The Myth, Mystery and Misinformation around College Application

The college application process is steeped in layers upon layers of myth, mystery, and misinformation. As with any worthwhile pursuit, it is important to try and obtain an objective perspective so that you can make the right decisions. That’s where we come in to provide expertise and guidance to simplify the process and raise your child’s chance of earning admission at the right school for them. With that in mind, we thought it would be valuable to devote some time to dispel some common college admissions misconceptions.

1) Harder to get into does not mean better

The quality of a college and its selectivity are not perfectly correlated to each other. More importantly, some colleges with very low admissions rates may be a terrible choice for your child. The most important consideration is not acceptance rates but ensuring that your child has enough options when the time comes around to actually selecting a school. Applying to many schools with low acceptance rates doesn’t necessarily raise your child’s odds of acceptance. Similarly, it is important to not only apply to “prestigious” schools.

2) Be wary of misjudging your child’s ability to get admitted to a particular college

All colleges are generally looking for the same thing: students with strong academic backgrounds with interesting lives outside of school. Among the most selective colleges in this country, many regularly reject students with perfect GPAs, test scores, and extracurriculars. The more selective the colleges you are considering, the more you need to be aware of the competition to gain admission.

Colleges have their own agenda when selecting students as they seek to build a well-rounded class, not a group of individuals with exceptional credentials. They are, of course, concerned by each individual student’s merits, but many other factors are at play. Therefore, even though your child may exceed their average GPA and test scores, that does not guarantee admissions. Similarly, just because your child does not exceed those averages does not mean they will be rejected.

3) Be wary of choosing a school due to the quality of their athletics

The year after Northwestern University played in the Rose Bowl they had a record number of applications. This effect, known as the Flutie Factor after Doug Flutie, the Boston College football quarterback who led an upset win over the defending national champions, serves to remind us that people really do consider the quality of the athletics program when evaluating a school. However, unless you are seeking to play competitive athletics in college, this should only be one of many factors in deciding which institution will provide your child with the best four years of education aligned with their aspirations.

4) Don’t be afraid of looking outside your immediate area

While the distance from home can certainly be a factor when evaluating colleges, you should not constrain yourself to colleges within easy driving distance. Expanding the scope of your search, even a little bit, provides tremendously more opportunities to find the best educational experience for your child. Simply put, the further away from home you are willing to consider the more options you have.

5) You should visit most of the schools on your list

Visiting a college while the students are present is a great way to get a feel for the campus and culture. Talking to people, seeing what posters are up around campus, and sitting in a class and experiencing how professors and students relate to each other is invaluable in deciding if a college would be a good fit. If you are unable to visit schools, try and visit similar types of schools that are nearer to you. This can be useful to help clarify such things as if a liberal arts school feels right or if, perhaps, you would rather attend a large state university.

6) There is not only one “right” college

You may be surprised how many parents and students we work with believe there is only one optimum choice to assure that their child will be happy and have the future they desire. This is simply not the case. The reality is there are many “right” colleges and it is imperative to keep an open mind so that you can uncover them. While aligning the majority of your interest with one particular school could work out, it very possibly could not - having many wonderful choices is the key to a successful, fulfilling and informed admissions process.