There are several very important things that colleges look for in their applicants who apply for admission to their colleges. When school starts each fall, it is important for parents and students to pay attention to these top five issues colleges look for, whether your student is an entering 9th grader or an entering 12th grader: 

1) A strong curriculum on the student’s transcript – did they challenge themselves in high school? Did the student take advantage of Honors and AP courses? Did they take more of a subject than was required by their high school? 

2) A good GPA – the Grade Point Average is calculated with the year-end grades from 9th, 10th and 11th grades – this is what colleges see when evaluating students for admission to college 

3) Strong SAT/ACT scores – even though some schools are remaining test optional after the pandemic, taking standardized tests should be encouraged beginning junior year. 

4) Leadership – students need to be engaged in their community and take opportunities to develop leadership skills. Whether the activities are sports, clubs at school, work activities or volunteer activities, leadership is key to looking strong when applying to college. 

5) Extracurricular Activities – students need to engage in at least one or two. It is not about the breadth of activities, rather it is about the depth of activities. 

It is an exciting time for our teens as they return to the classroom after their busy summer. Hopefully, students will enter the fall semester eager to do well and to engage in the activities and clubs offered at their high school. Parents need to encourage students to do their best and to seek out their teachers or tutors if they are struggling with a subject. Parents need to encourage their students to get involved in their communities, whether it is a school community, church community or a neighborhood community.