Frank Burtnett (This article
originally appeared in Careers & Colleges magazine)
The college admission process can be a scary one, but it doesn’t have to be.
Armed with good information and a solid plan of action, you can eliminate
mistakes that might stifle your options or kill your chances of admission.
We asked a group of college admission deans and directors from a cross
section of American colleges and universities to describe the most common
mistakes made by prospective freshmen and to explain ways to avoid them. Here is
their list.
1. YOU MISS THE BOAT ACADEMICALLY The single most important factor in
gaining admission to the college of your choice is how well you perform in a
college preparatory curriculum, according to a study by the National Association
for College Admission Counseling. (Second and third in importance are admission
test scores and class rank.)
An ideal college-prep curriculum includes the maximum number of English,
science, mathematics, social studies, and foreign language classes you can
successfully manage in high school. To be sure, other factors will enter into
the college admission decision, but nothing will have as much weight as your
performance in the classroom.
A related mistake is assuming that a high grade-point average is more
important than the difficulty of the classes selected. Nothing could be further
from reality.
"The most common reason we deny admission is because students have chosen
easy elective courses instead of more demanding college-prep courses," says Dan
Saracino, dean of admissions at Notre Dame University in Indiana.
2. YOU IGNORE GREAT RESOURCES Limited information is the No. 1 cause
of bad decisions. Many students fail to identify and use the resources (human
and material) available to them during the college exploration and
decision-making process. This often leads to the if-only-I-had-known statement
at some point in the future.
Contact current college students (perhaps graduates of your high school) for
the inside scoop on your top-choice schools. Seek out school counselors,
admission counselors, and financial aid officers for specific information
regarding the admissions process.
Parents, family members, and friends can serve as sounding boards for all
this newly acquired information. There are also countless tools — guides,
directories, videos, and software — available through your career/college
resource center, guidance office, and school and public libraries. Finally, take
advantage of campus visits, college fairs, and counseling seminars to learn more
about your options.
3. YOU FOLLOW THE PACK Don’t choose College X because your best friend
did. The reason a friend chose College X may have nothing to do with your
educational objectives and ambitions.
Personalize your search so that you can apply your values and test many of
the myths about colleges. (Examples: Small colleges are intimate and friendly.
The best colleges are the expensive ones.)
"Some students think that if it’s a large college, the classes must be large,
too," says Patricia Riordan, dean of admissions at George Mason University in
Fairfax, Virginia, where the student body numbers 24,000, but classes can be as
small as 20.
You should also define what you’re looking for in a college (e.g., major
field of study, location, size) and apply these personal criteria throughout the
search. Don’t make your decision based on the needs and desires of others.
Be just as wary of "ratings" and "rankings" guides. There are outstanding
programs within average institutions and weak academic programs within sound
institutions. Create a ranking of colleges that works for you.
4. YOU DON’T TAKE THE COLLEGE FOR A TEST DRIVE Would you buy a car
without taking a test drive, or new jeans without trying them on? Well, too many
students choose their future college without conducting a thorough search, and
end up making a haphazard decision at application time.
"Some students don’t even know the programs at the schools to which they’re
applying," says Riordan at George Mason. "I had one applicant eager to get into
our architecture program–we don’t even offer an architecture major."
Proper exploration will result in a matching of your abilities, aptitudes,
achievements, and interests with academic, social, and related offerings of the
various colleges. Use the exploration period to learn about yourself and what
you want. Why are you going to college? What are your educational and career
goals? What do you want to study?
Also, think about the sort of campus setting in which you would be most
comfortable (i.e., urban vs. rural, large vs. small, all female vs. coed). Be
sure to tour your top-choice campuses to make sure the colleges’ materials
accurately portray the environment.
5. YOU DECIDE THERE IS ONLY ONE "RIGHT" COLLEGE There is no single
"right" college for you. There are probably several. Before you begin to narrow
your options, do everything you can to expand them. Look beyond the colleges
that are known to you.
Don’t apply to colleges where you cannot compete academically. By matching
your qualifications and personal characteristics with the profile of admitted
students, you’ll paint an accurate picture of your chances of being accepted.
Create a list of five to ten serious choices, using the three-tier approach.
Your first-tier colleges are the extremely competitive or "reach" schools;
second-tier colleges are those colleges that meet all your requirements but are
not as selective as the first group; and the third-tier should include colleges
that you’re sure to get into, a.k.a safety schools. Make certain you apply to
some colleges from the latter two groups.
6. YOU MAKE THE PRICE YOUR PRIORITY "You should not exclude colleges
from your list of possibilities on the initial appearance of cost," says Steve
Syverson, dean of admission and financial aid at Lawrence University in
Appleton, Wisconsin, where the cost is $26,583 a year but the average aid
package is $18,110.
"Some parents lump all private universities together as too expensive
compared to public schools. But compare the costs after taking financial aid
into consideration and the real costs are often similar."
At many American colleges and universities, one-half to two-thirds of the
student population is using some form of financial aid (scholarships, grants,
loans, etc.) So, don’t assume that your family makes too much money or has too
many possessions to qualify for financial aid.
7. YOU LET YOUR DOG EAT YOUR APPLICATION Your application and
supporting materials (high-school transcript, essay, teacher and counselor
recommendations) are all that the admission officer officers have in front of
them when they consider your candidacy. Your application is your voice. It
should be a strong voice. Read the application carefully from beginning to end.
Make sure your application is complete, accurate, neatly prepared, and
submitted on time. (To meet deadlines, create an exploration and application
calendar, and stick to it.) Also, don’t just tell the admission committee what
you think it wants to hear.
Follow all of the directions, make certain that test scores and transcripts
are directed to the proper person or department, and don’t send extraneous items
(such as video or music tapes) — unless of course, they are requested.
If you conduct a smart search and avoid the mistakes mentioned, there is a
strong likelihood that a letter of acceptance will find its way to your mailbox.
Dr. Frank Burtnett is the President of
Education Now, an
educational consulting, training, and publishing firm in Virginia. He has
written extensively about college and career development and the transitions
that young adults must make in moving from high school to college and work.
