I came across an article yesterday preaching the importance of demonstrating interest in your chosen colleges. It included a list of colleges where this is supposedly crucial during the admissions process, as well as advice about just how to demonstrate that interest. And almost all of it ranged from questionable to factually inaccurate.
As much as the internet has done to give us the information we want whenever we want it, the downside of information overload in college admissions is that families feel like they’re always just one tiny missed piece of information or advice away from blowing it. What if one expert, one article, one source has that magic last piece of the puzzle that will make the difference between admission and denial?
The college admissions process has gone past the point where we can call it simple. Things aren’t like they used to be. There are so many colleges, so many different steps to take, and so many instructions to follow. I understand why families feel like they need to absorb as much information and advice as possible, regardless of the source or the veracity. If your neighbor claims she heard from a reportedly trusted source that School X prefers musicians who have also demonstrated leadership ability and a commitment to community service, it feels risky to ignore it.
But the truth is that most offers of admission to college don’t happen because of one little-known-tactic, one secret that an applicant unearthed and capitalized on. Yes, you’ll hear stories about these—the student who applied under a special major, or who connected with an admissions officer, or wrote some off-the-wall essay that “got him in.” But most of those stories are exaggerated and completely unconfirmed. And the few that have some truth to them account for a very tiny percentage of the applicant pool and apply to students who had a unique circumstance—the information that helped them would never have helped you, even if you had known about it previously.
Thankfully, you can avoid almost all of those conflicting, confusing, potentially damaging pieces of advice by doing just two things.
1. Visit the websites of the colleges that interest you.
If an admissions office wants you to do something, they almost always tell you so explicitly. What do you need to submit—test scores, transcripts, letters of recommendation, etc.? When are the application and financial aid deadlines? Are there special requirements for students entering into specific majors? All of this will be spelled out on the admissions office’s website. Nobody knows how to get into a specific college quite like the admissions officers at that school.
2. Visit your counselor to discuss your chosen schools and your proposed course of admissions action.
Even if you attend a large school where your counselor doesn’t know you well, he or she has almost certainly been through this before. They’re familiar with the former applicants from your school and with their admissions results. Your counselors can verify that you’ve chosen appropriate colleges and that you’re taking the right steps to apply. And in the rare case when School X is admitting left-handed tuba players above all others, your counselor will probably know.
Those two steps will ensure admissions accuracy for 99% of applicants. And even the remaining 1% will never have been steered wrong by following the same advice.
Yes, college admission is more complex than it used to be. The fear—and reality—of missing something is real for many families. But taking in even more advice from more sources just exacerbates the problem. Instead, get focused. A few trustworthy sources are all you need for the best admissions advice.
Here are two past posts with advice about good (and bad) sources of college admissions advice, and a third from the University of Virginia’s blog.
And a final one with my own advice about how to show interest in a college.