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Ask the Guru a question.The College Application Process
What do you write in college application essays? Can you write an essay about your experiences in extra-curricular activities? Or do you list your extra-curricular activities? Also, is there a limit to how many recommendations you can get from your teachers? If not, is it better to get a lot of recommendations from your teachers? Even if the recommendations are not well-developed, it's better to have lots, right? Thanks.
Great questions! You can really do a lot with a well-written, interesting essay. If your grades are good but not fantastic, you could push yourself over the edge to acceptance with a great essay. And even if your grades and scores are great, presenting yourself in a poor essay could really hurt your chances for acceptance.
The best essays discuss something meaningful in your life and show a passion for the subject you’re writing about. If the essay deals with some problems you’ve overcome, it should be insightful, show that you’ve reflected on what you went through, and it should share what you’ve learned from those problems. For instance, if you had a personal challenge that affected your grades for a time, briefly share that challenge along with how you have worked to become a better student since then. Overall, a good essay is well-organized, interesting, and helps the reader get a good picture of who you are.
Make sure you answer the essay question on the application, if they ask a specific one. If you feel that your activities experiences were very important in your life and had a great impact on you, then yes, write about that. The college wants to know you a little better – what has been important in your life, what has changed you, people who have had an impact on you, how you have become a better person, etc. Don’t list your activities in an essay; schools can read about them elsewhere in your application.
As far as recommendations, just submit the number the school asks for. Make sure they are quality recommendations; more is NOT necessarily better! Just like in an essay, schools want to find out something about you from a recommendation that is more than just facts or “I think this student should go to your school.” You DO want your recommendations to be well-developed, clear, and concise.
A few final tips: get a parent or teacher to read through your essay to find ways you could improve it, and make sure you don’t have any spelling or grammatical errors. Good luck!
Hello, I have a couple questions. First, I am a sophomore in high school and I was wondering if I should be looking in to colleges right now? Second, I want to be a pediatrician what are good colleges to go to pursue that career? Thanks
Sophomore year is a great year to start looking at colleges. You should start thinking about what kind of school you want to attend (e.g., public vs. private, large vs. small, etc.). You should start looking at a variety of schools at this stage. It’s good to get an idea of how many students apply versus how many are admitted, what the average GPA of an incoming freshmen is, what the student to teacher ratio is, etc. so you can determine where you would fit in. Also, be sure to consider non-academic factors such as size, location, financial aid availability, student mix, etc.
Most schools have a pre-med program, which you’ll need to complete before applying to medical school. Actually, “pre-med” is not a formal major, but you do need to take certain science and math courses in order to be accepted to a medical school. Beyond the required courses, you can major in almost anything.
At this time, it’s best to focus on doing your best as an undergraduate before beginning to consider medical schools (where you’ll focus on your specialty, such as pediatrics).
Good luck!
I am seeking admission into the University of Texas at Austin. This is my #1 choice school. I want to do everything possible to increase my chances of getting in. I am contemplating writing a short letter to the Admissions committee. Do colleges like it when you "suck up" to them for lack of a better term? Do you think this will hurt my chances since it will be something completely unecessary for my application?
While the University of Texas is your first choice, it is also the first choice of dozens, if not hundreds, of other high school seniors. Consequently, the admissions committee is well aware that many applicants are going to “pull out all the stops” to try and get their applications noticed. That said, the best way to get your application is not to write the admissions committee a letter telling them how desperate you are to attend their school. They know that dozens of applicants long to be admitted. They also have thousands of applications to read and don’t have the time or interest to reading any extra essays.
The best way to make your application stand out is by submitting the strongest overall application possible. The admissions committee will evaluate your application based on several factors, including grades, rigor of curriculum, essays, recommendations, extracurriculars, and SAT scores. Make sure your application is strong and unique in each of these areas, and you should stand out.
Can one defer a year with an Early Decision acceptance?
Usually the acceptance is for a specific semester and you cannot defer it. However, you could ask the college if they will. If you have interesting or unique plans for your year off, they may consider it.