What Colleges Are Looking For in High School Students
The IECA recently released their 2020 rankings of what colleges are looking for when evaluating high school students. These rankings are based on a nationwide survey of Independent Educational Consultants. I want to break down the rankings and explain what each of them mean in a little bit more detail.
A Rigorous High School Curriculum: Colleges understand that every high school is different and has different offerings. The most important thing is that you are taking advantage of the hardest courses and curriculum available at your high school. Does your high school offer AP courses? Try to take advantage of those courses in your areas of interest? IB Program? APPS Program? Magnet Program or Capstone courses? These are all examples of rigorous programs, usually optional, that colleges want to see you are taking advantage of. They want to see that you are challenging and pushing yourself, not just taking the easy road to graduation.
High Grade Point Average in Major Subjects: This question gets asked a lot. Is it better for me to get straight A’s or take more challenging courses where I might get a B. The answer is that you want to get, of course, the strongest grades in the hardest curriculum, but it is better to get a B in an AP or honors course than get straight A’s in an easy curriculum. That said, consistently getting Cs or Ds in challenging AP or IB courses won’t look good to colleges, and may show that you aren’t as ready for college level work.
High Scores on Standardized Tests: Standardized tests are important, but you’ll note that this isn’t the first thing on the list. Strong curriculum and grades are more important than test scores, and many schools are going test optional.
Passionate Involvement in a Few Activities That Are Meaningful: You don’t need to join 20 clubs. It’s more important to show your passion for a few interests, really get involved, and show sustained commitment over time to a few activities, rather than hopping from one activity to the next, or quitting activities too early.
A Well-Written Essay: So many students do not take the time to really write meaningful essays that show their personality, their values, and their writing ability. At S. Montgomery Admissions Consulting we walk students through brainstorming and outlining strong essays that allow the student’s voice and personality to shine through. We teach strong writing skills that are useful in the essay process and in college.
Leadership inside or outside of school. Depth, rather than breadth, of leadership is valued. Similar to involvement in a few, meaningful activities. You do not need to be president of every single club. It isn’t about the title, rather it is about what you did as a leader and the impact that you made that matters.
Demographic and personal characteristics. Everyone has something unique about them. Even if you feel like you don’t check any boxes for standard “diversity,” you have a unique story and they want to see the value that you can bring to their incoming class.
Strong counselor/teacher recommendations. Don’t just ask the teacher who gave you an A. Ask teachers who can speak to you as a person and your character. This may be the teacher who gave you a B but saw your work ethic and perseverance in class. S. Montgomery Admissions Consulting can help you figure out which teachers and outside recommenders would best enhance your application.
Special talents. Again, many students think they do not have “special talents", but maybe you are known as being kind and helpful and have gone out of your way to make a difference in your community. Perhaps you are great at couponing (a prior S. Montgomery Admissions Consulting student wrote an amazing essay on couponing and was accepted to MIT and the University of Pennsylvania).
Intellectual curiosity exhibited through reading, research, and extracurricular pursuits. High schoolers should always be finding ways to read and learn outside of the classroom. Don’t know what to read? Try looking at NY Times or Washington Post and see if any of the articles catch your attention. Don’t have time to read? There are many great podcasts out there and NPR is a great place to learn about interesting topics.
Student’s character and values are seen as conducive to being a good community member. Colleges love to see dedication to community as exhibited through community service. It is better to show consistent community service volunteering with one or two particular organizations over several months or years than sporadic volunteer service with a bunch of a separate organizations.
Demonstrated interest. Did you know that colleges can see when you have opened an email from them or clicked on the links? Many schools factor in demonstrated interest in the application process. This can range from visits, emails, attendance at open houses, and so much more. Demonstrated interest can be confusing and each school has different methods of tracking interest. S. Montgomery Admissions Consulting can help you figure out the best way to show demonstrated interest at your top schools.
S. Montgomery Admissions Consulting is a full-service educational consulting company offering 9-12th grade college counseling services and graduate school admissions consulting. Let us help you on your college application or graduate school journey. Schedule a free consultation at www.smontgomeryconsulting.com/consultation.