College Admission Factors

Ultimately, admission to a top college will depend on a wide variety of factors that make up your college admission profile. In order to impress the admissions officers and gain a spot at the college of your dreams, you have to make sure that you stand out from the crowds of students vying for the same spot. However, in order to even get far enough in the process to have the opportunity to shine, you have to meet the basic college admission factors.

One of the first things that top colleges will look at is your GPA. The college staff will review your GPA to ensure that it meets their minimum standards for incoming students, and they will also consider your grades from individual classes. The difficulty of your schedule can be a factor here; receiving a B in an advanced class offered by your high school will still make you a more desirable candidate than a person who opted to avoid the advanced classes all together and managed to receive straight A's. Your overall grade point average as well as the grade point average from your most recent classes may both be evaluated to determine if you are the type of student who is capable of the work ethic that will be expected at the top colleges.

Your extracurricular activities will also be considered. Make sure that you are participating in activities outside of your class work that allow you to express your creativity and develop leadership skills. Leadership roles in your extracurricular activities should also be considered an essential college admission factor.

Grades, high school schedules, and extracurricular activities will all be examined objectively by the admissions staff. In order to also reach the admissions officers on a subjective or personal level, make sure that your application essay and letters of recommendation are impeccably written and are an accurate representation of what you have to offer the college. Applications essays are your time to let your personality show through, and letters of recommendation will weigh heavily because they show the qualities that have impressed other people throughout your life.

Other college admission factors at competitive universities may include personal interviews, geographic location of the applicant, ethnicity, relationships with alumni, your class rank, and the specific major for which you are applying. These basic factors will get your foot in the door and will give you the opportunity to further impress colleges with the information that you will find elsewhere on this site.