We’ve all heard of those admissions tips like “don’t have a laundry list of extracurriculars, show your passion” and stuff like that. What I was lucky enough to hear (from my guidance counselor) was “not taking calculus will kill your admission chances”.
It just makes me think that there are certain things I’ve never really considered, like things that will help or hurt my chances of getting into certain schools, and they don’t show up under any “admission tips” lists. They’re like weird unspoken rules.
I know that these won’t make or break my college chances, but is there anything else I should really know about getting in? (ex. what courses to take, things to not do on your application, etc)
I’m a junior, so I have a little bit of time, but I wanna make sure I’m not screwing myself over in the long run.
Know who you’re competing against for admission . We started our college tours in Junior year. Look at the Common Data sets for the schools your interested to see where you fall to make realistic choices. Start your tests early on so you have time to retake them if necessary.
The answer to your question varies tremendously on a number of factors, most importantly, your interests (major, location, size of school, etc) and for many, financial situation…
Some colleges will require 4 years of a foreign language for some majors, but this clearly doesn’t matter for others.
Some kids will need to develop a relationship with a teacher or GC well in advance in order to get a good rec letter - taking more than one class from that teacher is essential in some cases/schools, but it is not an issue at all for other kids at other schools.
Is taking 4 years of a science necessary to get into top 30 schools for non science/engineering majors? I took bio, chem, and AP Bio but chose to take an extra math (AP Stats) instead of physics or AP physics this year
If the rest of your schedule was rigorous, then it should be fine. However, if you took regular bio and regular chem then that could be a cause for concern.
Applying as “undecided” is fine, but not always. There are two kinds of “undecideds”: those who haven’t yet discovered the subject they’re passionate about and those who are excited about a lot of subjects and haven’t yet narrowed it down.
Don’t be the first kind.
Thanks for the reply. There wasn’t any honors classes offered for bio or chem so I had to take the basic classes
I would think that most viiable candidates to top 30 (selective) schools are going to have at least 4 sciences (in NYS it would be 5), including Physics.
Be nice. The people writing your recommendations have watched you interact with your peers and other people at the school for years. You’ll get a better recommendation from someone who thinks you’re kind than someone who knows you’re popular.
Besides, it’s just good karma.
Schools don’t want a well rounded student.
They want a well rounded class.