Getting into College: Mastering the System
Beginning the college process seems like an overwhelming and impossible task
to attempt. With an all-time high number of applicants, this competitive atmosphere
leaves no room for weakness. This article will answer the do’s and don’ts of the mind-boggling notions of extracurriculars, SATs, college essays, references, and random pieces of advice I’ve picked up by successfully going through the process myself only a few years ago. So buckle your seatbelts and pay attention – the process does not have to be so scary!

High school courses alone can definitely take up all of your time, but in order to
get into the college of your choice, extracurriculars are an absolute must. Pulling A’s and B’s in those AP and Honors classes is necessary, but not sufficient. In order to stand out and show what experience you have – you must participate in extracurricular activities. From an after school sport to a school club, find what you are interested in and join! But beware not to join too many activities; you do not want to come off as scatterbrained and unfocused. Pick one or two extracurriculars and excel at them – add some weekly volunteer work and you will be good to go. For me, I took ballet classes 4 times a week after school and was an officer in a school club called Best Buddies. I also volunteered every Sunday throughout high school with special needs children in a program called The Friendship Circle. Many of my friends in high school were on the girls’ field hockey team, part of the yearbook committee, the school newspaper staff, or the guy’s swimming team. You must find an extracurricular that you are interested in and stick with it all four years of high school, and even try to become a team captain or club officer to truly show commitment and success.

Extracurriculars are so, incredibly important; they show your personality, show
that you are a proactive person, and show that since you have school spirit for your
high school, you will have school spirit for your college and will therefore be an active member and a good representative of your college. In addition, it sets you apart and gives you a great topic to talk about in your personal reflection essay. In summary, join one or two clubs/sports/after school activities and excel at them – try to become a captain or a club officer – and boast about your accomplishments in your admissions essay. Do a few hours of volunteer work with an organization you are passionate about and you will be on the road to admissions.

Moving onto the wonderful topic of SATs; no advice in the world can make this
topic any less boring or any easier. The trick to SATs is simple – you must study and you must study a lot. Cramming may work for some subjects in school but it will not, I repeat will not, work for the SATs. This is because the SATs do not test your intelligence; they test how well you can take this particular test. The strongest piece of advice I have is to get an SAT tutor and practice taking full-length tests every single weekend. The more practice tests you take, the higher your score will be – guaranteed. Another important tip to note is that colleges only take into consideration your best scores. So if you take the test twice, they will take your best math, your best English, and your best writing scores and combine them into one all-time high score. Having this in mind, it is suggested to take the SATs two or three times in order to ensure your highest score. Don’t take the test more than three times however, it starts to look crazy. If you find that you are not excelling at the SATs while doing practice tests, you can also explore the option of the ACTs. I took the SATs twice and got average scores, then took the ACT once and got two points away from a perfect score. I suggest buying an SAT book and an ACT book, taking many practice tests over a period of about three months, seeing which you are scoring higher in and use that for your college admissions.

Next step is your application – your college application should be a shiny bundle
of perfection and nothing less. If your essays have grammatical errors or there is a
smudge of ketchup on your envelope, your application will be thrown in the trash. Once you’ve finished your essays, read and reread them, then get your mom, dad, sibling, uncle, best friend, guidance counselor, or all of the above to proof read it for you. There is no excuse for a typo in your college essays. As far as the content goes, this is really up to you. Just make sure it is something you are passionate about or something great you have accomplished. This is the time to set yourself apart from every other student applying to your colleges, so do not just take this as an assignment you have to get done – truly think about your topic and take the time to put your personality and your experiences into the essay. Then proof read it over, and over, and over, and over again. For your references, a good number is two, sometimes three if it is truly appropriate. Make sure to ask over a month in advanced from whoever you are getting it from, and make sure to follow up to ensure they got it done. You do not get to touch or see your references, so ask your guidance counselor to alert you when they’ve come in so you know you’re all set. It is good to get one recommendation from a teacher; you must find a teacher whose class you did well in and who likes you as a person. Only having done well in the class will not suffice, nor will only having the teacher like you and getting a C in the class. Your other reference should be from outside of school; your team’s coach, the head of your volunteering organization, etc. It cannot be your parents or your friends – no matter how many good things they have to say about you. Also
ensure that you have done something that will stick out in these people’s minds so they have something cool to say about you; not just that you were a good student in their class and not much else.

Extracurriculars, SATs and essays are the basics of getting into a good college;
now here are some pieces of random advice I can give you from personally going through the experience only a few years ago. If you do not have a good relationship with your school guidance counselor, it is worth the investment to get a private college counselor. I went to a huge public high school with very little personalized attention and hardly got any advice from my guidance counselor – except that I would never get into the college of my dreams. (I applied early decision anyway, got in, and received scholarship money on top!) A second opinion, especially from a professional, can make all the difference. Speaking of early decision, if you are pretty set on one particular school – absolutely apply early decision; it shows your dedication to that school and that you will definitely enroll if accepted. Colleges are businesses and they want every accepted student to enroll; early decision guarantees this as well as shows your passion for their college. Another way to show your enthusiasm and seriousness for a particular college is to go in for an interview. In most cases you can request an interview; it will absolutely
set you apart from others. Nothing on paper can substitute that face-to-face, personal interaction between you and the college’s admissions officer. However, if you think you are going to be a nervous wreck or if you get intimidated easily by such situations – don’t do it, it can hurt your chances.

Half of the battle is applying and getting into the colleges of your choice – the
other half is finding which college, truly, is the perfect fit for you because when it comes down to it, this is where you will be spending the next four years of your life. First you need to determine what type of college you want to go to. Do you prefer an enormous university or a tiny business school? Do you want big city or small town? Good liberal arts or pre-med programs? After you have figured out the fundamentals and are getting into the specifics, some things you can do to understand colleges on a personal level are: go on campus tours with a tour guide, walk around campus without a tour guide by yourself, stay at an overnight with a current student, look at the school’s website thoroughly, ask current students how they like the school, figure out which organizations you would be a part of, etc. Lastly, do not get discouraged if/when you get rejected from a school – it most likely means it was not meant to be. Do not try to force a fit between you and a school; if you feel it is forced, so will the admissions officers. Do your homework (no pun intended) and spend time finding your school. Participate in
extracurriculars, get a tutor and study for the SATs, perfect your essays and references, and then relax. If you put your best foot forward, you will get into the perfect college that was meant for you!