How do people find out what colleges seek in a person? Answered
This comes with a follow up question which more specific... How do we know what colleges stress about when they look at your application. Is it GPA? ACT/SAT? Extra curriculars?
I am looking at more selective colleges.
(this is the first time I am asking anything in a forum like this... sorry if i did it wrong. :p)
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3 answers
You have the websites of various selective colleges and Universities like Harvard and MIT . You can get into those and know your initial requirements like your GPA , SAT , GRE or ACT scores . This is where one is first selected . Most people are secured in this field . After finishing those , you have the essay part . Here you need to show that you are a good match for them through your language . What you will write must reflect your personality , interests and your potential along with what are your developmental goals . It MUST suggest that you fit them . Eg. Say you like ecology . Then try to show there that you are really enthusiastic about it . Here your qn. arises from . How can we know what the university is interested in you ? Well, I'll say , it's your uniqueness . Extra curricular activities is the first focus of the top selective colleges (after those basic requirements are cleared). They judge your personality through your essay . So be careful there . Your extracurricular or co-curricular achievements play a major role . You can know the colleges best by visiting their websites .
A simple way to find out what matters the most for each college is to google it. Search the name of the college and then "common data set" after it. Click on the first or second thing that shows up and you should see a pdf (or multiple). If there are many, choose the most recent year. Then open it and scroll down until you reach a table that says what factors are important to the college. This works for most colleges and should tell you exactly what that specific college values more when looking at your application. This includes academic factors like GPA, test scores, and class rank but also has things like extracurricular activities, personality, and interviews. I hope this helps!
most selective colleges ive found do a holistic review process, so everything is weighted equally. if you're looking at these colleges, your academics are probably high enough that they won't make a huge different, so the emphasis is definitely going to be on your essays. but im sure you can find school specific info on their websites!
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That's great! Thanks for the info!