Health & Fitness
College Advice: Securing Top Admissions!
If you are hard-working, top achieving, and passionate, you can do it! If you aren't a top student, you can still seek top admissions on a different level. Everyone can sparkle!
Top admissions go to top students. That is the starting place. Add in curiosity, leadership, and sparkle and you have a combination worth considering. If you are already a top student and want top admissions, check out the suggestions below. If you are a "pretty good" student, you can also benefit from top admission strategies, just remember that academics always come first. Read on and good luck!
1. For top UC admissions, do what works for you to become one of a kind. (Ex: The student with top grades and scores and was the drum major at his big high school, and had a terrific essay, got UCLA and USC. Big schools are looking for drum majors so this makes this student one of a kind.)
2. Make yourself well-known. (Have you been in the news? Can we Google your name and see some achievements? By blogging frequently about your activity, a student can become well-known. Ex: Student who was in the news as a Rose Princess was able to secure admission to Vanderbilt even after the January Rose Parade. Too late for the UCs by then, sorry.)
3. Be someone who will make your future school look good. (It seems impossible, but it isn't. Everyone has something big to give that is completely within their scope of ability. The Hispanic, inner city student with great grades who is also gay adds incredible diversity. He went to Yale. The poor student who gave a concert to raise money to attend a top music camp, got the whole church involved, made $1000 over his target amount, then gave it to the food bank-- made people cry, made the local news, and got into all of his schools. Don't be shy.
It's all a game! Schools love kids who will up their statistics and will put them in the news. Think of a headline with your name on it:
"Sam Snead, Eagle Scout who Moved a Barn, Chooses University of Washington!"
"Patty Berg, High School Blogger about Animal Care, Chooses Cal!"
Add energy, work within what you're already doing, and go for the top. (But if gets to be too much, settle back. There are lots of terrific schools out there!)
-- Patti Brugman is a local independent counselor helping students in this area earn top admissions and merit scholarships. Contact her by visiting her website at: www.perfectfitcollege.net
