College Admissions Help

So, you have decided which colleges you want to attend but you don't know where to get help with your application. The next step is to figure out how and when to apply. Every person's situation is different.

You may be coming straight from high school or a community college OR you did go to college before and want to go back. There are certain things in common in each situation but a lot of things are different.

I'm not going to list the requirements here because you can always check college's web sites for that. But I will tell you what strategies worked for me (and my friends who I surveyed) when I was applying to my college of choice.

Once you're done reading through these strategies, you shouldn't have to worry about not getting accepted.

Whatever your situation, the things you need to take care of (not worry about) are:

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Some of the factors might not apply to you so pick and choose which one do.

We all know that we have to study hard to get good grades. The only problem is, most people who are not doing well in school do not know how to study and they don't know it. Students who have poor grades think that they are just not smart enough to get IT.

Well, good news! This is not the case.

Before college, I did not get math or, at least, I did not put in the effort to understand it. To be honest, I have no idea how I passed my math classes. But, when I went to college, I was required to take a 'study skills class.' Upon taking it and putting the concepts I learned from it into practice, I was surprised about how my grades started getting better. Also, if I didn't take the class, I probably wouldn't realize that I did not know how to study. So, here are some of the strategies I learned from that class...

This one is closely tied to your GPA. Of course, if you have a good GPA, you'll have a higher class rank.

But it's not that simple. For example, if there are 900 students in your graduating class and you have a GPA that's better than 825 of your classmates. Then, your class rank is 92 (825 divided by 900 = 92). Don't get caught up in class rank though. As long as you keep your grades up, you will be fine.

Find out more about class rank by clicking here

This is especially important if you're applying to a very competitive program such as biology (if you want to go to medical school). Most students will volunteer at a hospital to get some experience. But, be careful not to focus in just one area. In other words, diversify your experience.

For example, volunteer at the animal shelter or join the honors society. This shows the admissions committee that you are a well rounded student. Some areas which you would want to explore are...

So, you've studied hard and volunteered, what's next? Another important admissions criteria that colleges have added is the personal statement.

Your personal statement is your only chance to have a 'conversation' with the admissions committee. Thus, portraying yourself as a real student who overcame hurdles and have tangible achievements becomes important. consider the admissions essay as a job interview only it will be on paper and you won't be present to impress them with your personality, skills, and knowledge. With that said, you would need to have those qualities shine through your sentences and paragraphs to be able to sell your product which is you...the student applicant.

Your personal statement can be a story about your journey as a high school, transfer, or returning adult student, whichever applies to your situation. For example, if you're applying as an animal science major, discuss any experience you may have while discovering your passion. You may also talk about how you were able to achieve your short term goal because of your will and motivation to succeed. Remember that your experiences are what make you who you are right now. They shape you into a more mature, responsible adult who is able to face even greater challenges that college life may throw your way.

Since this is a very important topic, I would like to provide you with an extensive example using my personal statement and the questions I answered. Remember, only use this as a reference because the questions change from year to year but the goal stays the same. And that goal is to get to know you as a person and a student and make the admissions committee want you to be a part of their academic institution.

Most schools have their application online nowadays. Filling out the application form can be very tedious and frustrating if you are unprepared. This is especially true if you went to several schools such as if you're a transfer student or a returning adult student because you would have to get the required documents from different places.

Fortunately, I have found faster and more efficient ways to fill out the online college application. Of course, nothing beats preparing early but if you are short on time, you can still submit the application even if it's at midnight on the due date. Before you start filling out the application, make sure you read all the instructions for each school because each college/university may have different requirements for their admissions application. However, most schools require similar documents and here is the must-have list for most of the things you will need before you apply.

While I was browsing through questions in a college discussion board web site, I came upon a question that I am sure many pre-medical students, in high school and in college, are wondering about. This question basically asks about how a student can have a better medical school application. In particular, the student was asking about pre-medical school programs that are available to recent college graduates who want to strengthen their medical school application. While there is no clear cut answer to any college admissions question because universities simply have different criteria for selection, there are a few common characteristics which medical schools are looking for in their prospective students. Click here for my answer to this question. Even though this is an answer to someone else's question, you can still learn something from reading this answer because many of the things I mentioned apply to pre-med students, in general.

I don't like standardized testing very much (I don't think a lot of people do). Unfortunately, it is part of most of your student life. One of the first few ones is the SAT. Most students ask themselves if they should take a SAT prep course.

I answer this question in this section. Find out if a SAT test preparation course is right for you!