5 Myths about College Admissions You Should Know

So many things happen during the college admission process. The season of admissions is probably the noisiest and most nerve-racking experience in the life of any student. The entire process is not just about filling up application forms and waiting for results; many other aspects are to be considered and that make college admissions so dramatic. Amid all the noise, of course, myths emerge that cause frenzy among students. It is these myths we must avoid during the admission process.

There have been many misconceptions regarding what it takes to be in college. Many may have been truths once but no longer hold any ground. Whatever the case may be, we must avoid relying on them at all. You should pay attention to the 5 myths I have mentioned below. Honestly, avoidance of these myths will save you a lot of time, energy, and money.

1. Stellar Grades Only Matter
   Yes, grades matter. I don’t disagree that the academic scores in the previous institution of education matter a great deal. But, they are not the only things that do. Those who score high are, of course, generally given preference because the first thing a college looks at is your academic performance. But, there may be other things that are given equal weight during the evaluation of application forms. For instance, where you are applying for a course that requires practical knowledge, the evaluators will strongly prefer those with previous organizational, work, or internship experiences. A holistic picture is taken into consideration while selecting a candidate.

2. Just join clubs and Activities
   You should understand that it is the quality not the quantity of work that counts unless you are applying to a college with poor standards of education and reputation. Back in school or college (in case you have already done your Bachelor’s), we often hurry ourselves to join all kinds of clubs and participate in any kind of activity that seems to do the trick. We have been molded into thinking that unless you have organizational and extracurricular experiences your resume will be weak. The truth is, you need these experiences but there is more to be shown than just the numbers. Evaluators want to see whether you have gone beyond and contributed anything meaningful through this. For example, you had been a member of the poetry club and credited for launching the club’s first edition of a biannual collection of poems. There, you have contributed!

3. Don’t be inventive in your admission essay
   While in India, admission essay is not very common, it is pretty much the standard. I do have a couple of friends and acquaintances abroad who offered me useful insight into this whole thing. To them, a creative essay is much better than an impassive essay. One of them tells me that she made sure that the essay reflected what she was by incorporating a few contextually appropriate humorous remarks. However, she warns that there are students who try to project what they are not, and evaluators, who have been in this business for quite some time, can easily filter them out. It is always preferable to be inventive, moderately personal, and creative in your essay but don’t pretend or overdo it.

4. Private Colleges are exclusive
   There is no denying that private institutions are expensive. However, this does not mean that they are decidedly exclusive for the rich and mighty. There are many ways to get into good private colleges without having to spend too much. In fact, many institutions willingly and quite generously offer financial help to meritorious students. The best examples to come to my mind are Harvard University and Stanford University. I have known so many batchmates who couldn’t have ordinarily afforded to study in private colleges abroad but managed to secure financial aid from them.

5. Admission Tests are the endgame
   It depends, actually. Generally, colleges invite general application forms along with the necessary documents. Based on the application, they shortlist the candidates eligible to write the test. Now, colleges can go forward with the process in two ways: they will either select students solely on the basis of the test scores, or you will be selected based on your application and the test scores. This is very different from saying that admission tests are always the endgame. A friend of mine scored relatively less in an entrance test for postgraduation but managed to secure a place anyway because of her stellar academic credentials.