Your child has worked hard in high school to earn a good GPA and balance their workload with clubs, volunteering, summer college programs, work, sports, music, theater, art, or all of the above! Their teachers and coaches love them, and everyone compliments you on how good a student they are. You want them to have the best chances of getting into the colleges of their choice. This is where college application guidance comes in! An experienced consultant can help your child make their application stand out by helping them write memorable essays and showcasing their extraordinary qualities to college admissions, even if they don’t think they have anything significant to share. Contact me today to get started.
College Planner Helping Your Child Stand Out During Admissions Through Strategy and Telling Their Unique Story
Many parents don’t realize the impact a well-crafted college application has on their child’s ability to get admitted into college. Your student can have the best grades and test scores, but if their application has missing information or major mistakes, it can cost them that coveted acceptance letter in the spring of the senior year. College admissions have changed since you were in high school and are increasingly stressful as they have become more competitive and complex. I help students and their parents confidently navigate the college application process so they increase their chances of being accepted to their top-choice schools. Call or email me today to see how I can help your child through the stress of college admissions with clarity and ease.
What Do Colleges Look for in an Applicant?
- The student’s cumulative unweighted GPA and cumulative weighted GPA from the end of their junior year in high school.
- The rigor of a student’s high school courses. Colleges will receive a high school report to see what courses were available and which classes they challenged themselves with.
- Relevant coursework to their intended major. For example, if a student is applying to engineering, did they prepare themselves with advanced math and science classes? This will be a plus factor to many engineering or STEM-focused programs to showcase a student’s fit.
- The students’ standardized test scores. Colleges are all over the board with their standardized test requirements. Many colleges and universities still require an ACT or SAT for admission, while others are test-preferred, test-optional, or test-blind. Strategy in knowing which colleges to apply to with scores or not makes a big difference in boosting their chances for admission.
- How did the student explore their interests and passions outside of class? Colleges like to see how students spend their free time and the ways they help their community because it helps them understand their unique attributes and how they will contribute to their campus.
- What do teachers and mentors say about your child? Many colleges require letters of recommendation or make them optional in the application process. This helps colleges understand a student’s character and overall fit within the campus community.
- The students’ ability to express themselves well in a personal statement. While the college essay isn’t a term paper or creative writing piece to showcase their writing skills, students must articulate themselves clearly and concisely while teaching the college something interesting about who they are. Introspection is a must!
- Any special circumstance that prevented a student from performing at their best or that caused a barrier to resources and opportunities. Colleges will consider a student’s economic status, health issues, learning differences, and events that cause disruption in their lives.
When preparing for college admissions in the summer before senior year, all of these factors should be carefully distilled into the college application through a properly formatted resume, well-written essays to help them stand out from their peers, a detailed activities list to showcase their unique attributes, and several glowing recommendation letters from teachers that showcase your child’s accomplishments, personality, and potential in the best way possible.
Founder – Conscious College Counseling
Founder – Conscious College Counseling
A college application is more than just a student’s contact information, a high school record, and a generic essay. While GPA and course rigor are key factors in admissions decisions, each college uses its own set of criteria, and weighs those factors differently in its review process. Colleges consider many factors when deciding if your child is a good fit for their institution, such as:
- The student’s cumulative unweighted GPA and cumulative weighted GPA from the end of their junior year in high school.
- The rigor of a student’s high school courses. Colleges will receive a high school report to see what courses were available and which classes they challenged themselves with.
- Relevant coursework to their intended major. For example, if a student is applying to engineering, did they prepare themselves with advanced math and science classes? This will be a plus factor to many engineering or STEM-focused programs to showcase a student’s fit.
- The students’ standardized test scores. Colleges are all over the board with their standardized test requirements. Many colleges and universities still require an ACT or SAT for admission, while others are test-preferred, test-optional, or test-blind. Strategy in knowing which colleges to apply to with scores or not makes a big difference in boosting their chances for admission.
- How did the student explore their interests and passions outside of class? Colleges like to see how students spend their free time and the ways they help their community because it helps them understand their unique attributes and how they will contribute to their campus.
- What do teachers and mentors say about your child? Many colleges require letters of recommendation or make them optional in the application process. This helps colleges understand a student’s character and overall fit within the campus community.
- The students’ ability to express themselves well in a personal statement. While the college essay isn’t a term paper or creative writing piece to showcase their writing skills, students must articulate themselves clearly and concisely while teaching the college something interesting about who they are. Introspection is a must!
- Any special circumstance that prevented a student from performing at their best or that caused a barrier to resources and opportunities. Colleges will consider a student’s economic status, health issues, learning differences, and events that cause disruption in their lives.
When preparing for college admissions in the summer before senior year, all of these factors should be carefully distilled into the college application through a properly formatted resume, well-written essays to help them stand out from their peers, a detailed activities list to showcase their unique attributes, and several glowing recommendation letters from teachers that showcase your child’s accomplishments, personality, and potential in the best way possible.
I’m a private college counselor with over a decade of experience guiding students through their college applications and planning for their futures. I offer personalized, virtual college counseling services and work with students and their families throughout the Midwest and nationwide. From the moment you enroll in my services, we meet to build an individualized plan tailored to your child’s goals, needs, and preferences. Both you and your child gain instant access to my college planning portal, which provides a visual component to their plan, making it transparent and easy to follow. Students and parents love being able to organize their college list and learn more about schools in my college database, which makes the entire process feel cohesive.
My clients say that I’m a wealth of knowledge and experience and someone you can count on at one of the most important times in your child’s life. I offer flexible service packages to meet your child’s college planning needs from their freshman year of high school until graduation.
College Application Help For High School Juniors
Most college applications open on August 1, between junior and senior year of high school, and crafting a great college application doesn’t happen overnight. The earlier your child starts the college application process, the better opportunities they will receive in admission decisions and qualify for lucrative merit scholarships. The ideal time to start planning for college is a student’s sophomore year or early junior year in high school. Spots in my program fill up quickly, so schedule a free, no-obligation strategy session today to get started on your child’s plan to success.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I make my college application stand out?
Thousands of students apply to the same schools each year, with sometimes dozens or hundreds of applicants from the same high school or district. We don’t like to think of our peers as competition, but the reality is that your child must stand out from the crowd.
So, how does your child stand out from other students when they have similar GPAs and test scores, access to all the same coursework in high school, and when many Illinois high schools do not rank their students per graduating class?
Students can stand out through their activities, talents, involvement, and overall character. These elements should be well thought-out and evident in the student’s college admission application materials, such as the Common Application Activities Section, the student’s personal statement essays, supplemental essays, letters of recommendation from teachers or coaches, and, when applicable, interview performance.
My child had a bad semester; will that hurt their chances of getting into college?
We never want to see our children struggle, but young people are in a constant state of learning and growth, and sometimes, that comes with growing pains. They may have ambitiously bit off more than they can chew with challenging AP classes or an over-commitment to their extracurricular activities, which can lead to grades slipping.
Some students may have struggled with a mental health issue or a medical emergency outside of their control that threw them off course.
Life happens and one bad grade or semester can usually be redeemed and often serves as a valuable lesson they can grow from. This is especially true if students can effectively and positively write about their challenges in their “Additional Information” essay on the Common Application. This is REALLY important and something I help my students with extensively.
However, the reality is that these situations ultimately hurt a student’s academic record, and for schools with strict GPA requirements for direct admit programs or scholarships, there might not be anything you can do about that. And for some admission committees, they may not be able to overlook a GPA that’s exceptionally below the average of admitted students.
I encourage students to look on the bright side and to understand that if a college ultimately penalizes them for one bad grade or semester, is it really the right school for them? Like we would advise our children to associate themselves with people and places where they are valued, in my opinion, the same goes for choosing a college.
Should my child disclose their disability or learning challenge on their college application?
This is an important question that many parents have. The answer is not clear cut and requires a discussion between parent and child, as well as understanding the pros and cons of disclosing your child’s disability to colleges. The first thing to understand is that your child is not required to disclose anything about their health to colleges. Even when they get to college, it’s completely up to your child if they wish to disclose their disability or learning differences and apply for accommodations.
A great starting point is to talk with your teen to understand how they feel about discussing their disability or learning difference. Some teens feel embarrassed or like it will be held against them in the college application process.
From there, you should explore the reasons why you or your child would want to consider disclosing their disability. Do they want colleges to know the challenges and barriers they’ve overcome? Do they want to share how they can bring a unique perspective and diversity to campus? Those would be examples of great reasons.
In my opinion and experience, colleges will not penalize a student’s admission chances simply because of their disability. However, it’s critical to communicate the details and context of their disability properly so you don’t incorrectly present the details as red flags to the admission committee. I help each student explore their strengths and challenges related to their disability or learning difference to properly frame their application in the best light.
Do SAT or ACT scores matter anymore for college admissions?
I don’t think anything stresses out students and parents more than standardized tests. More and more students are experiencing testing anxiety, and many parents wonder if it’s even worth studying for the ACT or SAT anymore since their student isn’t a good test taker. I would love to give a cut-and-dry answer, but it truly depends on the colleges your child is considering applying to.
Each college has its own set of admission requirements unique to its enrollment statistics and needs. You see, some colleges’ data has shown a positive correlation between strong standardized test scores and a student’s academic success at their school. Other colleges’ data shows their students are successful regardless of test scores, which could influence their reasons for not requiring standardized test scores.
The standardized testing requirement falls under a few distinct categories:
Test Scores Required: A self-reported score or an official score report is required for admission consideration by their posted deadline.
Test Optional Admissions: A college offers the opportunity to omit test scores in its admission process.
Test-Blind: A college will not consider test scores, even if they are reported on a college application or high school transcript. The University of California schools are an example of test-blind admissions.
Test-Preferred: A college prefers that you include test scores in the admission application, but a student can choose to go test-optional.
The general rule of thumb is to submit a test score that’s within or above the college’s published average standardized test score range. There are exceptions to this rule, and as an experienced private college counselor, I help students strategize their standardized testing plan for each college they choose to apply to.
What do colleges look for in a letter of recommendation?
The letter of recommendation requirement for college applications is one of the most misunderstood elements of the admission process. Many parents and students believe they need to find someone influential or “important” in their school or community to vouch for their child. This could not be further from the truth.
The purpose of the letter of recommendation is to help the college understand the student’s personality and character on a personal level. Colleges cannot meet with each student individually, so they rely on things like the personal statement essay and letters of recommendation to see if they will be a good fit for their campus and programs.
Is it a plus factor if your letter of recommendation is from someone impressive or influential? Certainly! However, that individual MUST know or have interacted with your child on a personal level for the letter to be credible and effective. Toting a fancy title and having a connection with your family is NOT impressive to college admissions officers. In fact, it can have the opposite effect if you’re just trying to name-drop people to gain clout.
What is impressive to college admissions is your child’s positive character traits, such as their integrity, kindness, ambition, empathy, reliability, above and beyond work ethic, and ingenuity, to name a few.
Save the lists of extracurriculars and testaments of their academic excellence for other places in the application, like the Activities List and their transcript. The letter of recommendation should provide new information about the applicant to the admission committee.
I guide my students on who the BEST teachers are to write their letters of recommendation and how to ensure those letters actually help them improve their college applications.
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