How do College Admissions Work?

Getting into college is a major milestone for many people. This part of life is becoming increasingly important in the modern world, with more and more employers requiring that their teams have degrees. But how can you make sure that you get into college? And more importantly, how do college admissions work? Understanding what college admissions look for and how college admissions work can be vital when you’re going through this process.

The Planning & Grades

Before you can start making applications, it’s a good idea to know what you want to study. This can be a challenging choice to make, with many people finding it hard to know what they want to do at school. The expert college admissions consultants at Clark College Consulting can help you with this, along with making sure that you have the right grades. When asking the question “what do college admissions look for?”, keep in mind that while you can put on your application that you are undecided, many admissions boards want to see a declared major.

Searching & Comparing

Once you know what you want to study, it will be time to start searching for colleges. You need to compare these establishments with one another, looking at their past results to ensure that you make a good choice. On top of this, there are a lot of other pieces to consider when comparing schools including available degrees, tuition costs, location, and more. This is another area that a college admissions consultant can help you with.

Completing Applications

College admissions departments will expect detailed applications from prospective students. These applications can involve a lot of different work, from writing essays to performing interviews. Your college consultant can help you with this process, giving you the tools you need to prepare yourself for each stage in this journey, ranging from feedback on your essays to interview preparation.

Receiving Decisions

College admissions will make their decision based on a range of different factors. They will consider the grades you have received, the details in your application, the availability they have in your chosen field, and more. They also will compare all of this against the other students that have applied for the courses that you have chosen. This can be a long process - it can be several weeks or even months before you receive a decision. Understanding this is one important reason to understand what college admissions look for and how college admissions work, so you know the timeframes you may need for your application process.

Choosing Your College

Once you have received your decisions, you may need to make a choice quite quickly. Most colleges will tell you how long you have to get back to them, but this can still be a stressful time for many students. If you’re not sure which college to choose, your coach can help you weigh the pros and cons of each.