Useful advice for college applicants who want to stand out from the crowd:
The number of applicants for the summer and fall semesters at Texas public universities has increased 29.8 percent...according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. With application deadlines fast approaching for fall 2004 -- and some already passed -- counselors are encouraging students to get their letters of recommendation and finish essays soon...
Counselors from local high schools said developing well-rounded applications will increase a student's chances of getting into the college of their choice...Students should be "absolutely comprehensive" on the application. Include everything, including extracurricular activities, athletics, work experience, community service and a résumé...
Not surprisingly, one key theme here is that SAT scores aren't everything, which contradicts the oft-heard cry from testing critics that the test reduces applicants to a number, or that admissions officer rely solely on that score:
Cathedral senior Jesse Carrillo applied to 18 colleges, but he hopes his application will have enough of the right elements to get him into his first choice. "My dream school is Notre Dame."
Carrillo has done well in high school. He's eighth in his class, and he scored an 1140 on the SAT. But he believes the strongest part of his application is the community service he's done at the YMCA, where he has coached basketball...
Alphonse Le Blanc, counselor for juniors and seniors at Cathedral, said that no matter what the question is, students should use essays to let admissions officials get a glimpse of the applicants. "I emphasize to students that the essay has to say something about them," Le Blanc said.
"The colleges are interested in the whole person. They're not just interested in a (standardized test) score or a class rank. That's why the schools want essays," he said.
Posted by kswygert at February 2, 2004 09:43 PM