Although I lived in the United States since middle school, I still had to apply to colleges as an international applicant (Canadian citizen) needing financial aid. This is my conclusion from the past year and half of college application frenzy:
<ol>
<li>Get above 2200 on SAT or 33 on ACT</li>
<li>Lead a few extracurricular activities (be president or establish a club) </li>
<li>If you live near a college, try to do research there</li>
<li>Be honest in your essays (don’t try to sound like another person)</li>
<li>Reveal YOUR voice in the essays (if you’re not a philosopher, don’t try to include all complicated philosophical meanings in your essays…you’re only 18)</li>
<li>Really find what you like about a certain college…ONE will stand out from the rest</li>
</ol>
I got in Penn’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology (Wharton & Engineering)!