College 101
College Admissions Is a Crapshoot
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College is a bit like the lost city of Atlantis; you hear awesome stories about it, but no one can tell you exactly how to get there. Aside from a setting up a tent on the front lawn of an admissions officer, what can you do to increase your chances of admissions success? Great question. It's almost like we thought of it ourselves.
The reasons why a student was or was not admitted to a particular institution are complex and often inscrutable. As it turns out, there are things about humans that can be hard to quantify or sum up in 1,000 words, and that makes things hard on college admissions officers and applicants alike.
You should be skeptical of any product or service claiming to predict whether or not you'll get into the school of your choice. Unless they've got some serious psychic cred, of course. So we recommend that you focus on what you can control, and forget about the rest.
In other words: don't blow off all of your homework and still expect for Dartmouth to return your calls. Do work on becoming a well-rounded, well-adjusted adult.
Colleges report that the three most important admissions criteria are high school GPA, strength of high school curriculum, and standardized test scores, respectively (source). Obviously. You have to work hard during high school to have a good shot at getting into the school you want.
Let's talk about some specific scenarios. What if you're an ace student, but you crack under test-taking pressure? We're talking the kind of nerves where SAT and ACT autocorrect to a crying emoticon in your phone. For you, our melodramatic friend, there are schools that don't require standardized test score submission. Research shows that there's very little difference between the grades of students who submit test scores to schools and those who do not (source). As a result, some schools are starting to reconsider the impact of these tests.
If you have your heart set on an elite school, you'll still probably need to get on the test-prep bus. The same goes for students hoping to get some of that sweet, sweet grant money. It might suck, but those are the breaks.
Some colleges are increasingly relying on technology and data collection to predict how their students will fare (source). This doesn't mean that other ways of making yourself an appealing candidate have gone out the window. We've said it before and we'll say it again: while test scores and GPA matter a lot to the college admissions process, they're not everything.
News flash: there are tons of smart people with great test scores and a 4.0 GPA applying to Princeton.
A big part of what admissions officers do is try to determine how much a given student would benefit the intellectual and social community of the school. Your extra-curricular activities will help make those contributions clear, but counselors warn against overloading on activities just to pad your resume (source). If you have a time travel device that allows you to do multiple activities at the same time, well, that's different.
Look, we know that the college admissions process can be scary...and potentially heart-breaking...for both you and your parents. But you can get through it by being aware of your strengths and emphasizing them. Be realistic about your grades, do some research before you decide to skip the SATs for a beach day, and find a balance between being involved in activities and becoming unhinged.
Then try to take a chill pill because you have absolutely no control over what happens next.
All we ask in return for this free advice? Be a pal and grab us some pizza crusts from the dining hall every once in a while. We're always hungry here at Shmoop. Hungry for learnin', that is. And pizza. Definitely pizza.