GPA and Transcripts

While many of your peers will be competing madly over several schools, let me point out to you that the entire college admissions world does not only consist of schools that accept 25% of applicants. And in case you didn't know, there are only 16 of them in the USA anyway.

Schools that Accept All Qualified Students

Many other selective colleges accept a good number of applicants, and if you've been paying attention so far you should know by now that you SHOULD NOT discount a school just because it accepts many applicants. See, for example, Lyon College's application process, and deadline guide.

In other words, as long as you meet the minimum requirement, you are in. Generally this refers to state universities. For example, the University of Wyoming admits students who have passing marks in high school. The more selective ones will probably look at other factors such as standardized tests and a little of your grade trends. Essays, recommendations, are all unnecessary unless you happen to be a borderline student.

What does this mean? It means that no matter what grades you have or what person you are, there are schools in the United States that are happy to give you a first-rate education. However, if you cross the selectivity border, you will find many schools that accept as many as it rejects. That means a 50% acceptance rate. Some are prestigious public universities– University of California, Berkeley for instance, while others are private ones (Duke University).

If you are setting your eyes on one of these schools, you are just one among thousands of similar applicants. Try to take things in perspective, though. Just because a school has many applicants does not mean it is a good match for you. Again, the college search is about THE MATCH. College shouldn't be about “serving a four-year sentence with a $100 000 fine”.

What do admissions officers look for?

First, a little about who admissions officers are. From here on, we'll call them ADCOMs (which actually stands for admissions committee members) for simplicity’s sake. A lot of ADCOMs are incredibly nice people, who love being around students. Some may be there for the second year; some on their thirtieth year. Their job is to recruit and evaluate applications. Most admissions offices assign their staff according to regions, so the ADCOM in charge of New York for instance will travel to high schools in New York to meet students.

Your relationship with the admissions office begins with your first contact with the ADCOMs. For some, this means the time you spoke to an ADCOM at a college fair in your school, while for others it’s the time you request the viewbook.

How do colleges look at applicants?

Very carefully. At selective schools, everything that goes into your folder is looked at carefully. Basically, your standardized tests scores will be the first ones to reach your file. They will rate you in different areas on scales; maybe a ONE in academics for a national science champion, and a THREE in sports for someone who plays at school level. This, of course, varies from school to school.

Some schools open a file in your name once you send your first document; others wait till everything is in before opening that file. Thing that also go into this file includes supplemental materials from you, such as CDs of your performance, your musical recordings, artworks, research samples, and others.  These supplemental materials will then be forwarded their respective departments to be evaluated by their particular faculty members. If you're an athlete, coaches may also get into the act, and may try to influence the ADCOM decision if they want you on their teams.