What All Goes into a College Application?
Applying to colleges is a big, exciting part of most students’ senior year of high school. Students are thrilled to receive acceptance letters in the mail and plan for their futures at their new schools. But what about the actual process of applying? Sure it’s exciting, but it can also be SUPER stressful. There are so many things that go into a college application that it takes a lot of focus, organization, and diligence to get all your ducks in a row before submitting a complete, high-quality college application to your list of schools. We’re here to help: we’ve compiled a list of the 7 things that you’ll likely be instructed to include on your college apps, how to obtain them, and when you should start thinking about them.
7 Things You’ll Probably be Asked to Include in Your College Application
GPA & Class Rank
Test Scores
Official High School Transcript
Letters of Recommendation
Extracurriculars, Volunteer Work, Activities, etc.
Essays & Personal Statements
Information About Your Parents/Guardians
First thing’s first: Get Organized!
Whether applying via the Common App or directly to a college, you’re going to want to get organized so that the application process moves smoothly. Each college can have slightly different requirements and specifications for applying, so create a checklist or a spreadsheet to track what is required for each school you’re applying to. This will help you to manage your time appropriately and keep the application process as stress-free as possible. We recommend using a document like our College App tracker, which you can download for free here: TPS College App Tracker.
Once you’re all organized and you’ve recorded the specific requirements for each school you want to apply to, it’s time to start the applications! Regardless of the schools you apply to, you can anticipate that most will require each of the following 8 pieces to be included in your application.
1. GPA & Class Rank
An aspect of your college application that will be heavily assessed by college admissions teams is your GPA, or Grade Point Average. For most high schools, GPA is ranked on a scale of 0 - 4.0 with 4.0 being straight A’s throughout all of high school. Some schools will measure on a scale that goes even higher, with certain courses being worth more points based on their difficulty level. Some schools will also keep track of class rank. Class rank is determined by simply putting the members of your graduating class in order of highest GPA to lowest GPA. Some high schools don’t find it useful to measure class rank, so this may not be reported to you. Either way, reporting your GPA and class rank (if available) will give colleges an idea of your overall academic performance throughout high school. This is important because they will use this to determine your likelihood of doing well as a student at their college. For colleges that are known for being academically rigorous, a high GPA is very encouraging to admissions staff that you will excel at their school. For this reason, it’s important to be aware of the academic difficulty of the schools you are applying to, not only to determine if you will be likely to be accepted, but also to determine if you will be likely to succeed there or if you will be more likely to hate your entire college career and never leave the library because you are constantly struggling with the coursework.
How to Obtain Your GPA & Class Rank:
Chances are you already have a good idea of your GPA — it’s reported to you constantly throughout high school on every single report card you get. The same goes for your class rank — if your school tracks it, it’s probably included on your report cards. Your college apps will just have a line or a box where you will plug these numbers in, but they will also be included on your official transcript, which will be required when you apply to colleges as well (see below!). You will probably have to request your official transcript from a specific staff member at your school, likely your assigned guidance counselor. Read more about official transcripts in point #3 below.
When to Start Thinking About Your GPA & Class Rank:
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! GPA and class rank are the sum of four years of hard work (well, three years by the time you’re thinking about college apps). So, the answer to this question is really at the beginning of FRESHMAN YEAR… I know, I know, why would you be thinking about college applications as a high school freshman? You probably weren’t! But GPA and class rank are WAY harder to increase and mend the more time that goes by. Therefore, the sooner you start considering the importance of these numbers and work your tail off to make sure they stay where you want them, the better. Your college apps will thank you.
2. Test Scores
Another piece that plays a large role in the admissions process is your test scores. When referring to “test scores,” schools usually mean the ACT and/or the SAT. Similar to GPA, colleges use test scores to determine how likely a student is to keep up with the academics at their specific school. Colleges make public the average ACT/SAT score range of their current student body. It’s smart to do some research and be aware of what these ranges are to know what your goal test score should be in order to be likely to get accepted to a specific school and your probability of keeping up academically at the school. Read our post about determining how to set your ACT goal here: How to Calculate What Your Goal ACT Score Should Be
How to Obtain Your Test Scores:
In order to register to take the ACT, students have to create an online account at act.org. This is where all testing information will live. You can register for additional tests from your account and view all of your previous test scores. You can actually send your test scores to schools from this account as well. Additionally, ACT provides insightful reports with breakdowns of your performance by category and question type. While this information is not required to include with college applications, it can be very insightful for students and families to discover student strengths and weaknesses. These details can help students figure out how to increase test scores, if need be, by doing some focused preparation before retaking exams. Looking to raise your test scores? Check out our post here on making sure you put in the right amount of time to see the increase you’re after: How Much Studying Do I Actually Need To Do for the ACT?
When to Start Thinking About Your Test Scores:
We recommend that students start to think about the ACT at the end of their sophomore year of high school. By this time, most students have taken the necessary math courses to be familiar with all of the concepts that show up on the ACT. Similarly, they have also usually explored the content tested in the other sections in classes by this time. We recommend that you take a practice test at some point during your sophomore year and then take a real ACT exam at the end of your sophomore year. The summer between sophomore and junior years is a good time to prepare to retake the ACT — think about it: you have a break from the chaos of school and extracurriculars. It’s the perfect time to devote to ACT test prep so that you get you the results you’re looking for. Following this focused summer of prep, you should take the ACT again in the fall of junior year. If you still don’t hit your goal, you then have the entirety of your junior year to reach your ACT goal and can even take the exam into fall of your senior year if you want. This timeline gives plenty of time to retake the ACT and hit your goal score BEFORE applying to colleges the fall of senior year.
3. Official High School Transcript
As mentioned earlier, you will be required to include an official transcript with your college applications. Again, the whole idea is to prove what you’ve already told the school about your GPA and class rank and to illustrate the courses that you have taken during high school.
How to Obtain Your Official Transcript:
Now, when we say “official” we mean OFFICIAL. This is not something that you print at your house and stuff into an envelope to send off with your applications. You will have to request official transcripts from someone at your high school (again, this is likely to be your guidance counselor or someone in a similar role). An official transcript is generally printed on special letterhead paper. It is then stamped and sealed BY YOUR HIGH SCHOOL. This ensures the colleges reviewing your application that you have not tampered with your transcript — they can rest assured that what they are reviewing about your academic performance is completely accurate.
When to Start Thinking About Your Official Transcript:
And yet again, the answer is AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. We know most freshmen aren’t thinking about college applications, but the reality is that the classes that you take as a freshman AND the classes you take as a sophomore, junior, and senior are all included on your transcript. Students are wise to take core courses during their first year of high school to allow them to build up to higher classes in all areas each year but specifically in math and languages, as these are courses that generally have significant prerequisites. Most schools have certain courses that are required of students at certain grade levels, but when it comes to exploratory classes that you get to choose, don’t fill your schedule with pottery and field hockey. At least not too much. Colleges like to see high-level courses. They like to see AP classes and even college courses. The 4.0 student whose schedule is full of “slacker” courses does not fool the admissions counselors.
4. Letters of Recommendation
Letters of recommendation are basically formal letters that others write about you to attest to your academic and life abilities and explain to colleges what positive attributes they think you would bring to their school. This is a chance for colleges to learn more about you and your overall work ethic, personality, and whatever else your mentors include in these letters.
How to Obtain Letters of Recommendation:
Letters of recommendation should be written by adults that are in mentor-type roles. This often includes teachers, coaches, tutors, etc. What you’ll want to do is consider who you think would write a strong letter of recommendation on your behalf — think about those adults that you have a strong relationship with and that have guided you throughout high school and activities and sports. These are great people to ask. That is the key: you have to ASK them. They will probably be very happy to write a letter of recommendation for you, but don’t just assume that someone will agree to write one. Ask nicely, and be sure to thank them, too. After all, they’re going to be spending a lot of time writing a letter about how wonderful you are!
When to Start Thinking About Letters of Recommendation:
While your teachers and mentors are likely honored that you’ve asked them to write letters of recommendation for you, they are also VERY busy people. Remember that they work normal jobs and probably have families and lives outside of when you see them. On top of that, you’re probably not the only senior that will ask them to write a letter of recommendation. For that reason, ask for letters of recommendation ASAP in the college app process. Know that your mentors may not write the letters in the same week or even the same month as when you request it, so DO NOT wait until a week before your application is due to ask for these letters. You want to give these people plenty of time to put a lot of thought into a high-quality letter about you. Ask early on, AND give an earlier deadline than when you need the letters by. This will make sure that if life happens and something comes up where your mentor is unable to write the letter in the time you requested (or they simply forget about it and miss your deadline!), you will still have time to problem solve and complete your application before submitting it to colleges.
5. Extracurriculars, Volunteer work, activities, etc.
Hopefully you have not been sitting around for four years doing nothing with your time outside of school. Chances are you actually have a ton of stuff that you’ve been busy doing for the last few years already on your resume. This is great — you’ll have plenty of things to include on your college app. While it may not seem like an important aspect of your application package, this is essentially your “resume” and will tell the schools you’re applying to a lot about you and what’s important to you. Schools will assess your leadership abilities, involvement with your community, and other traits that they find appealing for students they want to accept into their school.
How to Obtain Your “Resume”:
This is a pretty easy one. If you sit and think about it, you can probably come up with a nice, long list of activities you’ve been involved with either through your school or outside of school since starting high school. We recommend that you actually write these all out on a separate piece of paper for you yourself to assess before adding items to your actual application. Include everything from volunteering and fundraising to sports and part-time jobs. You can then pick and choose which of these you want to include on your college application and which you want to leave out. By giving yourself a clear picture of all the activities you’ve been involved with over the years, you’ll be sure to include the strongest, most appropriate ones for your college app and not accidentally leave out something important.
When to Start Thinking About Your “Resume”:
Here we go again: the answer is AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! You’re probably catching on to the pattern at this point. You aren’t going to trick admissions offices by suddenly joining three clubs and two sports as a high school senior. That means you’re probably trying to pad your resume and that you aren’t actually an involved member of your school and community. It’s important to join clubs and participate, so make sure you’re doing that throughout high school.
6. Essays & Personal Statements
This is an area where the requirements for schools start to change more drastically. Certain schools will have several essay and personal statement prompts that you are required to include with your application. Others may only require the 650-word Common App essay. This is where you’ll want to make sure you know the precise requirements of the schools you’ll apply to, and then take your time crafting well-thought-out, strong responses.
How to Obtain Your College App Essays:
Another easy one: You’ll have to WRITE them! For schools using the Common App, this step will be pretty easy. If you’re using the Common App, you’ll write one essay of 650 words to be included with your applications. The Common App gives a list of essay prompts you can choose from, including “Share an essay on any topic of your choice.” That means “write an essay about whatever you want.” Other schools will give specific questions that they want you to answer. Each question will have a specific word limit, sometimes even only 200-300 words. Once you’ve gathered the specifications for your schools, take the writing process slowly. Plan out each part to make sure the response flows smoothly, and then write several drafts. Think of these as REALLY important homework. Let others read your responses and give you feedback on your word choice and overall message.
When to Start Thinking About Your College App Essays:
Now, this is one that you DO NOT have to start thinking about when you are 15 and fresh into high school, but make sure you don't rush the process either. Ponder your essay topic(s) for a while and put some heart into your writing. This is the part of your college app that really allows you to tell colleges anything else that you feel is important to include and that has not yet been touched upon through the rest of your application. Many students choose to write about major life experiences that have molded them into the person they’ve become. Others will use this time to write about their leadership experiences or aspirations. Some students use this space to offer an explanation for GPA or test scores that may not be up to the particular school’s standard. The options are really endless — at least for the Common App essay, since you get to choose what you write about. For other applications with more specific prompts, take the same amount of care in pondering your response and make sure to obtain feedback from others before submitting anything to colleges.
7. Information about your parents/guardians
This one probably seems easy, and yet, you might be surprised. A lot of the questions that will be asked about your parents will be included to help schools determine your socio-economic background. You will probably be asked about your parent’s jobs and maybe even prompted to give the names of their employers. You’ll also be asked about the levels of education they’ve completed. Whether this is information that you actually know or not, we recommend taking some time to chat with Mom and Dad during this process.
How to Obtain Parent Information:
Sit down and have a conversation with your parents. Ask them to help you answer the application questions. Who knows, you just might hear an interesting story or two!
When to Start Thinking About Parent Information:
The trend continues - don’t wait until last minute! Your parents are busy people, too. Be aware that you’ll need to include this information with your essay, and, once a convenient time arises, ask your parents to help you.
If you only take away ONE thing from this whole entire post, let is be this: START YOUR COLLEGE APPS EARLY! There are so many pieces when it comes to creating a complete college application package, so you don’t want to be scrambling around last minute hoping you’ll get everything together in time. Plan ahead, research specific college requirements, and take your time perfecting your application bit-by-bit until it is something that you are proud of and that you are excited to hand over to the school of your dreams.
Good luck, and happy applying!
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