When stuffing out college applications, whether online or paper applications, there are three things that colleges are movement to want to witness. These three things are the prime point for the filtering process - the process by which some students get in to that college, and some don ' t. For large state colleges, these three things may in fact, be the only factors they will consider. It ' s important to know these three things, and how to recoup when the information isn ' t available.
The first item is your grades. That one is charming light - cut, but a part of seeing your grades also involves brainy what degree of difficulty those grades copy. An " A " in Consumer Math is not the corresponding as an " A " in Calculus. College admissions officers will be looking at the grades you celebrated as whole as the weight of those grades and the courses in which you earned them. Honors, AP, and Banal Credit courses will earn more " wow agency, " and also heavier weighting in your GPA, than will regular classes. However, not every student will be able to excel in all academic areas. So, for your grades to be impressive, you need to find a balance between solid grades in the more difficult college prep courses where you are more naturally gifted, and keeping the grades very high in your regular courses, too.
The second item that college admissions officers will be looking for is your class ranking. You will need to know the class size and in what order you are ranked. Your counselor will have this information and can get that for you. In some cases, though, such as smaller, private schools, ranking will not be done. In these cases, it is important that your application be submitted with a transcript that clearly shows that your school does not rank. Often, schools who fit this category will have supporting documentation to explain why they do not rank, so check with your administration to see if they have a letter that can be submitted along with your transcript.
The final critical item that colleges will look for is your scores on standardized tests such as SAT and ACT tests. These scores are probably the single most critical item on your initial application. It is these scores that will often open, or shut, a college ' s door to you on the immediate review of your application. Ideally, you would begin taking SAT and ACT tests early in high school ( or even middle school ) so as to have plenty of time to increase your scores, coupled with intensive preparation in the summer before your Junior year. If this isn ' t possible, then repeat the tests as often as you can, with good preparation courses before testing. The later you are in this prep mode, the more important it will be that your test prep course includes more emphasis on taking these kinds of tests, and less time on reviewing basic core subject facts. Tests of this type are not about what you know, as much as they are about how well you test.
Many private schools or highly competitive colleges will also want to see other items such as activities, volunteer roles, and even offer an interview, but most colleges, big and small, will begin with your grades, your ranking, and your SAT / ACT scores. It ' s important to give plenty of consideration in making these things reflect your best possible image. Plan early, and make the best of the time before college in order for the applications to speak for themselves.
