Get good grades, do your volunteer hours because if you don’t, you won’t get into the college of your dreams.

These are the things students do to get accepted into their dream colleges. But is that really all colleges look for in their applicants?

From day 1, students are told that only those things matter if they want to get into a ¨good college¨. Colleges look at more things than just your GPA; they look for what you do in your free time, your strengths and weaknesses, what clubs/extracurricular activities you did, etc. I’m not saying that colleges don’t look at your GPA, test scores, etc; what I’m trying to say is that there are more things that colleges look at than just the GPA of an applicant.

Colleges also look at if you know multiple languages and your talents. They want applicants with good leadership skills, your willingness on taking risks, being responsible, etc. Recommendation letters from teachers, jobs, and peers can help applicants stand out in the process.

One of the most important things that colleges look for in applicants is their college essays. You want your college essay to be strong yet creative. This is one of the first things colleges look for when deciding who they want to accept into their college.