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Jonathan HellandWhat Goes Into a College Application?
College applications vary somewhat by school; most US colleges accept the Common App, but many (including the University of California schools) do not. However, all college applications will be looking for the same information. I plan to lay out for you here everything that will go into your college application so you can be better prepared when your student starts applying to college and so you have a better idea of what factors colleges will look at.
The Transcript
The most important element of any application is the official transcript--this is provided to the college by us, the college counselors. It must be provided by a school official or the college won’t accept it. The transcript consists of a list of every class your student has taken and their grades. Colleges will only see the final, year-end grades for each class for grades 9-11, but we will send updates of their first two semesters in 12th grade.
We will also include with the transcript our school profile, which explains how BASIS approaches education and grading. This will show schools how our rigor and integrity so that they will know that BASIS grades really mean something.
Test Scores
Standardized test scores will also be included in the application--your student will report their SAT scores, TOEFL scores, and AP scores. Applications vary on how many test attempts they have to report. For SAT, they might have to report their best score, a “super score” (combining sections from more than one test), or possibly every score. They will always have to report how many SAT tests they’ve taken. For TOEFL, they will only report a best or super score. AP scores and SAT II scores are optional--for these tests, we will only report the scores that we think will help your student’s application.
Activity List
There is also room application for activities and awards. There will be limited slots available--10 for the Common App and limited space to describe these activities. Your student can include almost anything here that they did outside of their formal classes--after school activities, summer programs, competitions, community service projects, independent research projects, et cetera. But only things they have done since the summer before 9th grade will count. Your student’s counselor can help them determine which activities are more valuable and what they can be doing right now to help with this part of the application.
Essays
The application will also include one or more essays. The common app will require a Personal Statement and usually several supplemental essays that vary from school to school. The essays are an important part of showing schools who your students are beyond the numbers--schools use them to try to see which students are a good fit for their school. There will be other blog posts about essay writing, but what you need to know now is essay writing will be a major focus of your student during their 12th grade year and that they will receive a lot of support from their counselor.
Letters of Recommendation
Another key part of the application are the letters of recommendation. These are letters written about your student by their teachers and are considered by college admissions officers to be an important way to learn about your student from an impartial 3rd party. The only way to prepare for this part of the application is for your student to build and maintain healthy relationships with their teachers and to do what they can to stand out in their classes.
Hard Work
The final things your student will have to put into the application are time, effort, and care. Not just when the time comes to apply to college, but now, when doing school work, choosing extracurricular activities, improving their English, et cetera. Ultimately, college acceptance is the result of all the work a student puts in from the moment they finish 8th grade--the application itself is just the final coat of polish.