Top Mistakes Students Make on College Applications

When applying for a US college, you’ll be scrutinized for every sentence you write and the information you provide. Admission officers will take a long, hard look at your resume and scholastic and extracurricular activities and, based on limited personal info, determine if you’re the first fit for their institution.

During the process, you’ll likely make numerous mistakes without ever realizing they’ve hurt your case. Something you might think of as a “show of character” might be interpreted as a red flag by admission officers. Of course, you also have to worry about grammar mistakes in your cover letter as well as factual errors.

We always recommend you take the time to review the material before sending it out. YO can also hire college admissions consulting professionals to help you out. Whatever the case might be, these are the 9 biggest blunders you should be aware of when applying for college.

1.   Share Your Personal Story

Admission officers need to understand your background and daily struggles to better assess your working habits. For example, if you had to work during all your teen years, the officers might give you an advantage over other candidates with similar SAT scores.

However, don’t stop with your socio-economic circumstances. Think about the different challenges you had to endure during your young years and how they helped shape you. Consider the burden you had to carry for your family and everything you had to suffer through to fulfill your college ambitions.

2.   Examine Your Contribution

Colleges will make their money through applications and fees one way or another. So, when selecting candidates, they’re not necessarily concerned about whether or not you’ll be able to pay your scholarship. They’re much more interested in accepting people who will contribute to the institution’s reputation.

Take into account everything you bring to the table. Focus on all the innovation and research you’ve done in the past and mention your willingness to participate in scientific work. Give props to your former colleagues and mentors, and mention reputable experts you’ve had a chance to work with.

3.   Avoid Oversharing

Talking about your past hardships is a slippery slope. In an attempt to impress admission officers, some students overshare things about their lives. In particular, you should be very careful how you’re presenting your mental state. For example, if you say that you are anxious or depressed, they might think you’re mentally liable.

It is only natural that you’ll fail quite a few times, whether we’re talking about sports, school, or other areas of your life. So, a good trick is mentioning your defeats alongside victories. Talk about all the situations where you didn’t achieve your goal and how you reacted to the adversity. Officers are more invested in people who have faced adversity as this will help them with tough curriculum.

4.   Learn About the School

Not knowing anything about a school is a major red flag. It might indicate they weren’t your first choice or that you simply don’t care about their values. In fact, it’s much better to apply to the same school your parents went to as this can be seen as “proof of concept” (you’ll likely succeed as your parents did).

When applying for a school, mention why you’ve chosen this specific program and what makes it different from other studies. Talk about things you admire about the school’s community, its history, and how you can fit the campus culture.

5.   Mention Extracurriculars

To get into one of the top US schools, you have to be obscenely rich, be associated with college through your bloodline, or have amazing extracurriculars. Given that most kids from low and medium-income families can’t meet the first two criteria, they must make their mark through various extracurricular activities.

Keep in mind that just about anything can be considered an added activity. If you have any acting or artistic affinity, make sure to mention that in your application. Even attending short, one-month courses might give you the necessary edge over the competition.

6.   Use Unique Essays

A common mistake students make is using one and the same essay for several programs. Even if you think you’re slick, admission officers will see right through your attempt. Instead, we recommend that you create cover letters and other materials for each school, emphasizing why this particular program is right for you.

7.   Think About the Flow

When writing a cover letter and other ancillary documents, think about your wording. Your ability to write nice essays shows your general education and usually indicates great, real-world eloquence. In other words, this is the type of person colleges like to have in their midst.

Be careful when using complex phrases. Although they indicate good education, you might come off as arrogant if you overuse them. Check how they’re used in sentences, as you don’t want to miss their meaning.

8.   Check Grammar

Reread every essay, cover letter, and ancillary document you send to schools. Grammar and spelling errors are really off-putting, especially if you use a lot of big words in your materials. Furthermore, having too many mistakes might indicate that you simply don’t care about that particular school or that you’re sloppy by nature.

Keep in mind that this isn’t as big of an issue for foreign students. Nevertheless, we would recommend that all applicants use programs such as Grammarly to check the quality of their writing.

9.   Share Your Links

It is totally normal to share your email address. However, if you have other accomplishments, it wouldn’t be bad to share these links with officers. For example, you can share links to your published work or news articles where you were featured. We recommend that you don’t share your Instagram or Facebook unless it is relevant to your application.

Conclusion

When applying to a US college, you need to worry about potential mistakes as much as you have to worry about the positive things you’ll write. Our recommendation is to take your time, reread everything you’ve written, and create a unique application for each school.