College Application Strategy

Applying to college involves a huge amount of research, preparation and organization. Knowing where to apply, when to apply and how to apply successfully is the essentials of the task. It is also a process of self-evaluation and self-marketing. Your ultimate success not only is dependent on who you are, what you have done and where you want to be, but also based on how to highlight your most unique experiences in your applications and how to tailor your approach to each school of your choice.

In general, we recommend you first take stock of your major strengths and weaknesses with real-life evidences to substantiate each quality you list. Then you should stop for a moment and ponder on your short-term and long-term personal and professional goals. Also think about how a college degree could enrich your experiences, knowledge and skills and how your major(s) could help you launch your career path. A thorough process of self-exploration will help you prioritize your major deciding factors for choosing schools to apply for and choosing your major(s). It will also help you tackle the essays and the entire application in a much more organized and effective way.

We typically recommend you to tier the schools of your choice before you start to apply according to your preference and your likelihood of acceptance. In other words, it will be wise to cover all of worst-case, normal-case and best-case scenarios when you select a short list of schools to apply for. However, it will require the same amount of commitment, dedication and hard work for all applications. You should give every application your best effort!

Our College Admissions Consulting team at Manhattan Review has had tremendous experience in helping high school students get into schools of their top choice. Many of us also worked with Admissions office in helping evaluate prospective candidates and continued that role after our graduation. If you need help with any of your decisions along your application process, please contact us!