Completing the

Winning College
Application
Robyn A. Lady
collegebound@cox.net

Start with a
Blank Piece of
Paper
Write down everything you
want an Admissions Officer
to know about you!

Data-Driven
Read
This is a focus on
the more
quantitative pieces
of the application
number of
Honors/AP Courses,
overall GPA, core
GPA, SAT/ACT
scores.

Whole Read
This includes a
focus on qualitative
pieces of
information within
the application
recommendations,
essays, activities
and awards, as well
as the numbers.

GPA?
Test Scores?
Activities?
Random Facts?

Add the Why? to Your

List!

 This

is not about the stuff

youve done; this is about WHO
you are and the lessons you
have learned along the way.

Consider

your own key

personality traits and
signature characteristics.

 How

has the student taken advantage

of the challenging curriculum at his/her
high school?
What structural impediments might
have affected any involvement?
What stimulates this students
enthusiasm? What does the student
learn on his/her own time?
What stands out about this student?
What are his/her most definitive
personal qualities?

You

should identify four to five

definitive traits about yourself
to share throughout each
piece of their application.
The overall goal is for your
application to Read Like a
Book.

Character/Integrity
Creativity
Puts Others First
Dependable
Responsible
Loyal

Percentage of colleges attributing different levels of importance to

factors in the admission process

What is missing??

Letters

of
Recommendation
Activities Resume
Essays

 Teacher

Recommendations
You should consider not only who to ask,
but why you are asking that person.
You should assign something from
your list to that teacher.
Teachers should put the Lens on the
Learner.
Teachers should address how a student
adds to the learning environment.

You need to say a few

things about why you
have asked the teacher
to write for you. What
did you enjoy most
about their class? What
topic, unit, concept, etc.
was the most difficult for
you? How did you
master it? Add any
other thoughts that will
help prompt their
memory and allow them
to effectively write
about you as an
intellectual person,
committed student,
cooperative classmate,
Do NOT Include an
etc.
Activities Resume!

I feel I was a team player who worked well with others in class, a
good listener and open-minded as well. Many times, students
would come to me asking for help and advice on how to study or
take notes effectively and I was happy to suggest the study habits
that worked for me.

I chose to ask for your recommendation because your class is the

class that I had to work the hardest in last year. To me, my greatest
accomplishment in your class was my final research project on
Politics and the English Language. Out of all my AP classes and
assignments, that project was the item I think I worked the hardest
on all year. I felt the greatest sense of achievement when I earned
an A- and received such great feedback from you on my work.

My ACT test scores simply do not reflect my grade point average

and part of what is holding me back is that I am a slow reader. I
feel that my academic performance is more than a number. And I
believe that through my performance in your class, you can attest
to this.

Essentials

of a Counselor

Letter
Summarize the whole student.
Leadership, Community

Service, Personal
Characteristics, Passions,
Approach to Learning, etc

Each

essay will highlight a specific detail

that demonstrates your distinctive traits.
Tell your counselor what you are writing
your essays on.
Your Counselor Should not Duplicate
Your Efforts, but Complement it
If Chantilly Lace writes about her
summer internship at NIH, the
counselor will not devote a paragraph
to it in her letter of recommendation.

 Dont

just list the Activity, explain it!

ICU Club? International Cultures United Club!

Determine which Activity fits where

Community Service Canned vs.

Creative Service
Common Application Short Answer
Essay
Send in a Comprehensive Activities
Resume When Possible*

Prioritize Each Award

Explain Each Award
Were you one of 500 selected? One of

5,000?

Some

Awards Could be Also

Considered Activities

Do you make sense on paper?

Do all of your supporting documents
add something new?
3) Did you attach a resume detailing
your activities, leadership, etc.?
4) Did you write with passion?
5) Did you individualize every
application? (You want them to
consider yours independently of
others!)
1)
2)

6)
7)

8)
9)

Do your essays reveal details about

you?
Can those writing about you speak to
your intellectual curiosity? How you
learn? What you do when things get
tough?
Does your counselor know what you
are highlighting in your essays?
Have you addressed red flags in
your application?

10) Have

you expressed your

individuality? Are you aware of it?
11) Have you communicated what you
do with your free time?
Independent learning, intellectual
curiosity, commitment and service
to others, etc.?