So you want to go to college, but not just any college; you want to go to the college of your dreams; am I understanding this correctly? Well my friend, that’s a tall glass to drink but I’ll level with you – I like your ambition. Here’s the situation we’re in: I’m guessing your top college is a going to be coveted by many equally ambitious students. So we need to find a way to help you stand out from the crowd. Fortunately, I have a strategy you can use that will have your top college practically begging you to enroll. Read on to learn some full-proof tips that will get you into your first choice school.
It All Starts with the Grades
If you’re the ambitious student that I think you are, I’m guessing that you didn’t sleep through all of your classes in high school and probably have the grades to prove my theory correct. This is good because all factors equal, if you want to get into any college of your choosing, you need to prove that you belong and can succeed there. Good grades indicate that you are a strong student that cares about learning.
Think about it; let’s say you are the admissions officer at your perspective university. You can only accept so many people since space is a premium. Let’s say that the last spot is up-for-grabs between two people. One student, received straight C’s the other student received straight A’s on their report card. Who do you think is going to be rewarded the final spot? The student with the straight A’s will ALWAYS win. If you’re still in high school, try to enroll into Honors and AP classes. If you’re struggling with grades, be sure to hire a tutor. Yes, it’s more work, but it’s your future you’re working for. The college of your dreams is going to require good grades, work for them.
Great SAT / ACT Score
Didn’t I just explain the importance of good grades? Yes, yes I did. Building off of my rant for why you need good grades, you need to take the knowledge that you learned to obtain good grades and apply that to get an outstanding SAT / ACT score. Top tier colleges require high scores on the SAT / ACT so it’s crucial that you do well. Even if you have average grades in a high school, an outstanding SAT/ACT score can help you get noticed by the admissions office. If you happen to do exceptionally well on one of these tests, can you say scholarships? Scoring well on the SAT / ACT is by far the best thing you can do to help you get into the college of your dreams.
Letter’s of Recommendation
A letter of recommendation is the way admissions offices learn more about their perspective students. While grades indicate smarts, letters of recommendation shed light onto your personality; this is a great tool to use to give you the nod of acceptance. This goes without saying, only have trusted teachers, coaches or employers write you a letter as they will do all of the selling for you.
Be Well Rounded
If you have good grades, scored well on your SAT /ACT and your teacher penned you the best letter of recommendation this side of the Mississippi River, a way to ensure that you are accepted into the college of your dreams is to be well rounded. While in high school you should play sports, join clubs, volunteer, work a job or do pretty much anything to show to the admissions office so you can prove that you’re a student that does more things than just attend school. Here’s the truth- you can leverage any activity that you do outside of school hours as long as you can speak intelligently on the subject. Being a well rounded student is the icing on the cake. Heck, you might actually have fun being rounded, too. If your goal is to attend the college of your dreams so you can study to obtain USC’s masters degree in communication or any other degree, follow these simple steps and you’ll be on your way.
