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Letters of recommendation provide context to your application in a way that other credentials cannot. Ideally, a letter of recommendation will further reinforce your strengths as an applicant and reveal positive information not found elsewhere in your application. All other things being equal, a strong letter of recommendation may provide an admissions officer the additional piece of information he or she needs to admit you over other comparable applicants.

it is important that you submit your requests early

Stay relevant. Be sure to pursue at least one letter of recommendation from a teacher in your area(s) of academic interest (if you have one).

When you know what mistakes to avoid, applying to college can be a smooth process that allows students to showcase their accomplishments, personalities and experiences, and win that coveted spot in the freshman class.

“The essay is the best way to tell your story. This is where you can be the most memorable and it really is an opportunity to connect your unique attributes and experiences with the vibe of the college or university,”

always best for the student to be authentic

n what is something of a covert operation, colleges are now tracking students as they visit campuses, attend information sessions in high schools, open their emails and even as they collect information about the college on various online search engines. The fact that a student has in any way entered the “foot-print” of the institution, electronic or otherwise, is now discoverable to the institution. The result: said institution is able to attach values to the different contacts to develop a metric that predicts, with a high degree of accuracy, the likelihood that the student will enroll before she has even submitted an application!

The implications for the prospective applicant should be clear. While your transcript and resume will get you into the competition at schools of choice, it will often be the degree of confidence you give the decision-makers in your likelihood of enrollment that will make the difference in the outcome of your application.

While there is no guarantee that demonstrating interest by responding in appropriate ways will result in your admission to a given institution, doing so will reduce the questions about the likelihood of your enrollment if admitted and return the focus of the deliberations to the factors that reflect your strength as a candidate.

Applying to college is all about organization.

If, however, there is an extenuating circumstance, an interruption in school, an unusual or sudden change in your life, a disciplinary issue, or a learning disability that admissions officers ought to know about, then this section is exactly the place for you to write about it.

the attitude you portray in your writing says as much about you as the disclosure itself. It is important to discuss even your greatest challenges with positive forward thinking and an open mind.

Instead, think of this as an opportunity to share something that does not fit anywhere else on the application.

Who are you?  What makes you tick?  What’s important to you?  How do you think?  What do you do when faced with adversity?  What kind of friend, student, son or daughter are you?  Do you know how to write and express yourself?

The admissions essay helps us get acquainted with you in ways different from courses, grades, test scores, and other objective data. It also enables you to demonstrate your ability to organize thoughts and express yourself.

olleges use essays to try and create a personal snapshot of you unobtainable from other parts of the application.

The key is to engage your son without making him feel like he has no choice. The fact is, he is in a position to choose—and the choices he makes now will, to a great extent, determine the range of options he might consider later in the process. Talk with him about his priorities for the future and remind him that his daily decision-making will strongly influence the path he is able to follow and the options he might discover along the way.

You might also suggest he develop a timetable for decision-making

he must take ownership for charting this course into the unknown

Why did these colleges decide to become test-optional? There appear to be two primary reasons. For one, some colleges seek to admit otherwise-worthy students who perform relatively poorly on standardized tests. The second reason is that schools can achieve higher rankings by not reporting the scores of those who did not submit them for application (presumably, these tend to make up a large proportion of their lowest scores).

poor SAT takers are likely to be poor test takers

So my conclusion would be: first, check on the policies of any SAT-optional schools to which you are interested in applying. Second, unless your SAT scores are so low as to be totally out of whack with your GPA and other qualifications, send them on

Remember that admission committees are most interested in learning about you and what you have to offer the community of scholars they are assembling through the admission process. Use your essays, letters of recommendation and extra-curricular to create a picture of who you are and what you have to offer.

people writing on your behalf. Make sure they have the needed information and that they know how their perspectives are integral to the messages you seek to convey.

what are the key messages you want to convey

Preferential packaging means, simply, that the students a college would most like to enroll will receive the most advantageous financial aid packages.

A preferential financial aid package includes a far greater percentage of grant aid than self-help (loans and work).

Some students nearer the bottom of the admitted student group are "gapped," meaning that they have a financial aid package, but it may not meet their full need.