2010 Edition: What College Are Really Looking for in Applicants

June 10, 2010 | 1 comment

by Mark H. Sklarow, Executive Director, Independent Educational Consultants Association

The 2010 survey of IECA Members has now been released, revealing this year’s “Top Ten Strengths and Experiences Colleges Look for in High School Students.” While several items topping the list are unchanged despite the overheated college application process, there are a number of changes to the list as items have been added, others have fallen lower on the list, and a number of things that families believe to be critical don’t get anywhere close to making the list.

As has been true for more than five years, a student’s academic performance in high school tops the list. Most important is a rigorous academic curriculum that challenges the student. While grades are important, educational consultants believe that demonstrating a willingness to challenge oneself is more important. Additionally, IECA members felt that grades need to show an upward trend—mediocre grades in the freshman year can be overcome by demonstrating that better grades came with maturity. After all, colleges want to know what type of student will be arriving on campus—not who the student was four years go.

Solid SAT or ACT scores, reflecting a consistency with academic achievement was #3 on the list. IECA members felt that terrific standardized tests are rarely enough to secure admission at a competitive school, but poor scores can be difficult to overcome.

Coming up on the list next: passionate involvement in a few activities (#4), meaningful letters of recommendation (#5), and a well-written essay that provides insight into the student’s personality, values and goals(#6). The importance of the essay moved up since the last survey, perhaps reflecting the essay’s role as more colleges move to ‘test optional’ status.

Debuting on this year’s list at #8 is “Demonstrated leadership in activities.” Much has been said in recent years about colleges seeking students who will contribute in a meaningful way to campus life. The appearance of this on the IECA list underscores this growing desire. Following this, demonstrated intellectual curiosity (#9) remains an important item, particularly with more competitive schools.

Rounding at the top 10 is “Demonstrated enthusiasm to attend,” an item that first appeared just a few years ago. This would reflect the college admission office concern over their yield: wanting to offer admission only to those who seem serious about enrolling.

Just missing the top ten list: financial resources (despite the economy) and out of school experiences. This latter item fell off the top ten list, although “special talents and abilities (#7) remained.

Much has been written about the trend toward creative applications with videos or other unique components, but this placed far down, well out of the top ten list. Also relegated to a status of far less importance by IECA members were several items thought by the general public to be important to decision-making: the personal interview, being a legacy (family member of an alum), and demonstrations of responsibility as being far less important in the current admission climate.

The full list, just released can be found here, with copies soon available for order from IECA. This list has become, over the years, a major survey sought by the media, used by school districts, and many others. It offers great advice for families looking to understand the nature of college admission.