I am looking to get in to a great college and I want to know what is the most important factor of my application?

Hi, Sierra,

It's a really good question, and I can provide some comments as a parent who has one kid just went through the process and is going to a very good college this coming Fall.

First of all, you have to have solid academic records, these include high GPA (WGPA), most rigorous courses, high SAT/ACT/SATII, and a good number (I don't mean to have a lot) of APs. For a good college, if you don't have solid academic records, unless you have special talents, special contributions to the community, and/or hooks, you don't have a chance to be considered.

Once your academic records prove you are a talented and hard working student, the colleges look at your ECs. Are you involved in sports? are you involved in music or arts programs? how passionate and consistent are you in these programs?

you also need to show your involvement in the community, both in school and outside school, either via school clubs, societies, or volunteering opportunities. I believe colleges not only look for kids who are smart and great, but also look for kids who are willing to contribute to the society. Through these activities, they look for future leaders.

Your applications and essays are equally important. They are the only places that college admission officers see you. So make sure you show every aspect of yourself in the applications. Utilize the different topics of the essays to describe your intellegience, your sports/music/arts passions, your involvements and leaderships, and most importantly, use your own voice, be yourself.

Lastly, good luck! Getting into a good college is like winning a lottery! However, if you don't win, your life doesn't end there. You will find yourself in another amazing school. There are just TOO many good schools.

Sierra,
Thanks for the question. It's definitely a critical question to consider as you prepare for the next season of your life. The previous answers you received to this question seem to have a similar answer: everything is important, and it's a tricky course to navigate. Regarding the things you mentioned - courses, grades, test scores, rank, interests, institutional needs, essays, recommendations, and interviews - they're all important, primarily as they relate to the college to which you'd like to apply. Without question, your GPA and the strength of your courses serve as the most important factors in terms of college admissions, and test scores fall in line behind them. Here's why: if you have a strong GPA (such as a 4.45) and your coursework includes Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors classes, but your SAT score was low (such as 1100), you'll still have an outside chance of getting into a competitive college/university.

Honestly, the other factors you mentioned, such as the rank, interests, essays, recommendations and interviews, will become more important to consider for the college/university you want to pursue. For example, if you're looking into a popular public school in-state, then the admissions departments will likely consider your GPA, coursework and test scores first - and perhaps consider only those factors. However, if you're looking for a more academically-rigorous institution, then those other factors will certainly come into play. I have counseled several high school students who applied for admission to some very demanding and prestigious universities, and they had an interview prior to the school's final decision for his/her admission.

So, in that sense, it will depend on what kind of school you want to pursue. Ultimately, keep doing your best in all of those areas, because you'll give yourself plenty of opportunities later for academic, professional and personal growth.

Best of luck!

Hi Sierra,

Thank you for the question. Unfortunately, there really aren't any straightforward answers. A few years ago the National Association for College Admission Counseling published research highlighting the most important factors to admission. The top three categories were:

You can see the full list here:
http://www.nacacnet.org/studentinfo/articles/Pages/Factors-in-the-Admission-Decision.aspx

Remember, though, that the college admissions process is imperfect. You could do everything "right", meet all of the requirements for admission to the school(s) you want, and still not be admitted. That's because the process is driven by people using inexact science to make these decisions. This is why I always encourage students to aim for more than one top school and apply to each one.