6 Reasons Your College Acceptance May Be Your College Rejection

So it's about that time of year. Fall is rolling around and its time to apply for colleges. Want to know the secrets of getting your acceptance letter? There are none. I never said there weren't keys to obtaining the goals you set out to achieve - I just said that there weren't any secrets. So what is it that colleges really dislike?

6. Your Interview was Bad

As long as you don't look at the ground as you speak and pick your nose when you're on stage, most representatives who sent by colleges will accept you based on what they see in your academics. Schools send an interviewer to see if they can pin you down and make you uncomfortable during an interview, but they are just nudging you to see how much they can get out of you. Most won't even send a representative to interview you if they don't like your scores.

The key is to be polite, friendly, and do a lot of research about the school that is interviewing you. The ranges are many - some interviewers will want you to dress up in a suit and answer everything formally (almost like a job interview), yet others will call you up to have a nice chat at Starbucks as they ask you a variety of questions. Either way, make sure you can answer such questions as "What do you feel is your greatest flaw?" or "If you could time travel, where would you go?" These questions are all meant to test your creative ability to think and think quickly; say something to impress the interviewer - something that you truly believe in, but don't make it so that you are trying to kiss up and claim you are the best student they will ever consider. Trust me, you're not.

5. Your Extracurriculars (or Lack Thereof)

Schools like students who are well-rounded, not just recluses who enjoy number crunching and a good textbook to enjoy. They have certain sections on the application to list your leadership positions and extracurricular activities such as clubs, sports teams, community service, etc. They want to see someone motivated not just inside of the classroom, but someone who is willing to jump into society and get to know more about anything and everything.

When you have more activities and leadership roles, you have experience, a viewpoint of society, and a knowledge of what it is like to be on a team. In preparation for the workforce, sooner or later you will have to learn about how to work in a team environment, as employers will grill you constantly about being able to fit in with others and complete a task.

Mainly, colleges want to know that you have a bit of a social life and that you have a conscience, sense of duty to society, and the ability to network and socialize. They want people who not only take part in extracurricular activities, but those who excel and are raised up as a leader by their peers.

4. Your Recommendations were Mediocre (or not good at all)

Most colleges will ask for at least 2 teacher recommendations to be included with your application. Make sure you develop a good relationship with your high school counselor and some of your teachers, as they might determine if you get accepted into the college of your choice or not. Most instructors (along with your counselor) will seal their recommendation letters in an envelope so that you can't look at what they wrote, but you better hope it was something good. Praise is always a good thing, and the person who reviews your application will have a sour taste after they read a recommendation that wasn't really a recommendation. We all hate Pyrrhic letters.

3. Your SAT Scores Can't Match Up

If you're in an easy school district, you can pad your GPA all you want, but the SAT doesn't lie. In comparison to other students around the nation, if your score is only mediocre, it will hurt your chances of acceptance. This (among some other things) is one of the only measures that can be based on a national average, giving the application reviewers a good idea of where you stand with respect to their other applicants that may have had a hard high school curriculum. So make sure that even though your school may be easy, you are keeping up with the rest of the nation in terms of your SAT score. There are a lot of books out there for your reference and use, so make sure to practice all you can and get an early head start.

2. Your Essays weren't Moving

Universities will usually have a combination of around 3 essay questions they would like you to answer (usually with a word limit). These are to test your abilities to show that you have a mastery of the language, as well as paint a vivid picture in the application reviewer's mind of where you come from. Many essay questions are similar to interview questions, and since you have lots of time to think about the topics, they expect the essays to be written with correct grammar and concise sentences (hence the word limit). They don't have all day to sit around reading your 12 page essay on how you came from a tough neighborhood and succeeded. You need to be able to engage the reader with something that is moving - something that will make an impression in his or her mind, whether it be humor, sadness, success, or whatever. Make your essays stand out, but remember to always answer the questions asked. People hate it when they read an essay that has a catchy beginning but begins to fade off on another tangent.

1. Your GPA is too low

The final (and usually most important) reason that you will not be admitted to a college of your choice is your GPA. When it comes down to it, you can get all the recommendations you want, but colleges want to see results. If you have lower than 3.0, many will automatically toss your application, especially the Ivy Leagues. They want to see usually a 3.6 or above on a 4.0 scale.

It is the mastery of these 6 conditions that will most definitely get you into the college of your choice. With this being said, it is easy to lose sight of your goal at the end of your high school career with so much going on around you. The only way to make sure that you don't slip up is to stay on track and study incrementally. There is no secret to magically increasing your SAT score, nor is there a way to hack into your school's database and improve your GPA. Stick to the basics, be sincere about your application, and hope for the best.