What Colleges Look for: 6 Ways to Stand Out

While an academic passion, some initiative and a proven interest in a school are key to getting a foot in the door, these attributes are only part of what colleges look for in ever more competitive applicant pools.

“For most kids, it’s not that hard to get into college as long as you’re doing the right thing,” says Mark Montgomery, founder and CEO of Great College Advice in Denver.

But what are the right moves in the admissions process? What do colleges look for? What looks good on a college application? To find out, U.S. News talked with admissions officers, independent college counselors and high school guidance counselors to find out what the right things are for students applying to college today. Here are six ways college applicants can stand out:

Knowing what colleges look for is important, considering the sheer volume of applications schools receive.

Colleges are receiving more applications these days, according to a 2019 report from the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Per the report, schools saw a 6% increase from fall 2017 to fall 2018 in first-time freshman applications. Applications also increased 2% for potential transfer students and by 7% for prospective international students.

At the top of the heap, these trends had an impact on acceptance rates. At Stanford University in California, for example, only 4.2% of applicants were admitted in fall 2018 – the lowest acceptance rate in school history, according to local media. Likewise, other highly selective colleges also had acceptance rates below 10%.

Scary as those statistics may be for students, it’s important to remember that, on average, colleges ranked by U.S. News still accepted 67% of their applicants in fall 2018, according to U.S. News data collected from 1,363 ranked schools.

Develop a Short List of Schools

Picking colleges requires a long look inward as well as a study of all those school websites. “Pause and assess who you are, what you’re good at,” advises Judy Muir, an educational consultant in Houston. Then consider how your learning style and other preferences fit with each college’s strengths.

Students should have a short list of schools ready by spring of their junior year, says Kelly Fraser, owner and principal consultant at Green Apple College Guidance & Education, which has offices in the Boston and Washington, D.C., areas. The timing matters because students often have received standardized test results, know where their high school GPA stands and may have some AP courses on their resume.

Christine Chu, a premier college counselor at IvyWise, a New York-based education consulting company, wrote in an email that she encourages students to identify up to 15 colleges, splitting them evenly into three different categories: reach schools, target schools and schools with high odds of admission for the students should their top choices not pan out.

She adds this may not be necessary if students have thoroughly researched their options, and cautions against creating a list with an overabundance of schools with low odds of admission.

Consider Early Options

Increasingly, colleges are admitting students through an early decision process. According to the NACAC report, 25% of colleges that responded to its survey offered early decision plans. Between fall 2017 and fall 2018, those colleges reported a 10% average increase in the number of early decision applicants admitted. Early decision is binding, meaning the students promise to attend the college if accepted.

Experts say students who opt for early decision should be certain the school is right for them. This is particularly true when it comes to financial aid, because accepting a binding early decision offer means students will not be able to compare aid packages between schools.

“One significant downside to an early binding commitment is that the student will only receive one financial aid package. If a student wants to consider the best financial aid available to him/her, Early Decision may not be the best choice,” Chu says.

But there is some wiggle room with the binding agreement. Fraser says the agreement is based on an honor code and not typically legally binding. Some schools share lists of early decision applicants with one another, she notes, meaning that a student is likely to be caught if he or she agrees to an early decision option at multiple institutions.

Demonstrate Interest in the School

As it becomes easier for students to apply to multiple schools electronically and by using the Common Application, admissions officers are alert for “stealth candidates” who do nothing but fill out the forms. If you want to be taken seriously, “you’ve got to show them some love,” says Caroline Brokaw Tucker, a college consultant and partner at Connecticut-based Dunbar Educational Consultants.

Visiting campus is the best way to get a feel for schools and show interest. Take the college tour and meet with admissions officers. Ask questions. If a visit isn’t feasible, go on a virtual tour and take advantage of local college fairs and every other option for contact.

Even checking emails from a college can be a way to demonstrate interest. Fraser points out that some schools track the rates at which prospective students open emails sent by the college, while other schools don’t consider demonstrated interest at all, online or offline.

While keeping in contact with schools is important, it can be difficult to manage numerous colleges, which is why Fraser suggests focusing on top interests.

“I think what’s become difficult is that if students have 15 or 20 schools on their list, and they’re trying to do this, it’s almost impossible to keep up. So really drilling down into the schools that they are genuinely interested in, and keeping a balanced list – and doing that as early as possible, spring or summer before senior year – is really, I think, a healthy approach,” she says.

Pay Attention to Details

Optional essays? Write them. A chance to elaborate on extracurricular activities? Take it. Colleges look at more than test scores and GPA. For students on the bubble, extra effort can be the difference for their odds of admission.

A good letter of recommendation can also come in handy.

Thyra Briggs, vice president for admission and financial aid at Harvey Mudd College in California, advises putting serious thought into the teachers who are asked for recommendations. “Don’t always choose teachers who gave you a straight A,” she says. A recommendation from a teacher who watched a student struggle can “show how you respond to challenge.”

And when it comes to extracurricular activities, students should pick ones that align with their passions over padding a resume.

“I think students who demonstrate grit, commitment, authenticity, integrity and compassion also stand out – personal qualities and character matter! For example, it’s very easy to tell those who volunteer merely to have a ‘service’ extracurricular activity in their applications versus students who are genuinely caring and seek to make a difference in a very humble way,” Chu says.

Finally, keep careful track of deadlines. And meet them.

Take the Lead

Throughout the college application process, it’s crucial to remember that you, not your parents, are running the show. Take charge of creating your list, arranging visits and interviews and doing the talking, and reaching out to the admissions office with questions on your own, rather than having your mom do it on her lunch hour.

“It’s refreshing when a student does that,” says Rick Clark, director of undergraduate admission at Georgia Institute of Technology, “because it’s so rare.”

Be Authentic

Finally, Fraser advises students to just be themselves.

“Frankly, colleges understand that they’re getting applications from high school students, which means that a lot of them are going to have similar experiences. It’s really what they make of those experiences that I think will help their applications to stand out,” she says.

Authenticity requires students to find their voice in order to be able to tell their own story, experts say.

“Humility and earnestness are, by the way, very underrated qualities, I think,” Chu says. “And to communicate one’s qualities and experiences, students need to find their own authentic voice; everyone has a unique narrative, and it is up to the student to go deep and find it. Moreover, good writing is needed to articulate and communicate that narrative well.”

Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of Best Colleges.