While colleges do consider many factors in making admit decisions: such as geographic, racial and religious diversity, ability to pay, talent( in sports/arts etc) demonstrated interest in a campus and legacy. The key factor for all schools would be your likelihood of being academically successful if you were to be accepted. In order to determine this- your HS transcripts is carefully evaluated, both as to your grades and the level of challenge ( i.e. AP/Honors/IB Classes). After the transcripts, your test scores are given the most attention. Colleges will list the average GPA and SAT scores for their most recent freshman class. Check and see if your academic profile comes close to who they accepted last year, to determine if you have a chance at admissions.
if your school has the first class counseling services open to students, you should consider highly selective schools to gain competitive advantages for admissions. if you are not going to apply for financial aid, please use early decision strategy for admissions, highly selective schools offer early decision with better acceptance rate. if you are strong in academics and do not have access to first class counseling services, you should consider highly selective schools through regular decision and pay attention to the list of schools to apply. the common mistakes made by the majority of middle class students are apply too many similar schools based on brand name recognition and nothing outstanding other than academics.
if your school has the first class counseling services open to students, you should consider highly selective schools to gain competitive advantages for admissions. if you are not going to apply for financial aid, please use early decision strategy for admisisons, highly selective schools offer early decision with better acceptence rate. if you are strong in academics and do not have access to first class counseling services, you should consider highly selective schools through regular decision and pay attention to the list of schools to apply. the common mistakes made by the majority of middle class students are apply too many similar schools based on brand name recognition and nothing outstanding other than academics.
If you are someone who thrives in an atmosphere with a strong academic press, then please consider the selectivity of the school. If you enjoy being surrounded by others with a serious commitment to their education, you want to be looking at a selective school. If you have a strong transcript, demonstrating rigor in the curriculum; then considering a highly selective school has merit. Please don’t bother applying if you are just trying to earn the “badge” of acceptance or the coursework expectations seem overwhelming before you’ve even begun. If you are interested in an opportunity to work closely with a faculty member on a project or in a lab, this may be the environment for you.
Selective colleges rely on numbers to assess the competition as fairly as possible. Test scores will matter more often at selective colleges as well as grades, course selection and rigor. If you have a “hook” (not the “arrrr” kind) meaning something that distinguishes you as uber desirable such as athletic prowess, musical talent, etc, in addition to the numbers, you may consider more selective colleges. But ultimately, the cream rises to the top, and if you are the cream, you will be recognized as such. The Avery Advantage suggests working closely with your guidance counselor and/or consultant to establish a balanced list of colleges to which to apply. Inability to manage one’s expectations is often the fatal flaw of the high achieving student. Consider yourself warned, Matey.
The kind of student who should be looking at a highly selective college is a student who is very academic, with excellent test scores, and who is ranked highly within their class. Interesting extracurriculars and experiences help as well. But remember this: highly selective colleges (acceptance rate below 20%) receive applications from perfectly qualified students, but they still only accept a fraction of them. There will be plenty of National Merit Scholars and Valedictorians in the applicant pool, and many of them will be declined. There are certainly no guarantees, and rigor can be found outside of the highly selective school bracket.
Students who have a passion for learning and responsible citizenship will be good candidates for admission at highly selective schools. Cultivation of an athletic or artistic talent will make them especially desirable.
Here is my video response to the question.
Many students this time of year are frantically narrowing down their list of colleges. As with any important decision, they must consider many factors before making the important decision of where you spend the next two-to-four years of their young adult life.
First a definition of terms. Words mean different things to different people. So I am going to answer this question for those students or parents who are asking about the most elite schools in our country.
Short Answer:
Applicants to highly selective schools should be highly motivated students sporting strong records that include something distinctive on top of their extremely strong basic foundation. When the most selective schools have the luxury of selecting a single applicant from every 8 or 9 highly qualified ones (yes, last year Harvard as well as other of its Ivy brethren had an acceptance rate of less than 10%) they review, the applicant needs to have something that makes them stand out from the rest. At the same time an array of great, but not one of a kind accomplishments, can also yield success but students need to recognize that this process is, in many ways, an introduction to real world competition at an extremely high level. If you are determined to apply, do it, recognize the competitive nature of the process. You should not apply simply because a place is selective. Rather, you apply because of what it offers, recognizing that a part of why it is so selective is because what it offers is so valuable and thus so coveted.
A student at the top of their class, but only if those schools have the particular curriculum the student wishes to pursue.
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