Studying in the US is a dream of any highly aspiring student. And why shouldn’t it be when the US has top-class universities with the right infrastructure to back the ambitions of a diverse set of students–native and international. However, attaining an admission in a good college is not a cake walk and requires a deliberate effort. The competition is tough but don’t feel intimidated, it only means you have to be all the more ambitious and determined to succeed. Let me share a few steps on how you can gain an edge over others and have a better chance of being admitted to the college or university of your choice.

1. Start working on your application early

Application in the US universities or colleges is a time-consuming process thus, a student must start the work early, say at least one year before. The admission requirements of each institution differ hence, it must be prepared carefully and with concentration. Half-hearted presentation would lower your chances of admission, so steer clear of that.

Collecting ‘Recommendation Letters’ from your school teachers/college professors and preparing Essays or Personal Statement takes a lot of time. Moreover, you would also have to give SAT/GRE/GMAT exams along with the English proficiency test – TOEFL. Preparing for all these tests along with essential documents needs you to have a well-thought plan, and it’s not advisable to leave any last-minute work; your profile could end up being unconvincing for the admission officers. Hence, it’s supremely important to keep enough space for accommodating all this work along with your academics and other activities.

2. Select your course of study

Demonstrating your passion for the subject is crucial. For this, you must include details of why the subject intrigues you and share examples, reasons or anecdotes of instances where you felt this is the field for you. Having a clear idea about what you wish to do with the degree will impress the admission officers. And by way of your essays and an interview, you could tell them about your motivations and future aspirations. US colleges are particularly impressed by students who are willing to put in the effort and are passionate about their cause. 

Your research on the subject and the quality of information expressed through your essays will convey your motivations of choosing a particular college. Thus, reflecting on your intellectual knowledge and why you find the subject interesting or challenging would be the deciding factor for admission officers.

3. Put effort in writing your Essays and Personal Statement

Writing stellar essays and personal statement is the most important step to having a successful US college application. This is the place where you get to express your interest in the field of study and showcase your willingness and capabilities of working hard and building a career in the respective field.

Including your existing knowledge of the subject and how you intend on building it further shall impress the admission officers. Having said that, you must take time to highlight your abilities through responsibilities and challenges undertaken so far. At the same time, while presenting yourself positively, be authentic. Try not to write in high-flown language and say things in your own style. Colleges like students who don’t ape anyone else but have a sense of their own identity. That’ll fetch you brownie points.

4. Create a Timetable of Application Deadlines

In spite of an excellent quality of your application, all your efforts will go down the drain if you miss a key date. That’s why you need to plan ahead and stay organized by keeping a calendar for application deadlines. Highlighting all the deadlines will keep you on track and allow you to collect the necessary documents in time. God forbid if your application is incomplete, your candidature might get rejected immediately. And I’m sure you would not want to take that chance. 

Therefore, following your timetable will not only help ensure all your application requirements are in order but also save you from last minute hassles. 

The road to getting admission in the US college or university may seem daunting but, if you keep track of these four basic rules, there is no stopping you from getting there. It’s that simple!

To get into big schools or for attaining good scholarships, you must have a solid profile. A winning profile is one that stands apart from other profiles. Often, parents and children alike presume that participating in innumerable activities is a ticket to college admission. This my child is a mistaken concept, yet it has gained traction over the years, and due to this misconception most of you end up partaking in generic activities like the MUNs, Internships, et al., without even knowing why you are pursuing it. We are sorry to say but this is a useless approach!

Why? Because, for starters, everyone is doing it!So, when every student aiming to study abroad is undertaking hordes of activities how will your application stand out? Seems boggling right? You’ll be shocked to know that admission officers [AOs] are not looking for only a breadth of activities, they are also looking for activities that really mean something to you – the depth.

But if you are short on time and you don’t have enough hours to devote to profile building, then what to do? In that scenario, we have to rely on ‘irresistible stories’ and academic progress. However, if we have time then we must always… and I mean always work towards building an impressive profile. The AOs should feel that they want you and they want you now!

After investing thousands of man-hours and hundreds of meetings with the AOs, we’ve been able to formulate a powerful assessment tool on how AOs evaluate a winning application. An applicant is judged on 6 main carefully chosen elements: Academic, Co-scholastic, Personal qualities and Activities, Growth and potential, Personal story and Contribution to the university. Parents and students simply focus on academic and co-scholastic activities, which is just one third of your profile, meaning we are failing to address or highlight two-third of your profile. Most of the counselors are not even aware that there are other factors involved apart from the two, then, how do you suppose you will get admission to your dream college with that approach?

To simplify the process, we have converted subjective information into a quantitative parameter which gives a better idea of where the profile stands. It enables you to identify the stronger areas and the areas where you need to ‘focus.’ (You can Evaluate your profile for FREE, here)

Once you have taken the assessment, we will discuss actionable steps needed in enhancing your profile. Let’s say if you lack ‘leadership skills’ or ‘confidence level,’ then the ideal strategy would be to participate in Debates, or Theatre or anything similar with the focus on the outcome. With this, we can refrain from enlisting you in all activities that come your way and rather focus on areas which will build certain skills. The idea is to convert your weaker areas into strengths; that is your real progress. And this focused approach gives far better results than blindly following the herd. Once you start working on the weaker areas and evolve, you can convey a convincing growth story to the AOs.

Picking five strengths and five improvement areas is a good way to start. Once you have identified the weaker areas, you should start working on converting your flaws into strengths by taking activities that will help you enhance the skills you would like to master. Interestingly, you can choose one activity to enhance two weaker areas. For instance, if you volunteer in community service, you are not only contributing to society but also inspiring others. We have these kinds of activities in our workbook which will make it simpler for you to identify your personality traits.

However, we must not only focus on the breadth but also focus on the depth. By breadth, we mean participating in multiple activities – debates, competitions, quizzes, sports, music, clubs, etc. – and by depth, we mean displaying real dedication in one or two areas beyond academics. Ideally, you should work on breadth in 9th and 10th grade, whereas in high-school, you must focus on the depth. Unless you explore various activities in junior school, you would not be able to pursue your interests in high-school. Depth is the most essential ingredient in college application; it’s depth that allows the AOs to see your commitment and dedication.

Simultaneously, Career Activity Mapping is equally important. You should pursue courses, internships and undertake projects related to the respective major you are applying. Simple school or college syllabus is never enough for an undergraduate or graduate application. Online courses, internships and projects indicate dedication and commitment to the course; thus, investing time in exploring the course illustrates your intent. Therefore, self-motivate yourself and try to take two-three internships, three online/offline courses and three projects to bolster your profile.

Lastly, you must keep track of your personal traits and your growth in the last two years. How different activities have shaped you into a person you are gives an idea to the AOs that the applicant is smart, enthusiastic and most of all willing to learn.

The above pointers shall give you a wider picture of what goes below the surface. Mnemonic’s constant endeavor is to enhance the child’s profile through correct guidance have helped thousands of students get offers from their dream colleges, and we hope for you to get the same results!

P.S: YOU CAN USE THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE COLLEGE ADMISSION PROFILE ASSESSMENT BELOW: