300 words per prompt, typically the length of one paragraph.

Summer/Fall 2025 Prompts

1. Why are you interested in the major you indicated as your first-choice major?

2. Think of all the activities — both in and outside of school — that you have been involved with during high school. Which one are you most proud of and why? (Guidance for students: This can include an extracurricular activity, a club/organization, volunteer activity, work or a family responsibility.)

Optional Short Answer

Please share background on events or special circumstances that you feel may have impacted your high school academic performance. 

Villanova University

For the Villanova-specific essay, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of your thoughts, experiences, and opinions. Choose one of the five topics below and submit a written response in about 250 words.

1. St. Augustine states that well-being is “not concerned with myself alone, but with my neighbor’s good as well.” How have you advocated for equity and justice in your communities?

2. What is a lesson in life that you have learned that you would want to share with others at Villanova? 

3. “Villanova” means “new home.” Why do you want to call Villanova your new home? 

4. As an Augustinian community, we value recognizing individuals for their true selves. Please share with us a time when you were misjudged based on your identity or background.

5. At Villanova, we often say “each of us strengthens all of us.” Please detail a time when someone has borrowed some of your strength in their time of need. 

Wake Forest University 

Our supplemental questions remain optional, but we hope that these prompts provide space for you to share with us what makes you, you.

• List five books you’ve read that have intrigued you.

• Tell us what piques your intellectual curiosity or has helped you understand the world’s complexity. This can include a work you’ve read, a project you’ve completed for a class, and even co-curricular activities in which you have been involved (limit 150 words).

• Dr. Maya Angelou, renowned author, poet, civil-rights activist, and former Wake Forest University Reynolds Professor of American Studies, inspired others to celebrate their identities and to honor each person’s dignity. Choose one of Dr. Angelou’s powerful quotes. How does this quote relate to your lived experience or reflect how you plan to contribute to the Wake Forest community? (limit 300 words)

• Give us your Top Ten List. (The choice of theme is yours.) (limit: 100 characters per line)

Yale University

Short Answer Questions

Applicants submitting the Coalition Application, Common Application, or QuestBridge Application will respond to the following short answer questions:

• Students at Yale have time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from the list provided.

• Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it? (200 words or fewer)

• What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125 words or fewer)

Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will also respond to the following short answer questions, in no more than 200 characters (approximately 35 words):

• What inspires you?

• If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be?

• Other than a family member, who is someone who has had a significant influence on you? What has been the impact of their influence?

• What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?

Essay

Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will respond to one of the following prompts in 400 words or fewer.

1. Reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. Why did you find the experience meaningful?

2. Reflect on your membership in a community to which you feel connected. Why is this community meaningful to you? You may define community however you like.

3. Reflect on an element of your personal experience that you feel will enrich your college. How has it shaped you?

While answering additional essay questions might seem challenging, the supplements give students the chance to show a different side of themselves to the admissions office, as well as emphasizing their demonstrated interest. Since supplements are an important component of the college admissions process, we always recommend students begin working on these essays early to save themselves the stress of working down to the wire. If you’re getting ready to apply to college and looking for guidance on writing supplements, our team of admissions experts is here to help.

Do Colleges Look at Freshman Year?

A sinking feeling sets in among many high school students as they embark on the college application process. Some might think, “I messed up freshman year of high school” and, with it, any chance of acceptance at their dream college. How much do colleges look at freshman year?

Colleges closely evaluate freshman year grades and activities, but not in the ways you might think. Here’s how ninth grade does matter: freshman year is the foundation for the rest of your child’s high school career.

The courses your child takes early in their career, as well as their performance in them, determine the rest of your child’s high school course load. If they join extracurriculars freshman year, they may become a leader in those extracurriculars as an upperclassman. If they take honors physics at the start of high school, they may enroll in AP Physics senior year. And most colleges consider your child’s overall high school GPA, meaning the grades they receive freshman year do have weight.

But here’s the nuance. Many universities follow a “holistic admissions” process, which means they’re not simply looking at grades or your child’s ACT or SAT scores. They’re seeking a sense of your child’s narrative. Has your child made the most of the academic and extracurricular opportunities available at their school? Did they improve or grow during high school?

In that vein, admissions officers consider both your child’s GPA and their freshman course load in the context of their overall high school transcript. That means that excelling later in high school can balance weak academic performance freshman year. If your child recovers from a weak freshman year, admissions officers will see this as positive evidence of their ability to adjust to new academic demands and expectations, an ability that will come in handy during college and beyond.

This applies to extracurriculars as well. Admissions officers look for depth rather than breadth in your child’s involvement. If they don’t participate in many activities freshman year, your child can still go on to lead or excel in a couple of extracurriculars.  

Course selection: How colleges look at academic rigor

The courses your child takes freshman year matter as much if not more than the grades they receive in those courses.

Why? While most colleges don’t have minimum GPA requirements, they do want your child to have completed a minimum amount of coursework. And at most high schools, freshman courses are prerequisites for more advanced classes. In addition, colleges want to see that your child has challenged themselves by taking tough courses offered by their school. Achieving a high GPA by taking easy courses is not viewed as favorably as achieving a high GPA in hard classes.

On top of that, the courses your child takes freshman year are the foundation for the courses they take in the rest of high school. Choosing courses wisely will help set your child up to take the best classes for their strengths and passions later on.

For instance, if your child is interested in art but their high school doesn’t have an honors or AP course in that subject, your child shouldn’t skip the painting elective freshman year. Instead, your child should enroll in it and find other ways to deepen that interest later on, through community college classes, summer programs or scholarships, or extracurricular activities.

How to bounce back if your child took the “wrong” courses freshman year

If your child didn’t take an ideal course load freshman year, don’t worry. They can still bounce back by choosing to take a challenging course load during the rest of high school. Or, perhaps your child missed a freshman prerequisite for a class they would like to take. They should talk to their guidance counselor to see if there’s a way to test into that class. Your child can also look for summer, online, or community college options.

GPA: Do freshman grades matter?

Admissions committees are far more likely to be excited about a student who had mediocre grades freshman year and went on to receive stellar grades than they are to admit a student who thrived academically freshman year and then declined.

Colleges understand that your child might enter high school not yet knowing what they’re passionate about or that they might be coming from a middle school that didn’t prepare them as well as their classmates’ junior high schools did. Taking the first year as a chance to scope out their new world, learn its ways, and then ace it is much better than starting strong and losing interest or momentum. An underdog story is never a bad one!

Most universities will consider your child’s overall high school GPA, but will always consider their GPA and transcript together, meaning that an admissions officer will see if your child’s grades have improved over time.  

While most admissions officers will not simply forgive low freshman year grades, they will be more understanding of them than they will be of low grades in upper-level coursework. Your child’s sophomore, junior, and senior year coursework is more predictive of your child’s ability to succeed in college courses.

In short, your child’s freshman year grades may be considered during admissions but only as part of the overall picture of their academic achievement—never in isolation. A weak freshman GPA will not rule your child out as an applicant.

How to recover from bad freshman year grades and get into college

If your child is worried about their weak freshman year GPA, they should focus on improving it by excelling in their remaining high school coursework. And don’t assume your child should take easy classes in order to cushion their GPA.

Your child might also consider enrolling in online coursework or classes at your local community college. In addition to potentially boosting your child’s GPA (if their high school factors outside coursework into their calculation of GPA), this can demonstrate your child’s commitment to their education and help them excel in their remaining high school classes.

Holistic admissions: Looking at the bigger picture

Remember that admissions officers make holistic decisions based on your child’s entire application. If your child received weak grades early on in high school but went on to attain excellent grades, receive high test scores, write distinct college essays, complete a handful of extracurriculars, and develop relationships with teachers and administrators who write glowing letters of recommendation, then admissions officers are likely to view low grades freshman year not just as a “fluke,” but as a setback your child overcame to thrive in high school. If your child is stressed about their GPA, they should use that energy to focus on other parts of their application.

Extracurricular activities: demonstrate a deep commitment

Getting involved with clubs, societies, and teams freshman year gives your child a chance to dive deep into an area of interest. Joining early can help them achieve and assume leadership roles within those organizations as an older student. However, sophomore or junior year is not too late to become more involved in your child’s high school, town, or state community.

If you’re concerned about your child’s extracurricular involvement

If your child hasn’t yet involved themself in extracurriculars, how can they bounce back during their remaining time in high school?

Your child should not overcorrect for a low-activity freshman year by joining as many activities as possible later on. They risk seeming scattered and unfocused. Instead, they should select few extracurriculars that are meaningful to them. Anywhere from two to six extracurriculars can be a great number, but it’s the quality and not the quantity of their involvement that matters.  

What activity will give your child the chance to really make the most of their talents and interests? If, during freshman year, your child devoted most of their time to one demanding primary activity, such as a sport or musical instrument, they should not feel they have to take time away from that activity simply to pad their list of extracurriculars.

Is there a way to supplement your child’s core extracurricular activity? For example, if they spend most of their time playing soccer, they might find time to volunteer at soccer camps for younger children or to referee youth games. Or, if they play violin in a youth orchestra, they might share their talent by performing or giving lessons in a local venue like an elementary school or a retirement home. If your child pursues what is truly meaningful or exciting to them, this will come across in their application.  

Summer and school breaks are also opportunities for your child to become more involved in the community. Over the summer, they might follow an interest they haven’t found an outlet for within their school community.

Maybe they’re interested in politics, science, or creative writing. They could volunteer for a political campaign, find an internship at a local hospital, or write a play. It’s even better if your child can then somehow bring that involvement back to their school community in the fall. For example, your child might recruit other students to get involved politically or direct a production of their play with the high school theatre troupe.  

Final thoughts

Admissions officers want to know who your child is as a student and community member. They recognize that your child is not defined by their freshman year. The best way to recover from a “weak” freshman year is to give admissions officers a full picture of who they are now.

Five ways to boost student motivation

I had the opportunity to speak with a psychologist about motivating students and I wanted to share my findings. COVID-induced shifts to remote learning might have exacerbated students’ already declining motivations, even after beginning the “new normal.” Despite these dips in motivation, some educators may believe that students are solely responsible for motivating themselves. However, research has emphasized how educators can create motivationally-supportive environments to engage students while learning.

Learners’ motivation is shaped by three factors, captured by the following questions: Can I do this? Do I want to do this? And, what are the costs? In other words, motivation depends on whether students feel confident to engage in a task, find value in it, and perceive minimal costs during the learning process. Using this framework as a guide, here are five ways educators can boost student motivation in their classes.

Scaffold and build confidence

Construction workers use scaffolding to reach higher elevations in a safe and secure manner, and educators can employ similar methods to help learners grow in confidence. Students may lack confidence in learning because they may have not yet mastered certain academic skills and strategies. Because previous failure and the fear of it can hinder future learning opportunities, students need to experience success—even small successes—to uplift their confidence. Scaffolding involves designing tasks that start at the students’ skill level, and gradually increasing the difficulty of the task once the learner reaches the next level. A series of prior successes can have a cascading effect on learners’ confidence to keep making progress.

Discover and connect to future goals

Learners want to engage in class when the material is useful for their future goals. Discovering what students find the most useful or relevant in the class is essential for building connections between the course content and students’ short-term and long-term goals. Students might want to pursue careers in politics or forensics, for example, so an instructor might want to tailor particular examples from social psychology or research methods to make connections with these subfields, or even current events that pertain to these topics. Recognizing connections to real-world applications, future-oriented plans, and the course content makes learning relevant to students’ goals.

Emphasize personal importance

Students are motivated not only by how useful it may be for their future but also by how personally important the course material is to them. Educators can emphasize aspects of the course material that have salient connections to students’ personal and social identities. For example, students from racially minoritized communities may find that content about the psychology of race and racism resonates with them. Or students who grew up in a family of counselors may readily identify with content about psychopathology. Whatever course material students find personally important can serve as a critical touchstone that anchors a motivationally-supportive curriculum.

Instill true curiosity

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but being curious is truly one of the most sustainable sources of motivation. When students are genuinely interested in what they are learning, the sky’s truly the limit. To fan curiosity into flame, educators may consider the situations that trigger students’ interest and be mindful of what might catch their attention. These instances become the initial sparks that educators can use to build upon and allow students to cultivate their own enduring sense of interest. For instance, students might respond enthusiastically to an in-class experiment about cognitive perception. Students might enjoy doing in-class replications of experiments or find interest in perceptual processes. Now that students’ interests are triggered, providing additional activities or exposure and a chance for them to explore similar activities on their own can nurture personal interest.

Acknowledge and reduce cost perceptions

Lastly, educators can consider how to minimize students’ perceptions of cost, defined as the negative aspects of engaging in an academic task. When students face a challenge in an academic task, they might find it effortful or frustrating. One way to reduce effort and emotional costs is to help students reinterpret cost perceptions in a more positive way, such as acknowledging that challenges are mostly temporary and common to other students. Also, if educators establish appropriate expectations for how much effort is required for a task, students may calibrate how effortful a task might be, rather than overestimating how much effort is needed.

Concluding thoughts

Student motivation is an extremely complex process and depends quite a bit on the learner’s goals, contexts, or tasks. A one-size fits all approach may not always work, but we hope these five strategies can be starting points for educators to think through when creating motivationally supportive learning environments.

What is a “good” SAT Score?

Many students taking the SAT have one goal: score as close to perfect as they can. While students should always challenge themselves to do their best, it’s worth asking: short of a perfect 1600, what is a “good” SAT score? What is an average SAT score? What is a “bad” SAT score? Should my child retake the SAT? 

A good SAT score can mean a few different things. One definition is how high your child scores relative to other test-takers across the nation who have graduated high school within the past three years—in other words, their percentile. Thinking in those terms means shooting for an SAT score that is as high as possible. 

Another definition of a good SAT score is whether it’s within the range of the average score of students admitted to your child’s dream school in the previous year. Thinking in these terms means gauging what scores align with the kinds of colleges your child is interested in.

The definition of a good score must also take into account your child’s year in school. If they’re taking the test as a junior, a good score means something different than if they’re taking it as a senior, because there’s more time for them to retake the test.

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty about good and bad SAT scores, I’ll remind you that the SAT is just one component of your child’s college application. It’s certainly important, but remember that grades, extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation, and the Common App essay all matter as well, and can help compensate for a less-than-ideal SAT score. 

How is the SAT scored?

The SAT total score ranges from 400 to 1600. This total score comprises your child’s Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) score and Math score. In each section, a student can score between 200 and 800. 

Section scores can be broken down even further into individual test scores (your child’s score on the Writing or Reading tests individually, for example) cross-test scores, and subscores. For a full breakdown of which scores comprise the SAT total score, you can visit the CollegeBoard’s handy chart here. 

And while national percentiles are helpful, a “good SAT score” depends on your child’s college goals.

At its simplest, the SAT is designed to test college readiness. In order to know what score is desirable for your child, it’s important to think about the which colleges they hope to attend.

In short: your child should aim for a score that falls within the range of the schools they want to get into. Colleges usually publish the SAT score ranges of their incoming class on their website.

Unsurprisingly, score ranges for incoming college classes vary widely. If your child’s dream is to get into Yale, for example, the score ranges of the incoming freshman class were as follows. The lower number is the 25th percentile, and the higher number is the 75th percentile: 

• Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 720–770

• Math: 740–800

• Overall: 1460–1570

Compare this to a national pool. Students scoring a 720 in Evidence-Based Reading & Writing in the national pool in 2021 were in the 96th percentile nationally, and students scoring a 770 were in the 99th percentile. For Math, a score of 740 is in the 95th percentile nationally and 800 is 99th percentile.

Essentially, this means your child can score higher than 95 percent of test takers in the national pool—and they’ll still be on the lower end of the score range for Yale’s incoming class. What would be considered an outstanding score in the national pool is average for Ivy League and other highly selective colleges. 

If your child is interested in attending a top non-Ivy League university, the SAT score ranges can be similarly competitive. The middle 50 percent of freshman at the University of Michigan, for example, earned overall scores ranging from 1400–1540. Nationally, a 1400 is the 93rd percentile, and a 1540 is the 99th percentile. At UC Berkeley, the middle 50 percent of scores were 1330–1530, or the 88th–99th percentiles.

Prestigious small liberal arts colleges boast similarly high scores among their admits. Haverford College, for example, has a score range of 1380–1540 and Williams College has a score range of 1410–1550.

These numbers may seem like there’s little room for error. But it all depends on your child’s goals. The University of Washington’s score range is 1220–1470—a 1220 is the 77th percentile nationally. The range of the incoming class at American University was 1220–1390. At UC Santa Cruz, it was 1200–1380.

Let’s say your child does score below the 25th percentile for their dream school. While that’s not ideal, and might suggest that their dream school is a “far reach,” it may not entirely disqualify them if they have something else going for them—if they’re a standout athlete or musician, for instance.

That wiggle room comes from the fact that the score range doesn’t include the lowest and the highest scores of admitted students. There will always be gifted students whose talents don’t show up on a test. For example, at Yale, 13 percent of freshmen in 2024 scored between 600–690 on EBRW, and 1 percent—around 13 students—scored below 600.

What is a good SAT score for a top-10 school?

Again, there are no hard-and-fast score cutoffs.

The takeaway: If your child wants to attend a highly selective school, they should be aiming for a minimum total score around 1450 or higher. If your child is interested in a highly selective school, we recommend taking the SAT early—during junior year—so they have plenty of time to study and retake the test so they have a satisfactory score when they apply. 

So, what’s a good SAT score for college, in general?

If your child is shooting to attend college, period, note that a number of respected schools are far more forgiving in their score ranges—like Elon University, where the average total SAT score is 1200, Howard University, where the average is 1184, the University of Colorado–Boulder, where the average is 1275, or Baylor University, where the average is 1278. The takeaway: a score of 1200 is a good enough score for many mid-tier colleges and universities. 

Finally, remember that score isn’t everything, and that all standardized tests are part of a larger, holistic story your child tells admissions committees. Colleges and universities consider not only the other elements of your child’s application but also your child’s and family’s educational background and the resources available to you when they assess your child’s SAT scores.

Q&A with Planting the Ivy

How far ahead of time should a student begin working on their college application?

The earlier the better! The Common Application, the online application that is currently used by colleges and universities in the United States (and France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and the UK), goes “live” on August 1st of a student’s senior year.  Colleges that do not use the Common Application also go live during August, so it’s important to monitor their websites. Starting earlier allows students to take their time and not rush through the application, essays and individual college supplements. Most early and rolling deadlines are on or around November 1, so that gives students approximately three months to complete the entire application. 

In addition, it’s really imperative to plan ahead in case of an emergency. At Planting the Ivy, we believe in eliminating as much unneeded stress as possible. It is best to plan ahead and adhere to all deadlines….one never knows what could happen.

What are the best ways to go about selecting a terrific essay topic? 

Colleges will present students with a few choices for the essay topic, but I believe that does not matter. Rather, it is vital for students to pick a topic that they feel comfortable with and that demonstrates vulnerability, which typically results in a more genuine piece of writing. Do not write an essay stating what you believe a college or university wants to hear. Show them who you are in a way that is not demonstrated on the rest of your application. The essay is the one place on the application where a student can really let the colleges know who they are as a person. It’s an excellent opportunity for students to share information about themselves that otherwise the Admissions office may not learn through other parts of the application. Take your time – brainstorm, outline, write several drafts. Remember to use detail – it will make the essay stand out and get noticed. 

Are there any essay topics you get tired of seeing or would warn students to stay away from?

Yes and No. Students need to remember that they do not know the values or viewpoints of the person(s) reading their applications and it’s best to not offend the people they are hoping will accept them for admission. Avoid controversial topics of a religious or a political nature. The essay is an important part of an application, and students should focus on topics that best demonstrate who they are as a person that otherwise wouldn’t be evident from other parts of the application. The most important thing is to be honest and authentic.  

What is the biggest mistake a student can make on a college application? 

I am here to help avoid these, but if you do this on your own please be careful and read through your application and essays many times. Several examples include misspellings and grammatical errors, exceeding the recommended word-limit for essays, not answering the essay topic(s) at hand, using acronyms when describing extracurricular activities, submitting extra documentation that doesn’t add to the overall application, forgetting to proof essays, fast-forwarding through directions and missing small details (such as listing credits for senior year courses), applying online and not hitting the SUBMIT button (there are three areas on the Common Application that have to be submitted and students commonly forget to submit at least one, resulting in an incomplete application) and being careless with social media. Colleges are looking for reasons not to accept you – don’t give them any!

What is the typical process an admissions officer goes through to evaluate applications?

College admissions offices are looking to find students who will comprise a well-rounded class. How the process works depends on the individual college. Most selective colleges will take a holistic approach and consider all parts of the application, while at some colleges only the hard numbers (GPA and test scores) are considered. Many schools report having only 15 minutes to read an entire application, while at some colleges an application may get as many as three reads.  Each process is different and several variables are considered depending on the nature of the school. 

Is demonstrated interest still important?

Colleges want to know why a student wants to attend their university. At some schools, admissions counselors encourage students to reach out and start a correspondence with them. Other admissions officers do not like this as they are busy and this can feel distracting to them. In order to demonstrate interest in a productive way, you can meet with counselors when they conduct high school visits, attend college fairs, schedule an interview and definitely visit college campuses when possible. When admissions officers are reading applications there are certain things that are harder to lift off a piece of paper, like fit and enthusiasm about a school. If you’re interested, let the college know! It’s also important when answering a supplemental question “Why X College,” that students be very specific and not generic in their answer. List detailed things about the college that attracted you to apply in the first place.

With regard to visiting in order to show demonstrated interest, only a handful of universities still require showing up (Tulane, Syracuse and Michigan to name a few).

How should students go about determining the culture of a university, and whether they would be a good fit?

VISIT! Whenever possible, it is highly recommended that students visit prospective colleges to see what they’re all about and how they feel on campus. When students visit a college they should take a guided campus tour, attend an information session, have an interview if that option is offered, sit in on a class and stay overnight in a residence hall with a current student. While on campus, eat a meal in the cafeteria, pick up and read a copy of the campus newspaper, meet with a professor in the department of your potential major(s), talk to students about their experiences and visit the Career Center. Whether or not students are able to visit a college campus they should also research college websites to see what is offered at each school - majors, extracurricular activities, internship and research opportunities, residence life and food options, and cultural and athletic events to see if the colleges on their list are really the right “fit” for them. Students can also attend college fairs, high school visits made by admissions officers and regional receptions offered by colleges to show demonstrated interest and learn more about the college. 

Early-Action, Early-Decision, Binding/Non-Binding, Regular Decision. With so many choices when applying, what do you recommend to students? 

It really depends on the individual student and his/her/their situation. If a student has a clear first choice college, then applying Early Decision is advised. Students must be sure that this is the school they really want to attend as they are making a binding commitment to that school, and if accepted they are expected to attend. Several colleges are starting to take a higher percentage of their students through ED, so applying ED could, but not always, give students a better chance of being admitted. It really depends on the college. 

There are a few downsides to applying ED. If a college is a huge reach for a student, then applying ED usually won’t make a difference in admission. Students can only apply to one college through ED, thus limiting their chances to receive various financial aid packages by not applying to other colleges. There is also the option of applying Early Action, which is a non-binding agreement between a student and a college. This is a great option for students when available, because if they are accepted EA, they will know early on in the process that they have a college to attend. Students can apply to more than one college EA, unless they are applying to a college that has Restrictive Early Action (Princeton, Yale, Harvard, Notre Dame to name a few), in which you can only apply to one college early although the agreement is non-binding.

If a student wants to apply to additional colleges aside from those through ED and/or EA, then they apply Regular Decision. These applications are usually due on or around January 1 or 15. If a student is not entirely sure on a first-choice option, or wants to have more financial aid options available, then it is recommended they wait and apply RD.

Finally, there is Rolling Admission, which is when colleges start accepting applications early in the senior year and “roll over” applications as they are received. In Rolling Admission it is imperative that students apply earlier in the process (and meet any Priority deadlines) because colleges with Rolling Admission will fill their class as applications are received. Students increase their chances of gaining admission by applying sooner than later.

How important are grades and standardized test scores when admissions decisions are being made?

Most colleges will tell students that the most important thing considered in the admissions process is the transcript. This is not necessarily just the grade point average but the strength of the curriculum the student has taken. Colleges want students to challenge themselves and take as demanding a curriculum as they can handle. Admissions counselors will look at the courses offered at the high school the student attends and see if the student is taking advantage of the curriculum that is available.

The importance of test scores really depends on which college to which students are applying. Many colleges, especially those with extremely competitive admissions, still care a lot about test scores. Although there are many colleges that are now “test-optional," many are starting to bring mandatory testing back. One thing to consider is that many colleges, whether test-optional or not, will use or require test scores to be submitted in order to be considered for merit aid, which is financial aid based on merit and not need. 

What tips do you have for students asking their teachers for letters of recommendation?

Students are encouraged to ask teachers for letters of recommendation in the spring of their junior year. When choosing which teachers to ask, it is preferable that they ask one from Humanities subjects (English, Social Science or Foreign Language) and one from Math/Science. Students don’t necessarily need to ask teachers whose classes they aced, but more teachers who they are confident will write them a POSITIVE letter of recommendation. Remember that writing recommendations is not required of teachers nor is it their obligation, so please be respectful during the entire process. Ask your teacher in private and without friends around. Be sure to ask, “Would you be willing to write me a positive recommendation for my college admissions?” If the teacher says yes, then provide them a resume or “brag sheet” with your accomplishments and contact information. Don’t forget to send a thank you note that says you appreciate their willingness to write the recommendation letter. Thank you notes go such a long way!

Once students return to school for their senior year, they should follow up with their teachers to make sure they have all the information they need. Make sure teachers know how to submit their letters, whether it is through the Common Application, snail mail or using non-Common Application forms. Make the process as easy as possible  - your teachers are doing you a HUGE favor!

Why Hire a College Counselor

The journey to college can be both exhilarating and overwhelming, filled with many choices and decisions. It is easy to feel lost in the complexities of the college admissions process. I can help you unlock the doors to your dream college. Why should prospective college students (& their parents) seriously consider working with a college consultant?

Expert Guidance

College counselors have a wealth of expertise. I possess an intricate understanding of the admissions process. I am well-versed in creating a comprehensive college list, helping students craft exceptional essays, prepare for interviews, and stay updated on the latest trends and requirements in college admissions. 

Personalized Advice & Comprehensive Support

Every student is unique. I take the time to get to know you to understand your aspirations, strengths, and areas that might need improvement. This personalized approach enables me to offer tailored guidance, ensuring your college journey is unique to your needs. From helping select the right colleges to navigating the intricate landscape of financial aid and scholarships, a college consultant is your all-inclusive resource.  

Maximized Opportunities

College consultants can identify opportunities you might have yet to discover on your own. They can unearth hidden gems - colleges that perfectly fit your aspirations, but may not be on your radar. Their expert recommendations broaden your horizons and enhance your chances of finding the ideal college match.

Reduced Stress and Anxiety

The college application process can be an anxiety-inducing experience. A college consultant helps to mitigate the stress and overwhelm you may be navigating. They ensure you stay organized, meet deadlines, and reduce the stress that often accompanies this pivotal life transition.

Financial Aid Expertise

Navigating the complexities of financial aid, scholarships, and grants can be daunting. College consultants are well-versed in these areas, helping you understand your options and maximize your financial aid opportunities. They can also assist in negotiating financial aid packages, potentially saving you thousands of dollars.

Increased Confidence

A college consultant can boost your confidence and self-assuredness throughout the application process. With their guidance, you'll approach each step of the journey with greater self-belief, ultimately enhancing your chances of success.

Ready to Begin Your College Journey?

Working with a college counselor is an investment in your future. It's a strategic decision that can ease your path to college, provide you with a competitive edge, and ensure your journey is as smooth and rewarding as possible. The road to college is one of life's most significant adventures, and with a college consultant, you'll have a dedicated partner to make the most of it. Don't hesitate to reach out and schedule a free consultation today. Let's embark on this incredible journey together.

The High School Internship

The bar for getting into elite universities keeps getting higher. It used to be that high ACT or SAT scores, a high GPA, and a well-rounded assortment of extracurricular activities were enough to ensure admission into your child’s dream school.

These days, however, universities are inundated with record numbers of applications from high-achieving, well-rounded students. Therefore, your child needs to do more in order to stand out. They need to specialize and demonstrate a deep commitment to one or two extracurricular activities instead of trying to do every activity possible.

There are plenty of ways for your child to stand out on the Common App Activities section, but one of the best strategies is one that many parents and students overlook: internships.

With an internship, your child can get a glimpse at the professional world, one that many students don’t receive until college. This provides helpful material for a Common App essay that will stand out.

Pursuing an internship in high school is an excellent way for your child to find a professional mentor and begin growing their professional network. The mentor can write a letter of recommendation and they may even be able to leverage their network. Building a professional connection while still in high school will become immensely useful when your child is applying for college internships or even jobs post-college.

Finding a high school internship can feel like an impossible task. This is understandable, given that most organizations who hire interns don’t even have high school students on their radar.

Here are some of the best places your child can get started: Family members & friends. High school teachers & guidance counselors. Local universities, businesses & religious organizations

FAQ:

Should my child take an unpaid internship?

Absolutely. In fact, your child should never expect compensation for an internship they do during high school. Money is not the point; experience and professional connections are. If an internship does pay, that’s a nice bonus, but it’s uncommon. Don’t worry: universities don’t care if the internship was paid or not. They’ll be far more impressed that your child has done an internship at all, especially if it helps support the broader narrative in your child’s college application.

Should my child spend their summer pursuing an internship or working a part-time job?

This is a difficult decision, particularly if your child is working out of necessity to help pay for college or even to help you pay the bills. It also depends on the nature of the job. Working at a fast food restaurant won’t provide the same kind of relevant career experience as helping file papers at a law firm, for instance. That said, part-time jobs (even if they are unglamorous) can provide interesting talking points in your child’s admissions interview and could even be the subject of their personal statement. It all depends on how your child is able to frame it.

What if my child doesn’t know what field or career interests them?

One of the main benefits of doing an internship is that your child can learn more about what does (and doesn’t) interest them as a future career. If your child is truly unsure, however, then they should first do some brainstorming and research to figure out what interests them and how that might apply to a future profession.

Does my child need to intern somewhere prestigious?

Many parents think that prestigious experiences will help their children stand out to admissions committees. The reality, however, is that admissions officers care far less about prestige and name dropping and far more about what your child got out of the internship experience.

When should my child start applying for internships?

It’s never too early. We recommend doing an internship during their sophomore year or the summer after it, as that will give them time to think about how to incorporate the experience into their college application.

The College Essay: A misconception

I want to discuss one common misconception that students and parents make when approaching college essays. "It's important to select a unique topic." I want to reemphasize that what your child writes about is far less important than how they write.

While we can all agree that a strong approach is critical, we should discuss what topic your child should pursue.

It would be a mistake for them to stare at a blank piece of paper (or screen) and wonder, "What are some possible essay topics?" This typically leads to a trap of trying to guess what admissions committee wants to hear, or attempting to mimic another student's essay.

The better approach would be for your child to first consider, "What do I want admissions committees to know about me?" In other words, if your child could choose the impression that admissions committees are left with, what would they select?

Achieving this level of clarity will allow your child to filter topic ideas. If a topic idea highlights "Takeaway X", then it could work well. If it doesn't, the topic might be a weak idea.

College admissions is all about communicating qualities, through stories, that will make admissions committees want to admit your child. Grades, test scores, letters of recommendation, and essays all work together to showcase these qualities.

Playing up great qualities through compelling stories will lead to maximum admissions odds. Failing to do so can hurt your child's chances.

As always, we're here to help!                  

Do colleges look at freshman year?

A sinking feeling sets in among many high school students as they embark on the college application process. Some might think, “I messed up freshman year of high school” and, with it, any chance of acceptance at their dream college. But how much do colleges look at freshman year?

Colleges closely evaluate freshman year grades and activities, but not in the ways you might think. Here’s how ninth grade does matter: freshman year is the foundation for the rest of your child’s high school career.

The courses your child takes early in their career, as well as their performance in them, determine the rest of your child’s high school course load. If they join extracurriculars freshman year, they may become a leader in those extracurriculars as an upperclassman. If they take honors physics at the start of high school, they may enroll in AP Physics senior year. Most colleges consider your child’s overall high school GPA, meaning the grades they receive freshman year do have weight.

Here’s the nuance. Many universities follow a “holistic admissions” process, which means they’re not simply looking at grades or your child’s SAT/ACT scores. They want a sense of your child’s narrative. Has your child made the most of the academic and extracurricular opportunities available at their school? Did they improve or grow during high school?

In that vein, admissions officers consider both your child’s GPA and their freshman course load in the context of their overall high school transcript. That means that excelling later in high school can balance weak academic performance freshman year. If your child recovers from a weak freshman year, admissions officers will see this as positive evidence of their ability to adjust to new academic demands and expectations, an ability that will come in handy during college and beyond.

This applies to extracurriculars as well. Admissions officers look for depth rather than breadth in your child’s involvement. If they don’t participate in many activities freshman year, your child can still go on to lead or excel in a couple of extracurriculars.  

Admissions committees will be more excited about a student who had mediocre grades freshman year and went on to receive stellar grades. Admissions officers want to know who your child is as both a student and member of their community. They recognize that your child is not defined by their freshman year. The best way to recover from a “weak” freshman year is to give admissions officers a full picture of who they are now.                                   

How can your child stand out?

Colleges receive an increasing number of applications each year from accomplished students for roughly the same number of spots.  How can your child stand out? 

Most college applicants participate in a variety of extracurricular activities.  They’ve earned leadership positions, volunteered, taken summer courses at universities and participated in theater and athletics.  With so many candidates having similar applications, it can be difficult for admissions officers to differentiate students. This does not remove the heartbreak when many qualified applicants get rejected.

When I was in high school, we were told to participate in as many extracurricular activities as possible to appear well rounded. The game has changed!  So what are colleges looking for?

When admissions readers come across students with a list of “well-rounded” extracurricular activities, it’s difficult to pinpoint what makes them different from their peers. What makes Charlie memorable? He did well in his classes and on his SATs, joined multiple clubs, and played saxophone in the school band. Does he stand out?  On the other hand, Michele also played saxophone in the school band, raised money to purchase band equipment for children in local, underfunded elementary schools, and organized a band competition in her community for charity that was covered by multiple media outlets, including the local newspaper. Michele has an “it factor” that she could leverage for successful admissions.  If we knew nothing else about Charlie or Michele, we would likely find Michele to be the more interesting student, as well as the student who has demonstrated greater initiative, impact, and leadership.

College admissions reps often discuss how they’re looking to admit diverse applicants. Most people misunderstand this to mean that colleges simply want to accept individuals from diverse backgrounds. While these factors are important, colleges are also looking for diversity when it comes to students’ abilities, interests, and achievements. 

There is no single path to achieving extracurricular success. It is important to identify the right opportunities for your child rather than jump into clubs out of anxiety or because you heard an activity “looks good” on college applications. One of the biggest mistakes is becoming a “chronic joiner.”  By participating in too many extracurricular activities, students can spend so much time doing busy work for various committees, sitting in meetings, and attending mandatory rehearsals that having fun and being a kid, along with completing homework, feels impossible. Often, this kind of resume demonstrate little initiative and creativity to admissions committees. I want to help your child develop discernibly unique skills.

GPA & Test Scores Your Child Needs to Be Competitive

There’s no way around it: your child’s grades and standardized test scores represent the most important factor in college admissions. The higher their stats, the higher their admissions odds. 

How many AP courses and tests should my child take per year? Your child should consider the following factors when deciding: How many they could take without hurting their grades: While it’s better to receive a B in an AP or Honors class vs. an A in a regular class, your child should be thoughtful about how many AP courses they could take before significantly compromising their GPA.  They must give themselves enough time to study hard for each class so that they can do well on the AP Exam.

How many AP courses could they take without compromising the depth of their extracurricular activities? Most applicants to highly selective colleges have strong grades and standardized test scores. Therefore, the true differentiator between standout applicants and those who are simply academically high-achieving is the strength of their extracurricular profile. AP Courses are challenging and should not compromise their extracurricular activities.

What does their school allow? Some schools put a cap on the number of AP classes students can take each year. Depending on how many that is, they may choose to take all or some of the offered AP courses and tests.

Which colleges they are targeting: The more selective the school, the more they’ll expect that your child take the toughest courses available.

How many their peers take each year: Context matters so much in college admissions. Your child will be judged against their peers with regard not only to AP test scores, but also number of AP courses and tests taken.

What SAT or ACT score does my child need to get into their dream school? Your child should aim for a score that is at minimum at the 75th percentile of admitted applicants at a given school. Most colleges publish these statistics online. Students whose scores fall below the 25th percentile should concentrate their efforts on improving their scores to make their applications more competitive. Even students with perfect standardized test scores get rejected because they’ve neglected other important parts of their college applications. For this reason, I advise students to spend significant time developing a unique extracurricular profile.

The Common App

The Common Application, which is accepted by more than 1,000 schools, including some colleges located outside the U.S., helps streamline an essential part of the admissions process for students. First-time and transfer applicants can apply to multiple colleges at once. This way, students only have to fill out details that most schools require – such as name, address and extracurricular activities – one time. Basically, it simplifies everything!

The Common App opens Aug. 1 every year. Students should pay very close attention to deadlines, as they differ among universities. Most of the time, early decision and early action deadlines are in November 1 or November 15. Regular decision deadlines are generally around January 1. Rolling decision deadlines can extend into the summer after high school graduation!

How to Complete the Common Application

Here are steps for how students can work on an application through the platform:

• Go to commonapp.org and click on the "Start your application" button to get details about how to create an account and log in. Additionally, students can download the Common App's mobile app to keep track of deadlines, invite recommenders and set reminders.

• Choose the first-year student or transfer student option.

• Add user information such as name, email, phone number, address, date of birth and prospective enrollment year.

• Fill out the user profile with requested details on education, extracurriculars, demographic data, household information and more.

• Add collaborators such as teachers, counselors and others providing letters of recommendation or other supporting documents.

• Search for and add schools to "My Colleges."

• Get familiar with each college's application requirements and follow those accordingly when applying.

Extracurricular Activities

As every college applicant knows, admissions offices look at extracurricular activities as one of the many factors that go into admissions decisions.

But just how those extracurriculars are considered is much less understood. Is it better to be involved in as many activities as possible to show that you’re a well-rounded applicant, or do schools want to see commitment, focus and leadership? Which activities are more prestigious?

Let’s break down how colleges look at extracurricular activities on applications.

Extracurriculars can play a decisive role. For instance, admissions counselors may have reservations about a star student who has not contributed to his or her community in a meaningful way. On the other hand, extensive community involvement can work in the favor of an applicant who does not stand out academically.

Degree of Commitment

Colleges want to see that applicants are committed to the extracurriculars they choose. One way to showcase commitment is through the length of your participation in an activity. The longer you have been involved in a pursuit, the better it will look on your resume.

Leadership Positions

The degree of your participation in extracurriculars is equally important as the duration. It adds a competitive edge to your application to indicate that you went from being a general member in a club to holding a special position. This demonstrates both commitment and leadership skills.

You can stand out further if you’ve founded a club or organization, showing initiative. If you have a passion that isn’t satisfied by a club at your school, consider finding out how to start one. Not only will you be able to show deep commitment and leadership, but you’ll also demonstrate to schools that you’re an innovator.

Community involvement

While it’s easy to focus on school-based activities as you apply to college, keep in mind that your extracurricular activities can take place outside of a school setting.

These outside activities can add to your abilities to pursue your passions, show deep commitment and identify leadership opportunities. So determine what you love to do and seek out opportunities to commit to it both inside and outside of school.

Ultimately, it really does come down to doing extracurricular activities, because oftentimes, students don't understand that you have to be more than just a student. 

This is your chance to showcase who you are as a person and who you are as a scholar. 

Advice for Seniors

If you are a senior admitted to multiple colleges and trying to make a decision, keep reading!  

I understand that this decision may feel overwhelming. Nothing I can say is going to provide you with total clarity. You have worked hard and earned the right to make this decision. Celebrate yourself and all of your accomplishments!  

I know you are busy. You have a lot going on both in and out of the classroom. So, I did the heavy lifting by putting together advice, tips, and other resources on how you can make this decision with confidence. Here we go. 

The Associate Director of Georgia Tech, Andrew Cohen wrote a real gem on ways to make a final decision without physically visiting or re-visiting a college. While this came out at the very beginning of the Covid pandemic, his advice is just as relevant now since most students don’t have the time or resources to revisit all of their college options. 

Admitted Student Webinars and Virtual Events: Visit websites and plan for a virtual tour or information session. You can also set up conversations with current students and alumni to pick their brains.

Virtual Campus Tours: If you cannot make it in person, get online! 

Social Media: As many of you know, I always say not to believe everything on social media. That said, you should still follow the institution and admission office’s social media handles. Make sure you also take a look at the various departmental and student organization accounts. These accounts are created for current students, so you will get some different information that you might not see on the institution or admission accounts.

Talk to Students and Admissions Staff:  Most institutions have a way for you to connect with current students.

In my many years of college counseling, I stand by focusing on the following:

1. Academic Interests and Options: As an admitted student, your goal is to understand details about the academic area you are considering and how you can tailor your studies toward your interests.  “How can I be a history major but also be a pre-med student?” Remember,  your goal is to glean insight and details to gain an understanding of what your experience will really look like on these campuses.    

2. Community: As an admitted student, your goal is to understand some of the residential opportunities available. Some dorms offer themes or group students together with similar interests. Ask questions!

3. Culture: Get an inside look at what it is really like to be part of campus. Keep in mind you are visiting campus one day out of the year, so your experience is not going to be a fully accurate representation of the campus culture. 

4. Stories not statistics: Use your time on campus and exploring social media to ask for stories and anecdotes about graduates or graduating seniors. 

Ultimately, you need to trust your gut. You can read websites, watch webinars, and scroll social media, but at the end of day you will have a feeling and need to trust yourself. You know yourself best! You will have that “aha moment,” just like I did!

Options and choices can feel overwhelming, but don’t forget that THIS WAS THE GOAL! This decision is a privilege. THIS is why you visited schools, researched colleges, and applied to more than just one place. THIS is why you took tough classes, studied, worked hard, and sat through multi-hour standardized tests—to have choices. You are EXACTLY where you wanted to be!

Good luck. You got this!

The Cost of College

For financial aid purposes, there are five types of colleges:

• Public In-State Universities

• Public Out-of-State Universities

• Private Colleges/Universities

• Two-year Colleges

• International Universities

What is the difference between public and private universities?

Public universities are partially funded by the government of the state in which they operate. 

You pay taxes. Those taxes flow to the state government, which then spends them on the universities funded and operated by the state. In contrast, private colleges mostly operate independently of state influence and funding. As a result, public universities typically have much lower sticker prices than private colleges. That said, this lower sticker price only applies to students who qualify for in-state tuition. 

Private colleges are far more likely than public universities to make their net prices flexible through discounts, particularly scholarships. 

A private college with a higher tuition could easily drop to the cost of a public university for a student with great academic achievement. Conversely, because public universities already have comparatively low sticker prices for their residents as well as (usually) much bigger applicant pools, earning a scholarship at a public university is far tougher to do unless your state has a built in merit-based program.

Based on these differences, you may already have a good idea of which types of colleges are more likely to offer you an affordable price. And you’re probably right.

Next up…FAFSA 101.

The SAT is changing. What do you need to know?

The SAT was scored out of 1600, changed to 2400, back to 1600 and now…No more filling in bubbles or waiting for proctors to collect the exam sheets: The SAT is going digital! (This will not impact the ACT.)

Don’t stress just yet. International students are going to be the first recipients of this change starting this year, but it won’t impact the United States until 2024.  The SAT is a multiple-choice exam aimed at predicting "college readiness" among high school students. You are more than just your SAT score, but this exam does signify if you are ready for college-level work. Many universities went test-optional during the course of the pandemic, but schools have the option of reevaluating this decision on a yearly basis. Therefore, it is imperative that your child is adequately prepared to test.

What are these SAT changes? Aside from a new digital format, other adjustments to the SAT include a shortened test, allowance of graphing calculators throughout the math portion and faster results.  The SAT will remain on a 1,600-point scale and continue to test skills related to the three subject areas of reading, writing and math.

The new digital test will be adaptive, which changes the level of question difficulty for subsequent questions based on a student's performance. Do we like this? How will this impact your children? As a college counselor, I have mixed feelings about this. Anxiety always plays a role in performance on standardized testing.  If your child walks in nervous, then they might answer the first question wrong, which in turn, would immediately drive their score down. 

The length of the exam will be reduced from three hours to two.  Questions are also going to be more concise. For instance, lengthy reading passages are set to be replaced with shorter versions. Only one question, rather than multiple, will be tied to each reading.

Good news? A graphing calculator will be allowed! The current SAT divides the math section into two parts: a non calculator and a calculator portion. As part of the recent changes, a calculator is now allowed for the entire math segment. 

Test results will also be available within a matter of days! No more anxiously waiting weeks for that email!

Due to the many months spent studying online during the height of the pandemic, many students are more comfortable taking tests digitally. The College Board is still figuring out how to accommodate students with learning differences. 

The biggest question is whether your child should take the SAT/ACT with the implementation of test-optional. The answer is a resounding YES. If you take the SAT or ACT and are not pleased with your scores, then exercise your test-optional right to not submit them.  If they are valuable to you and they could be a differentiator in your college application, then submit them. If you never take the test, you'll never be able to make that choice as you're applying to college. 

Are you happy about these SAT changes?

The College Essay

Are you applying to college in the next few years?  How much of your real self should you reveal in your applications?  Your college essay is meant to be a glimpse into your story, not your entire life. This is not a resume, transcript or list of achievements. After all, you have 650 words to convey something that the rest of your application does not demonstrate. Therefore, this is not the space to show your grades, extracurricular activities or why you want to attend said university. 

I want you to think of your personal statement as a way for colleges to get a sense of who you are through what values, qualities, and skills you’ve developed and will bring to their campus and community. Show who you are through what you value.

How can I give you a sense of who I am through what I value in the span of a few minutes? Why, you ask? Because that’s how long someone tends to spend reading your college application.

I’m not bringing this up to evoke anxiety. I want to manage expectations so that you write in a way that conveys all the beautiful complexity of you in the span of a few minutes.

This essay is also a place for exploration and discovery of yourself!

SHOW GROWTH. 

I love when an essay helps me see how a student has grown through their experiences.

GET PERSONAL/VULNERABLE.

Vulnerability can be scary. Especially since we can be trained to think of vulnerability as weakness, which it definitely is not. In fact, it’s one of our greatest strengths. When a student opens up about their worries, fears, or difficulties, I feel closer to them. It feels like a gift when students bravely offer up a part of themselves. 

DEMONSTRATE CRAFT.

Don’t try to demonstrate facility with language by using “big words” just for the sake of using big words.  Think of someone you know who uses big, shiny words not because they fit the context, but because they want you to be impressed. Are you actually impressed? Unlikely. This will NOT impress admissions.

SHARE YOUR STORY

Don’t tell a story because you think it’s what they want to hear. Tell them about what matters to you, about what has shaped you.

A few important reminders: 

• Think from your reader’s perspective (for clarity, and for engagement—if you’d be bored, they probably will be too).

• Don’t let a parent write/revise—admissions officers are really good at spotting this, and it will be the end of your application.

“The truth is, admission reviewers rarely know—or care—which prompt you are responding to. They are curious to discover what you choose to show them about who you are, what you value, and why.”- Brennan Barnard of The Derryfield School and Forbes

Early Prep is Key

Top schools saw record numbers of early action applicants again this year and admitted an even smaller percentage. Letting go of perceived control can be one of the hardest parts of parenting. Unfortunately, sometimes uncertainty and our growing lack of agency over our children’s future get funneled into the admission experience as a last-ditch effort to cling on. There are so many factors that go into building a class and, often, there is an overabundance of talented applicants–many of whom could be successful at a given college or university. Being top in your class does not mean an automatic acceptance at a college or university anymore. As more colleges move toward holistic admissions, other factors are becoming increasingly important, including course rigor, GPA, extracurricular activities, essays and in some cases, test scores. 

When applying to college, teenagers and their parents often gauge their chances by looking at a university's overall acceptance rate. This statistic rarely tells the whole story.  

The application volume for this cycle increased nearly 10% from last year—which itself was up some 10% from the year before that. Over the past two decades, the number of applications submitted to colleges has increased more than 150%, even as the size of high-school graduating classes has remained fairly stable.

I hope this demonstrates just how imperative it is to get the process started early. We will guide you on how to approach this process so as to not feel overwhelmed or have your child get lost in the large number of students assigned to his/her/their guidance counselor.

Wishing you the best. And remember…early prep is key!