When it comes to coaching high schools students, all families we work with at RingTrue have one question in common: What are the most important factors that colleges consider when making their admissions and scholarship decisions?
Although individual details around admissions and scholarship criteria can vary slightly from college to college and year to year, we can say with great confidence that students who focus on these four things throughout high school will have the very best opportunities available to them.
1. Grade Point Average (GPA)
The first thing that college admissions officers look for – and the one that students have the most control over – is a solid GPA. Colleges use your GPA to evaluate your work ethic and your future potential. High school students who have a four-year history of earning high grades are likely to continue to do so in college. This is why we tell all our students that they should start focusing on their GPA the first year they start high school, when classes tend to be easiest. Working toward (and maintaining) a 3.8 GPA or higher will create a solid base for you to work from, providing a cushion for Junior and Senior year of high school, when the recommended AP courses are much more challenging.
2. Strength of Curriculum
Once you have built solid grades early on in high school, it can be tempting to enroll in easier courses that ensure you keep your GPA as high as possible. However, colleges also place an extremely high value on academic rigor. For many colleges, this value is weighted as much as your GPA. Admissions officers want to know that you will be able to handle the more strict and demanding rigors of a bachelor's degree, which is why they look for your curriculum to include more difficult college prep courses. RingTrue coaches will always recommend that students enroll in the most challenging courses that they can handle (ideally AP level) by Junior and/or Senior year, even if this could result in a lower GPA. If AP courses are not an option for you, colleges will look to be sure you are pushing yourself in all ways possible within your available curriculum.
3. Test Scores
Traditionally, scores from the ACT and/or SAT have been weighted by colleges almost as heavily as GPA and academic rigor. But the past two years, colleges have seen COVID-19 take a severe toll on testing, resulting in lower overall quality of scores, as well as a lack of availability of testing sites. As a result, nearly 2/3 of all colleges have become test-optional, and many of those schools plan to stay that way in the future. So what does this de-emphasis on test scores at some colleges mean for you? Despite the change, we still recommend that all students take the ACT and/or SAT, as those who do well will have a distinct advantage when it comes to college admissions and scholarships, especially at the most competitive schools. But what constitutes a high score? At less competitive schools, an ACT score of 26 and/or SAT score of 1200 may land you in the top 25% of applicants, and qualify you for scholarships. By comparison, at the most competitive schools, you may need at least a 33 on the ACT and/or 1550 on the SAT just to be considered for admissions. If you do not fall within these ranges, but still have a high GPA and a strong Student Brand (see below), we often recommend a test-optional approach, as we have seen some test-optional students not only be admitted, but also receive better scholarships than those students who have a similar GPA and submit test scores lower than the above ranges.
4. Your Student Brand
After the first three criteria above, colleges can differ quite a bit in what matters most in admissions decisions. It might be your essay, your recommendations, your extracurriculars or something else. So how can you cover your bases? At RingTrue, we've found that the most successful students are those who understand themselves well, and use that understanding to create an authentic, focused Student Brand throughout their high school years. Whether your brand is "caring, passionate advocate for the environment," or "theatrical historian who uses the stage to change hearts and minds for the better," naming your brand and aligning everything – including your course selections, extracurriculars, volunteer work, essays, and applications – will help you build a distinct résumé that assures you will stand out from your peers.
When it comes to college admissions, it's never too early in high school to start working toward better opportunities. No matter what year you are, you can start working right now to strengthen your GPA, curriculum, test scores and Student Brand, with a goal of your best possible admissions outcomes.
Looking for college admissions help? Learn more about how RingTrue successfully guides students and their families throughout the college search process.
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