1.Throughout the college admissions process, it is important to develop/show your “personal brand”

What’s different/special about you
Your connection with each college
Passion
Leadership
Character
Teamwork – ability to work well with others

2.Set up a separate e-mail address for college with just your name, no cute nicknames!
3. When you visit colleges, set up meetings with professors so your answers to “why this college” can be very specific
4. Admissions people would rather read about local community service in essays than one week trips that cost $$$$
5. Consider founding a club or creating a program, independent science research, launching a blog, consider other unique opportunities
6. Register early for SATS and/or ACTS so you can take at your school or one near you. Consider private tutoring or use an excellent group tutoring service. Some colleges use an SAT/ACT cut-off before even looking at applications.
7. Internships can be valuable available if you know where to look
8. Most colleges make decisions based on: (In rank order)

1. Difficulty of courses and grades in those courses
2. Overall GPA
3. Standardized tests
Importantly, #4 serves as tie-breaker for admissions:
4. Interviews, outside activities, work experiences, summers, essays, recommendations (guidance and teachers)

9.Students need to sell themselves in each part of the college process. Always try to do an interview on campus if the college offers one – do a practice interview at a local college first if possible and always do a mock interview
10. Consider early decision carefully –major advantage for some colleges and some colleges fill one third of their class that way