It was another great year for Strategic College Consulting with many great acceptances including Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Columbia and UPenn to the powerful University of California colleges including many Berkeley and UCLA acceptances to small liberal arts colleges and specialty colleges. 

The college admissions process has become increasingly more competitive and selective in how students are chosen each year to be admitted to the next year’s entering class, especially at the more competitive colleges. The application pool is not only increasing in size, but also in how students have made an impact during their high school years.

Earning acceptance into a great college is the big goal for most students. But what does it mean to be a great student with respect to college admissions, especially in a constantly ever-changing college admissions landscape? We are going to break down how students should develop themselves in a way that leads to success in their college admissions goals.

As we close out a month of social distancing, we, as a collective community, are slowly building a new way of life. We used to set our alarm clocks, prepare for our days, and head out to school or to our prospective places of employment. Now we get up and log on to our computers for distance education, remote meetings, and virtual social interaction. Where we once went to a restaurant to enjoy a night out, we now order in from a local restaurant as a special treat. Instead of meeting our friends for coffee, we set up virtual videoconferences. Our lives have changed drastically in the last month, and we continue to define our new normal, create new routines, and adapt.

As these novel routines develop, one area that has many students confounded is how to continue to prepare for college admissions. Traditionally, admission criteria have centered on elements such as grades, strength of curriculum, standardized test scores, essays, and extracurricular activities, among others. Even today, in the midst of so much uncertainty, students should continue to focus on each of these measures; however, the way you address each of these areas has likely changed. Read how you can best prepare for college admissions and participate in extracurricular activities during these uncertain times.

College admission criteria include a variety of factors including grades and extracurricular activities. Near the top of the list of admission criteria for many colleges are ACT and SAT test scores. While some colleges have moved the importance away from admission test scores in recent years, the ACT and SAT still play an important part of a competitive college admission strategy.

Therefore, to thoroughly prepare for the admissions process, a student must take either the ACT or the SAT. Colleges don’t have a preference for which test you choose, so how do you decide which test is better for you? Read our Act vs SAT blog post to learn more!

In your lifetime, you are going to spend 150,000 hours of your life at work. This is about 40% of your life. Your chosen profession will define you in many ways, describe who you are, identify you, and dominate much of your life. Through your work, you will be able to express your talents, gifts, and abilities to make a contribution, make a living, and give back to the world in meaningful, positive, and significant ways. It is then important to be able to assess as early as possible, through identifying natural gifts and talents, and passions, what key strengths you have, and how to properly nurture those strengths. These key strengths are the foundation, and building blocks, for which a college major will ultimately be chosen, and for which you will be able to identify a career that is best suited for you.

And the very important decision of choosing a college major, and ultimately a lifelong career is formed, and cultivated during your educational years by the clubs and organizations you join, to the courses you take, to all those activities you take part in during summertime. What excites you, is fulfilling to you, and what you feel passionate about during your educational years help shape who you are, and how you will spend the rest of your life in a chosen profession, and how you will best serve your community. Let’s review three important strategies for how you can identify key strengths and interests, and how to best nurture and cultivate your passions so you can best prepare for your future!

AP tests, SATs, ACTs, GPA, extracurricular activities, awards, leadership—it’s enough to make your head spin—and likely to raise your level of anxiety just thinking about it all. Students these days have a lot to keep track of and many directions to focus their attention. Not only that, in terms of college admissions, each of these areas needs to be a priority, all while going through this thing called adolescence that is rife with social challenges, emotional changes, and identity development. If coping strategies are insufficient, stress can actually be counterproductive to academic success. Therefore, to adequately deal with the stressors that come with adolescent life, teens must develop coping strategies at a young age.