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Find Your Future!

Tiziano Morganti •
#College and Career

College is one of the biggest concerns for any high schooler, being one of the most stressful things to have in mind. To many, the idea of getting into a college without the assistance of financial help may seem impossible, but with the help of this article, one could dramatically increase their chances of getting recognized.

GPA

With limited spots for every college, this puts a lot of focus on the choice of choosing students who would have an easier time excelling in more rigorous academics. Having a high GPA helps colleges understand the potential you have in succeeding in exceedingly difficult courses, but fret not! Colleges don’t assume you have to have a perfect GPA. (With grades such as a B in a more difficult class like Pre-Calculus when compared to a student with an A in Algebra II, colleges would see the reason for the difference in grades between the 2 classes).

AP and Honor Classes

Taking AP and Honors classes, typically harder classes, are a great way to impress the admissions committee. The AP classes you take also can provide you with the necessary information needed to take more difficult courses when you do arrive at college.

*AP and Honors Classes…   *

Along with this, you also get the benefit of earning free college credits in high school (if get a good enough score) along with showing the admission committee you have potential.

Letters of Recommendation

With the assistance of letters of recommendation given by educational figures, colleges are shown a third person view of your abilities, social skills, and character.

If you were to ever write a letter of recommendation it should include either a sentence or paragraph of how you know the person you are writing about and the nature of your relationship with this individual, an honest evaluation of the person’s characteristics, skills, capabilities, ethics, or accomplishments, preferably with specific examples, and A statement or summary that explains why you would recommend the person you are writing about.

Most colleges also require at least 1 letter of recommendation by a teacher or mentor to confirm the skill and character of the student.

SAT/ACT Scores

The Scholastic Aptitude Test and the American College Testing exams are two focus exams that colleges look for during the admissions process. The SAT exam is a test administrated by College Board used to provide the student and colleges with a point-based average of the student’s reading and writing ability as well as their math comprehension. The ACT exam is like the SAT in terms of material covered in the test, following the same need of language and math comprehension with the addition of science.

SAT: A College Board administration exam that all students in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grade must take, the exam is in time a total of 3 hours or 3 hours and 50 minutes if an essay portion is added. The exam is divided into either 4 to 5 portions, the reading portion with 52 questions in 65 minutes, the writing and language portion with 44 questions in 35 minutes, the math (no calculator) portion with 20 questions in 25 minutes, and the math (with calculator) portion with 38 questions in 55 minutes. If added, the optional essay portion has 50 minutes in length.

Scoring: The SAT scoring category goes into a 1600-point scale divided into 2-parts, Math and English. The highest points able to be received is 800. For colleges, a good SAT score is 1200 being the top 75 percentile of people.

The ACT is very similar to the SAT, the major difference is in the standards covered with the inclusion of science. The Exam takes either 2 hours or 15 minutes to 2 hours of 55 minutes to complete. The Exam is divided into 4 to 5 portions being the English portion with 70 questions in 45 minutes, the math portion with 60 questions in 60 minutes, the reading portion with 35 questions in 40 minutes, the science portion with 40 questions in 35 minutes and writing practice (optional) with 1 prompt in 40 minutes.

Scoring: The ACT scoring standard goes into a 36-point scale for all subjects included (5 to be extract). A good score for colleges is 20.5 to 25.5 in all subjects.

Stand Out to Schools with Volunteer and Work Experience

Part-time or summer jobs, internships, and volunteer work allow the selection committee to see how you operate beyond the walls of the classroom. Colleges will always look for capable and organized leaders, by doing volunteer work proves to the committee that you fit that standard.

Gaining volunteer hours can later lead to scholarships and other programs that require volunteering to partake in, scholarships are a great way to pay off tuition.

Excel by doing Extracurricular activities

Colleges look for team players when it comes to choosing students to administer. By doing extracurricular activities such as clubs, sports, debate teams, organizations, music groups, or community projects may excel your chances of being noticed. The programs you partake in also show colleges that you have the determination and commitment that comes with joining one, it also shows your passion for overcoming challenges.

While getting accepted into college is a challenge itself, there are multiple factors that can lighten the load and make admissions easier. By taking these steps to make yourself stand out from other students, you ensure you have a chance of succeeding in the college admission process.

Citation:

• Castañeda, B. (2021, October 27). What Do Colleges Look for? 9 Ways to Stand Out to Admissions Committees. The College Post. https://thecollegepost.com/what-do-colleges-look-for/

• Nair, M. (2022, July 15). What Is The SAT? Your Complete Guide To The Test. University of the People. https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/what-is-the-sat/

• Nair, M. (2022b, August 31). What Is The ACT Test? Here’s All You Need To Know. University of the People. https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/what-is-the-act-test/

• Groden, A. (2022, November 10). What is a Good SAT Score? Guide to Scores | Test-Guide. https://www.test-guide.com/what-is-a-good-sat-score.html

• 3 Things That Should Be Included in Every Recommendation Letter. (2020, January 2). ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-should-be-included-in-a-recommendation-letter-466783