Hello, I’d like some feedback and ideas of what I could do to earn a higher chance of being accepted.
Besides test scores. Like volunteer work? What do you think?
Most colleges only use GPA/test scores for admission.
Some of the more selective colleges use holistic admissions (in Florida, UF and to a lesser degree FSU are two examples). In this case, they look at more than GPA and test scores. Every college has slightly different list of holistic factors that they use, with different weight given to each factor. In general, they are looking for ECs (a commitment to an activity), leadership, volunteer work, regular work, and then “diversity factors”. This could include economic status, talent/ability, First generation in college, Alumni relations, Geographical residence, letters of recommendations, level of applicant’s interest…
It’s a long list, and not every college uses all of these factors. My recommendation is to simply do something you’re interest in doing. Sports? Work? volunteering? Clubs? All of it’s good. Keep in mind that 1 year in 4 different clubs isn’t as effective as 4 years in 1 club. They like to see a commitment to an activity (vs just stuffing a resume).
One good source of information is the Command Data Set (CDS) for each college. Table C7 will list and rank the relative importance of each academic and nonacademic factors used in admission decisions. The CDS isn’t available for all schools, but you should be able to find it for most. Here’s a link to FSU’s CDS (for 2014-2015):
http://www.ir.fsu.edu/Common_Data_Set/2014-15/C.html
Good Luck!
What can I do outside of school that counts?
Anything outside of school counts, as long as it shows a commitment to an activity. Even a hobby is fine, doing something with your church, volunteering at a homeless center, cleaning up a park, whatever.