This one is for the Athletes

Play a sport? Are you good? All-District? All-State? A lot of you may think that coaches are the ones who will recruit you if you want sports to be any factor in the college application process. Still, there are others who know that its not up to the coaches, but yet don't do anything about it. Take action! Be proactive! Send in film to the coaches of the schools you are interested in. You may get a scholarship! Or you might not. But it can still sweeten the deal for you in order to get accepted. Some schools like the Ivy League cannot give athletic scholarships but are rumored to give very "convenient" financial aid to athletes they need or want. In many college applications there are even athletic supplements to the application. So go! Scram!

The Colleges You Have Never Heard Of...But Are Excellent. Trust Me.

Have you heard of Williams College? How about Amherst? Pomona? Middlebury? Swarthmore? Many people focus on the universities during college application season but liberal arts colleges like those above really do deserve mention. These schools are excellent and they focus on teaching the liberal arts and thus a more balanced education than in, let's say a tech school like MIT. It really is worth the effort  to take some time and do some research on these fine schools. Are you still not convinced on the quality and competitiveness of liberal arts schools? This source is outdated, but it does gives you background information on how well liberal arts schools place students into the top graduate, medical, and law schools around the country.

http://www.wsjclassroomedition.com/pdfs/wsj_college_092503.pdf

The Three Types of Colleges

When you're in the middle of putting together your list of colleges to apply to, make sure you divide them to three categories: Safety, Match, and Reach. Safety schools are schools which you feel very comfortable about getting into. You're stats (GPA, SAT, etc) should be well above their average class stats. For most people, this will be their local or in-state schools. Match schools are what they sound like. Your stats match those of the average Joe's of the match schools and you should feel like getting in shouldn't require a miracle. Reach schools are, obviously, schools that you think will be a long shot to get into. For most people, this will be the Ivy League schools, Duke, The University of Chicago, MIT, Stanford, etc. It is absolutely essential for you to have a good mix of safety and match schools in your list in case the worst happens. I know of many people who applied to just reach schools and not receiving a single acceptance. They usually go to community or local schools in hopes for a transfer. Just remember, play this game smart. Stay on the safe side.

The Myth of the "Well-Rounded Applicant"

Something I forgot to mention on my first post was that I welcome any questions and I will do my best to answer them. If it's very interesting, I will feature it on my blog and answer it there.

You've heard it. Colleges want "well-rounded applicants". What does that even mean? It means you're at least good at everything you do. Good GPA, strong SAT scores, president of a club, varsity athletics, class president, lead actor in theater, etc. Honestly, of the many different possible factors to be well-rounded, it's a good bet to pick 3 and develop them. You should be in good shape. (A circle perhaps?) However, the claim that only a "well-rounded applicant" can get accepted into a good school is incorrect. A well-pointed applicant is very strong in the college admissions process as well. What does that mean? Be very, VERY strong and deep in a particular area. Love math? Make the USAMO. Love Science? Enter the national science fairs such as Siemens. Love writing? Write a New York Times Bestseller. Standing out in a particular subject in such a bright way is a neon sign for colleges that says "take me and I will make your school look good later". As long as the applicant isn't a felon, you should be fine. (Maybe unless you're as good as Will Hunting?) Watch Good Will Hunting if you haven't. It's really good.

The Secret to the College Application Process?

This is my first blog and honestly, I'm writing this out of pure boredom. But I guess it's good for me to help share my experiences with others. Every blog post is going to be pretty short and right to the point. Every blog post is going to be about something I learned that I wish I knew at the beginning or some helpful advice.

So anyways, what is the answer to the title of the post? Honestly, there is none. College admissions is such a hit or miss process and whether you believe in luck or not, there's a lot of that in there too. Of course if you have a sub 3.0 GPA or a sub 1800 SAT score your chances at Harvard is not great. (Unless you cured cancer?) Actually, on second thought I don't think anyone really has a "great shot"... However I have seen people defy the odds and make it into institutions with less than average statistics. As corny as it sounds, you have to believe it when colleges say that your application is a "holistic process". They look at the whole you and that may explain why your lower numbers got you into Ivy A instead of sub-Ivy B. That's the only piece of serenity I can find in the chaos I find in the game that is college admissions.