How to Withdraw College Application

You should be able to withdraw your application online in a matter of minutes if this option is available. Some schools provide straightforward guidelines on how to withdraw an application. Northeastern University, for example, requires students to go into their school account and complete a decline admission form. Applicants to Drexel University should log into their school profile and submit an Application Inquiry Form explaining their withdrawal.

How can I withdraw my applications once my Early Decision institution has accepted me? 

You must contact the colleges individually to advise them that you have been accepted Early Decision at another school and would like to withdraw your application. Please inquire at each college’s admissions office about the best strategy. A phone call or an e-mail may suffice for some, but a written letter may be required by others. 

You do not need to withdraw your applications to other institutions if you have been accepted Early Action at a college unless you have already decided to attend the Early Action college.

You can’t wait to hear from the Regular Decision colleges before deciding whether or not to attend the Early Action college because Early Action is non-binding.

Do Colleges Take Senior Year Grades into Account? 

You may be ready to let those senior year grades drop and dive into senioritis after working hard for three years to perfect your high school transcript. But first, there’s something you should know: your senior year grades matter to universities. They may potentially have an impact on your admissions decision.

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Why Are Senior Year Grades Important? 

It’s obvious that junior year grades matter: they’re the last grades on your transcript that colleges examine when you apply. But why should universities consider senior year grades? 

After you finish your senior year of high school, many universities will request a final transcript. Stanford, for example, requires a mid-year senior transcript as well as a final high school transcript. Colleges normally demand your final transcript as proof of high school graduation, which is frequently an admissions requirement. So, at the very least, you can’t flunk out of your senior year coursework without also saying goodbye to college!

Colleges also want to see that during your final year of high school, you maintained (or improved!) your grades. Colleges can know you’re eager to study hard at their university if you’ve continued to work hard in your studies. Poor senior year performance may result in a college changing its judgment and canceling your admission.

What Qualifies Applicants for Admission to College? 

Scores on the SAT and ACT 

The fundamental benefit of SAT/ACT scores is that they give a consistent approach for universities to evaluate students. Every applicant will have a unique history, having attended several schools and/or taken a variety of classes. Almost every applicant, though, will have taken the SAT or ACT. 

Your SAT/ACT score is used by colleges to determine whether you are ready to attend their institution. To demonstrate that you’re academically prepared, you’ll need a SAT/ACT score that falls within the typical range for admitted students to that school… or even higher.

To improve your chances of acceptance, aim for a SAT/ACT score that is at or above the 75th percentile for admitted students. (We’ll go through how to find this range in more detail later.)

GPA/Transcript 

Colleges want to know what classes you attended in high school and how well you did in them so they can determine if you’re ready to join their institution. Admissions counselors can determine whether you’re ready to pursue the courses offered at their school based on your GPA and transcript. 

Check out the admissions profile for your dream school to see how well equipped you are academically. Look up the average GPA of admitted students at that institution. 

Once you’ve figured out what the average GPA range for admitted students is, aim to get your GPA into that range to improve your chances of admission.

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Rank in Class 

Your transcript and GPA are linked to your class rank. The higher your class rank, the better your grades (and, more likely, the more AP and/or IB classes you take and score As in). If you want to apply to highly competitive colleges, your class rank will be a major factor in your admissions decision.

Top-tier institutions (Harvard, MIT, and UPenn) primarily want students who are in the top 10% of their high school class. One of the students we spoke with participated in a summer program at one of the Ivies while still in high school. The program he was a part of was well-known for admitting nearly all of its participants to college. He was denied admission. When he inquired as to why, he was told that the fact that he was not in the top 10% of his class was a major matter to them.

When it comes to admittance to public schools, class rank is also important. Students who graduate in the top 5-10 percent of their class are assured admission to state schools in several states, such as Texas. As a result, if you do well in high school, you will be guaranteed a position in an in-state public institution after graduation.

Extracurriculars 

So, when it comes to extracurricular activities, what do colleges look for in applicants? 

Colleges, as previously said, are seeking for exceptional applicants who will enrich their campus communities. Extracurricular activities are one way for colleges to discover more about you and whether you’re a good fit for their school’s personality. Every college wants to see that you participated in extracurricular activities, and they especially want to see that you were a leader in them.

Top-tier institutions (Harvard, Stanford, Yale) want to show that you have some level of knowledge in a certain field, which you can develop through extracurricular activities. It doesn’t matter what your field of expertise is; whatever it is, dive deep into it. Try to win the state scientific fair, compete in science olympiads, and/or intern in a local lab if you enjoy science. If you enjoy acting, compete in the acting categories with your debate team (Dramatic Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Duo Interpretation), perform a free play at your local children’s hospital, and/or participate in regional theater.

Recommendation Letters 

Admissions officers value letters of recommendation because they provide insight into how others see you as a student, community member, and person. Because these letters are anonymous, they are frequently regarded as genuine and honest reflections of who you are and if you are prepared to thrive in college. 

Check the admissions webpage for your desired institutions to see if they want letters of recommendation or personal essays. 

You want letters of recommendation that gush about who you are, what your passion is, and how good you are at it.

Personal Statements 

Your personal essays (if requested) should convey who you are and what you want from your education and beyond, similar to a letter of recommendation. These essays provide admissions officers with a better understanding of who you are as a person and how you will fit into their particular institution.

What Characterizes a Good University? 

There are several aspects to consider when evaluating schools. The campus’s size, location, and culture are all crucial. Knowing what you want to study is also beneficial, especially if you are really enthusiastic about a particular area. Most larger institutions have a wide range of majors to choose from, but smaller universities may have fewer options, so keep that in mind. 

For many students, affordability will be critical. You shouldn’t rule out more expensive colleges outright, especially if you have a solid academic background and are eligible for a significant scholarship. If cost is a major consideration, however, you should definitely limit your search to public schools in your own state and states with reciprocal agreements.

Guide on how to Apply for College

As you near the end of your junior year of high school, make a list of schools to which you wish to apply. The number of schools to which you should apply is determined by your circumstances. 

Although having a backup school is usually a good idea, if you’re positive that you have the necessary grades and test scores for your top pick, you may only need to apply to one college. If you’re exclusively applying to highly competitive academic colleges, you might wish to submit 8-10 applications. Four or five schools is roughly the appropriate number for most youngsters. Your list will grow and evolve over time, but by February of your junior year, you should have a solid starter list.

Make sure you have all of the essential application materials when applying to these universities in the fall of your senior year. Every school requires a copy of your high school transcripts, which you may get from the records office at your high school. There are a few more things to consider as you apply.

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Scores on standardized tests 

A college entrance examination is required by many colleges, while several schools have lately abandoned this requirement. The ACT and the SAT are the two most prominent college entrance exams, both of which aim to assess what you studied in high school. Even though they are similar, there are a number of differences. Almost every college that requires test scores will accept results from either the ACT or the SAT, so you have the option of taking both.

Most students take the ACT and SAT early in their junior year’s second semester, which allows them to retake the tests in May, June, or later in the summer if necessary before the start of senior year. Many students also take test preparation classes or study for the ACT or SAT using free online resources. 

Some colleges will also need you to take SAT topic tests, which assess your knowledge of certain high school subjects. It’s preferable to take these at the end of your junior year if a college asks you to.

Recommendation Letters 

Grades and exam scores tell a college how much you’ve learned, but they don’t inform them about your personal experiences. Many institutions need students to receive letters of recommendation from their teachers in order to obtain a more full picture of the student. These letters provide the college a better idea of your personality. 

Most institutions want 1-2 letters of recommendation from professors with whom you collaborated in an academic topic in 11th or 12th grade. It is ideal to request letters of reference from teachers at the conclusion of 11th grade, as this gives them time to gather their views over the summer.

If you choose a teacher who is unfamiliar with you, they may struggle to portray an authentic picture of your work as a student if you are just another face in the crowd. 

You might also ask other adults who know you well for letters of recommendation. A letter from a coach, a supervisor or boss at work, a pastor, rabbi, or other religion leader at your church, or another adult mentor from outside the school system, for example, could be requested.

Essays or Personal Statements 

Most institutions will want to hear from you in addition to letters of recommendation. They’re interested in hearing about your ideas, passions, pivotal experiences, points of view, obstacles you’ve experienced, and objectives.

During the summer between junior and senior year, most students begin working on their essays. Consider what colleges want to know about you while crafting your essay, and work with an adult who can provide feedback and recommendations on your writing. This will take some time, but it will be well worth the effort. Don’t forget to have someone else proofread your article before submitting it!