College Admissions Tips You Should Know

College is tough.

It’s going to be the best and worst experience of your life. And I don’t say that just to scare you or make you second guess your decision. I’d be lying if I said it was easy and that you get to party all the time. Sure, it’s fun, and you’re going to meet loads of interesting people and make so many memories. But it’s also a ton of hard work – and the work starts before you even set foot on campus. I want to share my best college admissions tips to get you started on the right foot.

Hopefully if you’re just about done or already finished with high school, you’ve put in the work to make yourself a desirable candidate for admissions. Still got some time left (aka you’ve got a year or more before applying)? Here are three college admissions tips:

Tip #1: Keep your grades in check.

Okay, this one is kind of a given because most schools won’t even think twice about accepting a student with a low GPA. But if you slacked off a lot freshman or sophomore year, it’s time to buckle down. Focus on raising your cumulative GPA before you start applying anywhere. Colleges will request a copy of your transcript, and GPA is one of the first things they will look at to determine whether or not you are a diligent student.

While this one is pretty obvious, college admissions tips #2 and #3 may be a little less common. Stick with me!

Tip #2: Choose two or three extracurriculars.

When I say “two or three” I really mean only two or three – no more. The purpose to joining extracurricular programs in high school isn’t to impress college admissions officers. Taking on more than three programs will not only overwhelm your schedule as a student, but it will also look sketchy to the admissions office. Honestly, what kid truly wants to do multiple sports, student council, marching band, theater, yearbook, and student publications? If you’re doing all of those things and honestly love them equally, great! I am not here to condemn you for juggling a busy schedule.

But if you only stuck with band because your mom thought you should, played tennis because it was the only sport whose season didn’t conflict with the annual musical rehearsal schedule, or took yearbook because it would look impressive on your college application… Well, I hate to break it to you, but you’re wasting your time and energy on the wrong things.

I was always the girl who wanted to be involved in everything.

Speaking from experience, this was (and still is!) my biggest flaw. In high school, I found myself trying to do the newspaper, stage plays, musicals (stage management and pit orchestra), concert orchestra, chamber choir, tutoring, animal rights club, and softball all while balancing a part time job and AP classes. Believe me when I say that this is the quickest route to burnout. And nobody wants that at 17 years old!

If you take a look at the activity types in this post, this is a good starting point for choosing which extracurricular activities you should stick with. An academic activity is one that should relate to your potential career path or what you plan to study in college. For example, I was an English major, so opting for newspaper or tutoring would work well for me.

A community service activity is fairly self explanatory. Essentially it is a cause you support and volunteer for. Going from my last example, tutoring would work as community service and academic. That is one way to reduce three activities down to two, if your schedule is already packed! Some other service activities could be volunteering at the local animal shelter, fundraising for charities, or being actively involved in service activities at a church.

The third activity you want to be involved in is something that shows the admissions officer your special interests. For instance, I loved music and working behind the scenes on stage. (This could have also been considered my academic activity as well, had I planned to study theater or drama.) Aside from music, this category would also encompass sports, yearbook, art clubs, tech clubs, and pretty much anything else that you consider part of what makes you, you.

Tip #3: Find a mentor.

Some people may call them a “coach” or a “role model,” but they’re all the same thing for sake of this tip. Find an adult who inspires you. They should be someone you find successful in ways that align with what you hope to achieve in life. This doesn’t have to be someone who is your parent’s age or older; it can be an older sibling or relative, a teacher, an actual coach, or even a neighbor. When it comes to mentor/mentee relationships, I have three ground rules.

First, you must know them personally, as in you have to have a real life relationship with the person. You can’t pick someone famous and just decide you’re going to stalk them online and use that as “mentorship”. Nope, doesn’t work that way. I know everyone loves Rachel Hollis (myself included) and her words are so inspiring, but she can’t be your mentor.

Second rule is probably the most important for having an effective mentor: your person must agree to work with you. Sometimes we find people who are incredibly motivational and inspirational, but they don’t have time to focus on helping someone younger grow to their fullest potential. This is not your person. Your person will be someone who enjoys taking the extra time out of their day to speak with you about what’s going on in your life, and guiding you in the right direction. Usually, this sort of relationship comes naturally – you never want to force it!

My final rule is to make sure you choose someone who you can communicate with regularly.

The point of having a mentor is so you have a go-to person when you’re feeling stuck or don’t know how to approach a situation. They will give you advice when you need it. And they will help you uncover your greater potential in areas that you are either struggling with or already skilled at but haven’t reached your peak yet.

The reason I believe it is important to find a mentor? A lot of adults in your life aren’t going to have time to focus solely on you. Schools have guidance counselors to help students make decisions regarding college, sure. But if your high school is a bit larger, your counselors have a lot of kids to cover and probably not enough time for all of them.

For instance, my high school had around 1800 students. I believe we had only four or five counselors when I attended (they’re now up to six counselors). Let’s do a little math. Assuming there were five counselors, that’s 360 students each. 180 school days x 6 hours per day = 1080 working hours. If you divide 1080 hours by 360 students, each counselor would have only 3 hours total per student for the entire school year. And three hours is not enough time to get the help you need!

I’d like to also add that you should probably avoid using your parent as a mentor unless it truly makes sense to do so. Parents are often too close to the situation to be able to offer unbiased advice. A good mentor will always be unbiased.