10 secrets for top college admissions

With much competition in the educational world, getting into top colleges has become a big task. Let us disclose some secrets to help you get admissions in them.

1.       Test scores are not everything
The importance of scores of tests like TOEFL, SAT is not neglected but they are not the sole tool for getting admission in the college. They can serve to make things easier by doubling the chances for your admission application to get considered but they do not assure your admission with hundred percent guarantee. SAT and TOEFL are not for students who have a bad habit of asking their peers, 'write my assignment online'. What actually matters and contributes for your selection is your net grade point average (GPA), goals, overall academic performance, consistency in results, competent nature, value of learning for you, as well as comments of your teachers for you on the teachers' recommendation letter. Students have been misled to believe that getting high scores in SAT will do for them and so they put all their efforts in making sure they score maximum. But the reality is that these scores are helpful but not something to rely completely on.

2.       Having some additional advantages
Almost half of the students who have managed to get admissions in top notch universities of the world like Oxford, Yale, Harvard, have some proper connections or references that make things way easier for them. It makes the position of the students appear weighty and therefore, increases the chances for landing the opportunity to a considerable extent. What points can contribute to these references?
·         The trend of doing graduation from a certain college should be running in the family. This includes one of the parents but if the history has a grandparent who has graduated from college then it would work too.
·         Political background.
·         If the student is a professional sportsperson.
·         If the student would donate some amount for the institute's progress. 

3.       Educational and financial background counts
Prestigious institutes now are more likely to give admissions to a student who belongs to a weak financial background and cannot afford to study in that college in spite of being eligible from all possible aspects. Also, those students are preferred for admission who have parents without college degrees. So instead of being ashamed of mentioning that your parents have not attended college, take it as an opportunity and do emphasize on this fact while applying for admissions.

4.       You cannot afford to get late
From starting the planning to making a decision of which top college you want to get admitted in, the process should be fast. While you are in 8th grade you should have sorted out all your future plans related to college and hence start preparation soon after it. 



5.       The "perfect" admission essay
Schools put too much unnecessary pressure on students to write a perfect admission letter and force them into believing that it will definitely get them the admission. For this purpose, they make them practice writing essays for long. But a top-tier college is interested in more than just a letter. Students should be rather taught how to write smartly such that their letters should cleverly highlight some extremely unique thing about them that no other student can have.

6.       Your contribution in communities
After your grades, colleges look for your potential as a participant in the campus community. They are interested to see what else can you do besides studying well. This is because they need an all-rounder who will bring more fame to their institution after entering professional life.

7.       Prove how much load you can carry at a time
College is a place full of expectations. You are required to be at your best in all aspects. You should do a part-time job while in high school no matter of what nature, so that your college officers get an impression of you that you can well manage when loaded with responsibilities as a college student. 

 

8.       Reach out for financial help before it's too late
If you have planned to apply for federal loan to study in college, don't let it come in your way by getting late for applying.

9.        Utilize your final year
The most important time before college will be your final year at high school so use it efficiently to make contacts with pass outs from your desired college and with people who are pursuing the same career that you are going to pursue in future.

10.   Your e-mail address should not be childish

Although it might seem to be a very trivial thing but having a simple and proper e-mail address has a lot of impact on the admission officers. Your application can go in anyone's hand, whether a conservative or a liberal mind, you never know.  

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