What’s the most important thing I need to do to get into my college of choice?

There are two equally important things you need to do in order to get into the college of your choice. The first is strong metrics. If you don’t have solid grades and test scores, your application won’t ever be read in the first place. The only exception to this rule is earmarks – if you’re a recruited athlete, your parents are huge donors, or you have some other highly-sought-after qualifications, your application might get opened regardless of low grades and scores. Otherwise, you’ll need the metrics in place to get the admissions committee interested in your application.

The second most important thing is specialization – schools don’t want “Jacks and Jills of all trades” – they want well rounded classes full of highly focused experts. You need to get extremely good at one thing, then craft an entire narrative and application around that one area of expertise.

For my full guide on proper college applications, click here.