Road to College - What Matters in College Application?

High School seniors are in the thick of filling out their college application packets and the question that is most often asked is what are colleges looking for? The fact is colleges hold the selection cards very close to their chest, which makes it next to impossible for anyone to say what you need. I think this uncertainty is further compounded by the fact that colleges have moved away from the concept of well-rounded freshmen to well-rounded freshmen batch.

So while there is a general awareness of what colleges look for—SAT or ACT score, grades, courses, extracurricular, etc.—how each of these aspects stack-up is not necessarily known. Every year NACAC (National Association of College Admissions Counseling) polls college admissions officers to understand what trends are emerging. This poll sheds some light on the relative importance admissions office place on various components of college application packet. What I find interesting is how this importance has shifted between various components over the last five years:

Rank

2011

2007

1

Grades in college prep course

83.4%

79.9%

2

Strength of curriculum

65.7%

63.8%

3

Admission test scores

59.3%

58.5%

4

Grades in all courses

46.2%

51.6%

5

Essay or writing sample

26.6%

25.8%

6

Demonstrated Interest

23%

22%

7

Class Rank

21.8%

23.4%

8

Counselor recommendation

19.4%

21.1%

9

Teacher recommendation

19%

20.8%

10

Subject test scores (AP, IB) 

9.6%

6.8%%

• Notice how the academic performance trumps everything else in the scheme of things

• Grades in higher level courses matter more than other courses, which perhaps goes on to answer whether it is better to get a ‘B’ in advanced level course or ‘A’ in an easier course

• For colleges, YOUR demonstrated interest in the school is extremely important and you are not blindly applying to colleges to see what sticks. In this age where selectivity ratio for colleges matter the most, they want to make sure that when they extend an offer to you, you will give it serious consideration

• An essay does not necessarily make up for the scores or grades on the application but it helps lend gravitas to your application