Applying to college can be stressful. Most kids don’t even fully understand the game they are about play when they begin preparing for the college admissions cycle. Many are going solo, relying on overworked and outnumbered school faculty to guide them through the process. First generation students represent about 56% of college students, meaning they don’t have parents with firsthand experience to help them.
If that wasn’t challenging enough, the college admissions process has evolved into some sort of Darwinist experience, where only the strongest seem to survive. Case in point, despite news of staggering student debt as college costs continue to rise, more and more students are applying to college each year. Applications for the 2024-2025 academic year saw a significant increase of 41% vs 2019-2020. As such, the college admissions game as changed to address this increased demand and those who don’t fully understand the rules of this new game could stand to lose.
Know the Rules
As with any game, you must know the game’s objective and the rules to work within if you hope to win. The objective is clear with college admissions, an acceptance letter from your first-choice school. But what about those rules, how have they changed?
1. Don’t Wait till Senior Year
There once was a time when you could go through high school focused only on high school – football games, pep rallys, school dances and of course grades. Everyone knew grades were important, so that when senior year came along you could take your good grades and apply to college. But times have changed and students waiting till senior year to think about college are very late to the game.
Some kids are now starting their college planning in middle school, and while not necessary, early planning couldn’t hurt. That said, most kids should begin taking college prep seriously in Sophomore year at least. There are aspects of the college application, aside from grades, that need to be considered years before applying, such as test scores, extracurriculars and a curated curriculum to design the perfect transcript. Remember, high school graduation requirements, may not always meet college admissions requirements, depending on the school you may need to add a class or two to your schedule.
2. Know Your Application Choices and What They Mean
There are options when you submit your college application, depending on the school. These options include ED (early decision), EA (early action), or neither and you enter into the regular applicant pool. ED is a binding choice and should only be sent to one school, your first-choice school. This isn’t a legally binding choice, more on an honor-bound agreement, but suffice it to say, if you apply ED the expectation is that upon acceptance you will withdraw your applications from all other schools. If you apply ED and get rejected, some schools have recently began offering ED2, a second chance of sorts. The same rules apply if you are accepted, you are expected to attend the ED2 school and withdraw all other applications.
EA is an expression of intent to attend but is non-binding. Schools will typically notify students for EA well before regular admissions decisions, but students are not required to commit until Decision Day on May 1.
Regular admission decisions typically come out by mid-March. In the meantime, you might find out you’ve been waitlisted or deferred. Deferred will happen if you applied ED, ED2 or EA and have now been moved into the regular admissions pool. It’s not a no, rather it means they will reconsider you with the regular admissions applicants now.
Getting waitlisted means you applied ED, or ED2 and have been put on a waitlist. EA applicants can also be waitlisted but it’s rare. Being waitlisted is a bit of a murky circumstance because there’s no telling if you will get off the waitlist or not. According to the National Association of College Admissions Counseling, the average number of students who get off the wait list and are admitted is about 20%.
3. Don’t Depend on School Faculty Alone to Guide You
Applying to college has become an overwhelming process for many, and in several cases students will look to high school faculty to help them help in with the college application process. According to a National Center for Education Statistics study about a quarter of high-schools in the U.S. are overcrowded with the majority of high-schools within 5% of maximum enrollment capacities.
Resources in High Schools are overtaxed and the individual attention required to successfully prepare each student for college is unattainable. Most students, if they don’t seek out the help, are left to fend for themselves and those who do ask may not receive adequate guidance. It’s important to find help outside of school, it could be a parent, family friend, neighbor, or boss; just try to find someone whose been through the process who can help you. Ideally, you find can current students or alumni from the school you want to attend.
4. Test Optional Schools
Most schools are what is called “test optional” this means that they claim submission (or choosing not to submit) your test scores is not required and therefore should not hinder you in the application process. Like ED, some thought needs to be taken concerning your choice and how you proceed. This is an instance where some expert guidance on your specific situation will help.
5. Diversity Matters
The word diversity is used a lot these days, mostly in the context of ethnicity or lifestyle, and while that is important, schools want to see diversity in other areas as well. Diversity of perspective, background and experience. Diversity helps them know that you will add to your unique point of view on campus. Try to communicate this aspect of your life in as many ways as you can.
6. Know Your Competition
More often than not the student who was a rock star in high school thinks they will have their choice of colleges because they have achieved so much within the context of their own world and this type of thinking can lead to disappointment. In high schools across the country students are excelling unaware of the many other star students that exist outside of their own insulated circle. Not appreciating the level of competition that exists can lead to disappointment in the college admissions process.
Choose a Strategy
Now that you know the rules it’s time to choose a strategy. Consider what you are bringing to the table, your test scores, GPA, classes taken, extracurriculars, part-time jobs, letters of recommendation, etc. Pair these with your desires for your major, career goals and financial situation and create a list of schools. Most strategies include reach, target and safety schools.
For those that can afford it there’s an entire industry out there called Independent Education Consultants who, for a steep fee usually, will hold your hand through the entire process. If you can afford it and determine working with a consultant will yield a greater reward than the cost, you might want to consider one. Make sure that you’ve vetted your consultant and they do indeed have the skills and resources available to truly help you.
If you are like most American’s, a consultant is out of reach but that doesn’t mean you can’t enlist the help of someone else. Be scrappy, go on LinkedIn and find alumni who might be willing to offer you advice. Look around school or your neighborhood and see if someone could help you. Most of the time people are happy to help if they can.
Play the Game
Now that you know the rules and what you are up against, hopefully you will craft a strategy for yourself that get you into the school of your choosing. The game is played with many players, so select a number of schools that fit your needs and craft a unique admission strategy for each. This isn’t a one size fits all competition so don’t employ a one size fits all strategy.
This is a game of teams, so gather for yourself people who will help you in the process, guide you through the tough decisions and lead you to the win, the coveted acceptance letter or letters from your top choice schools.