As college application deadlines loom, it’s crucial to ensure your application is polished and represents the best version of you as a candidate. Here are some reminders of what to review and do before you hit “submit”.
Are Your Values Showing? Scan your application sentence by sentence looking for moments where your values shine through. Would someone who doesn’t know you get a sense of what’s important to you?
Personal Statement Perfection Are the examples in your personal statement strong, specific, and visually descriptive? Are your values represented? Have you given the reader insights and showcased growth? Does the conclusion reflect on what you’ve learned or who you’ve become and what you’ll do going forward?
Activate Your Activities List Your activities list should include specifics and be brimming with vivid descriptions of your responsibilities or experience. Use a variety of action verbs and elaborate on problems you solved, lessons you learned, impacts you had, and/or how you applied your knowledge.
Savvy Supplementals Supplemental essays are unique to each school, so tailor your responses accordingly. (Make sure you use the correct school, program, course, and professor names 100% of the time!!) When appropriate, demonstrate how your values and aspirations fit with the school’s mission by exhibiting a detailed awareness of what they have to offer. Especially in those “Why Us?” essays, remember that your goal is to convince them that you’re not applying to any college but to their specific institution–use school-specific details!
Adding Additional Info Only offer additional information if it in some way contributes value to your application. It should be brief, focused, and information that is not found elsewhere in your application. Here you might include additional information on academics, an activity or an award; include portfolio work; or explain extenuating circumstances. Address only unanswered questions an admissions committee may have.
Before You Hit Submit:
Proofread. Out. Loud. Read through the entire application aloud, even the parts that aren’t complete sentences (like your activities). Errors often present themselves only when read aloud. Have someone else read it too: there’s nothing like a fresh pair of eyes to catch those typos.
Check Your Essay(s): Your writing should be squeaky clean, free of careless errors, spelling and grammatical mistakes, and inconsistent formatting. Review it meticulously. (Read it out loud!)
- Check for Inconsistencies: Double-check your personal details, and things like self-reported test scores, school names, awards and honors. Don’t let a misprint derail your application.
- Check for Omissions: Have a list of your awards, honors, and activities available that you can reference when filling out your application. Is it all there? (Also? Read it out loud.)
- Check Your Portfolio: If you’re uploading files to your application, be certain that each attachment has been correctly uploaded. For visuals, check that they’re oriented correctly and accurately depict colors and details. For audio or video, watch/listen to it in its entirety before submitting.
- Check Links: Do you provide links anywhere in your application (such as to a blog or online portfolio)? Double check each one to make sure that it’s functional.
Confirm, and Reach Out: Verify, verify, verify, and remind those who are helping you, to help you!
- Confirm Recommendations: You are responsible for ensuring your recommendations are done. Check with recommenders a few weeks ahead of the deadline, confirming that their letters have been submitted or are on the way.
- Confirm Transcripts: Contact your guidance counselor (well in advance) to verify that your official transcripts have been submitted, to the correct schools, before important deadlines.
- Confirm Score Reports: If you’ve taken standardized tests and are submitting scores, confirm the scores you’re reporting, by checking your account on the College Board homepage. From your dashboard, you can navigate to the list of the colleges receiving reports.
- Message Your Connections: Have special connections at a college to which you’re applying? Check in with them the week before you submit your application. Send a quick note saying that you’re applying and have appreciated their insight and encouragement. If they’re in a position to put in a good word for you, this will prompt them to consider doing so. (And even if they’re not able to recommend you … a genuine “thanks!” still goes a long way!)
- Re-Read The Directions: Review the directions for each application one last time. Create a list of requirements for each school, and check off each one before you hit submit!
Be meticulous in each step. A well-crafted application will boost your chances of acceptance and help you stand out as candidate. (P.S. – Read it all aloud!)