Top 10 Application Mistakes
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Top 10 College Application Mistakes
- Misspelling and grammatical errors – This is a big pet peeve with college admissions people. If you misspell on something as important as the application, it shows that either you don’t care or you aren’t good at spelling. Don’t stop with spell check, proofread for grammatical errors too.
- Applying online, but the application isn’t submitted – If you are applying online, you should receive a confirmation that the college or university received it. Confirmation could be an email message, a Web page response or a credit card receipt.
- Forgotten signatures – Make sure you sign and date the form. Often students overlook that part of the form if it’s on the back or at the end.
- Not reading carefully – For example, if the form asks what county you live in, don’t miss read it as country and write United States.
- Listing extracurricular activities that aren’t – Those that make the list would include sports, the arts, formal organizations and volunteer work. Talking on the phone and hanging out with friends don’t make the cut.
- Not telling your school counselor where you have applied – Let your counselor know which colleges you are applying to, and ask him or her to review your high school transcript before sending it to the colleges.
- Writing illegibly – First impressions count, so take time and use your best handwriting if you are sending something handwritten.
- Using an inappropriate email address – Select a professional email address. Keep your fun address for your friends, but select an address using your name for college admissions.
- Not checking your email regularly – If you’ve given an email address, the college will use it. You don’t want to miss out on anything because you didn’t read your email.
- Letting Mom or Dad fill out your application – Admissions people know if your parents help, whether you have two different styles of writing or if your admissions essay sounds more like a 45-year-old than a 17-year-old. It’s fine to get advice, but do the work yourself.
Source: ACT, Inc.