Preparing Your College Application for a Successful Admission

Getting into college has never been easy. It requires careful planning, tough decision making, and enormous preparation. Without allotting enough time and preparation you can get lost in the frenzy of the forms and list of requirements plus the fees involved before completing your application.

Here is a guide to help smooth your way to college.

•Shorten Your List

While there are students who apply to more than 15 schools and some to just one, a good number is around 5-8 schools. Narrow your selection of colleges. Choose schools where you are 90-100 per cent sure for admission. Also include schools that match the strength of your application. Finally, apply at one or two schools that you are interested in but have less chances of getting accepted.

Narrowing your list will help you focus on the quality of your application and will help you become more efficient. You can save your time, effort, and money by targeting fewer schools

•Get organized

If you want to go to college, it isn't something that you just decide during your senior year. It starts on the electives you have taken and your overall performance during your high school years. In short, everything you have learned in high school is what you need to get into college.

Apart from that, you also need to have a college application calendar and a checklist of the things you need to accomplish at a certain date. Some schools give out a checklist and their school calendar to applicants. They also schedule campus tours.

Coordinate with your school counselor to help you meet the deadlines of your chosen schools. Schedule the exams that you need to take ahead of application deadlines. Provide the people whom you ask to write you letters of recommendation in enough time to complete your request.

Eventually, you need to decide where to go. You have to plan what subjects to take. You also have to deal with housing plans or a part-time job.

Try to determine all the things you need to do and work on a time table. Accomplish what you need to do in a given time and adhere to deadlines and schedules.

•Elements of Your College Application

There are a number of things that you need to submit to where you have applied to. First you need to fill up each college applications. You need to submit your grades, compose your essay application, and pass your grades in the SAT and other tests. You also need to send them a minimum of two letters of recommendation. You may need to show a financial certificate, to get a sponsor or financial aid. These are just some of the common things that colleges require their applicants to submit.

There are no hand-outs in college but if you go through the applications smoothly, most likely you are prepared for what’s in store for you in the next years of your life.