Education and Careers
Does my College Application Stink?
by Nostagio Onesti
Now I don't mean to scare you, but every year 3 million students apply to college with over 1.3 million of them being American high school seniors. Its safe to say that to outshine your competition, you've got some work to do, and your biggest weapon is your college application. Think of it as a merit gun, and we're here to help keep you from shooting yourself in the foot.
First step: relax. Out of that huge number of students we just mentioned, ALL of them share your pain, your fears, and your anxieties. What most students don't realize is that by applying to college you are sort of checking to see which one is best for you. If they don't want you, there is a big chance that you don't want what they have to offer either. However, this is only true when your application is the absolute best that you can make it.
Now don't take the process lightly, its something we're going to work hard on and something you've got to enjoy, because if you don't enjoy applying to Z college, Z college will notice and not think highly of you. Now, second step: START EARLY.....as in START AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE! You want to make sure you have sufficient time to get all of your facts straight and concentrate on some of the most important aspects of the application such as the short or long essay. If you half-ass your application, colleges will see you as a half-ass student, and we don't want that.
When applying, leave nothing for granted. Write down all required info (and then some) if you think it will help you stand out (positively, not negatively...no essays about that time you got drunk and fought your best friend). Be careful though, there might be some things you want to leave out. If you're applying to a top art school, you might want to reconsider putting down that you came in third in a local competition...you might make the guy scoring first in a state competition actually look better- use good judgment in these cases. Further, don't just list that you were in EVERY CLUB at the school (especially if the college is really competitive- this is because EVERYONE was in EVERY club and admissions people already know this). You want to highlight which organizations had the biggest impact on you and you on them. You want to be clear about your passions. For example, instead of saying you were in math, science and history clubs, say you were in math, science, math competition team and tutored math after school. Once your passion for math is indisputable, you can throw in the history and foreign language clubs.
Rules about lying are easy: don't do it. If you need to lie to get in, what the heck do you even want to go to that school for anyway? You'll probably be miserable. You have to be yourself. Show who you are, what drives YOU, what your passions are. And please no careless mistakes like putting the wrong SAT score (if you get your name or birth-date wrong just step away from the application...now)
By now, you should be ready to give your essay the attention it needs. Be passionate, gather your thoughts and facts, and then use them creatively. Ask yourself: If you were to read 500 essays in one day, what would make you go "whoa, check this one out?" Remember, the essay is your best shot at separating yourself from the pack, so take advantage and knock 'em dead (figuratively, of course).
Last, but not least, is to revise. Make sure that you have all of the required and basic information right, and that you did not make careless mistakes such as misspellings. Give your essay to someone else to read and critique (teacher or older sibling perhaps). Once you're sure you've got everything, Congratulations! you're set. Just relax, take a deep breath, and enjoy the rest of your senior year.
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