What to do to get into the college of your dreams?

When you start to think about college, it is common to become overwhelmed, anxious, and stressed out about getting into the school you want. You plan to work hard to get good grades, extracurricular credit, and other records that your dream school is expecting. Before you work too hard on getting into your first choice school, make sure you have adequately researched, planned, and executed the proper strategy. Here are a few tips on getting into the college of your dreams.

Research Your Dream School

Start out by researching the school you want to attend. Go on their website and explore what their requirements are. This will help you in setting up your high school classes. You are going to be very disappointed if you find out you put in extra time and effort taking courses you don’t even need to have. Some of the things you will be able to discover include: the classes they are expecting, scores needed on standardised tests, and what their values are.

Take AP Classes

Show your target school that you are interested in learning and challenging yourself by taking AP classes they are looking for. These courses will not only look good on your transcript but they also help in preparing you for college learning. In some cases, you may even be able to test out of required college courses in high school if you do well enough on the exams. This will save you time and money when you get to your dream school.

Get Involved In a Variety of Activities

Take part in various clubs and organisations that you are interested in, and that can be impressive for a college admissions counsellor to see. At the same time, you also want to be sure that the activities that you do choose, do not take up too much of your time, and leave you exhausted. With that being said, really think about how important sports, band, and other non-essential extracurricular activities are to you in the long run of your high school career. The more versatile your skillset, the more attractive you will be to your desired school.

Voluntary Community Service Helps

Join a non-profit group where you can accumulate community service hours. This can be a thing that pushes your application up and over the rest. Colleges like to see that you will put in the work within your community, showing a likelihood that you will do the same when you move to their area.

Establish Solid Relationships with your Teachers (recommendations matter)

Spend the extra time getting to know and building relationships with your teachers. The recommendation letter that you request to go along with your application is important. Without building rapport, you are likely to get a generic letter that colleges see all the time. If your teacher is truly impressed with you, the letter they write will reflect that. College admissions will take notice, and that will help in their overall image of who you are.

Write a Resume

Create an honest, accurate, impressive one-page resume of everything that you have accomplished. You may say that you have accomplished way more than one page of great things during your high school career and that you want to include them all. However, colleges are most likely not interested in every single detail. When researching your school, check out what they have on the top of their requirements and list those as a priority.

Check and Double Check your College Essay

Write your essay with passion and feeling. Be unique so that you whoever is reading your essay, stays interested in what you have to say. Most importantly, check and re-check what you have written. Small mistakes can destroy your credibility. Ask a teacher you trust to go over your writing as well. A perfectly written essay can be the difference between you getting in, and someone who has the same GPA as you getting in.

Apply Early

Be an Early Action/Early Decision applicant. If you know what school you want to go to, and you are 100% sure about it, don’t waste any time. Apply right away and you will have a better chance being admitted. You will also have earlier access to scholarships and residence choices.

By taking the time to make sure that you follow these tips, you are going to be a lot less worried, and much more likely to get into the school of your choice. Prepare yourself with the appropriate course of study and testing, apply early, and have the appropriate documentation your dream school wants to see.