Complete guide to US College Application

Pre- College Application

1.                 You will hear a lot of trash about college application. Be very prudent to consume college application advice. 

2.                 You can never make up your academic credentials and standardized test score. So, keep a good track of your academics. In the meantime, make sure that you are preparing well for standardized tests as well. Standardized tests are as important as or even more important than GPA.

3.                 In terms of Extra Curricular, it's a good idea to find a few that you're really interested in and strive to be more involved in them. That's far better than joining or signing up for a ton of activities and not having achieved anything that special in any of them.

4.                 Take risks and get out of your comfort zone. That's what high school is for. Do activities you would enjoy. Meet people and make connections. Take classes you never imagined doing well in or have any interest in.

5.                 Get in touch with seniors who have successfully gone through college application process. Visit USEF and college application groups and sites regularly, and network with fellow aspirants.

6.                  Read and write extensively. Definitely still do the basics, maintain good grades, standardized test scores, ECs, etc.

7.                 When you don't feel like working on an assignment or something, go on your dream college's site and remind yourself why you're working so hard.

SAT and Personal Essay:

8.                 Memorizing a lot of SAT words does not necessarily improve Critical Reading Score. CR needs a lot of extensive reading and a lot of practice. Ignore ubiquitous Barron's book, it does not comply with real SAT questions. Rather use official blue college board SAT preparation book for practice sets. 

9.                  Using fancy SAT words does not make a good personal Essay. Personal Essay is about content.

10.             You may write about your life, your aspirations or anything, but show your passion, maturity and potential through Essay.

11.              Take the SAT the first chance you can so you have time to retake it if you needed to.

College Application

12.             Apply early. When you do so, you will still have time to improve on your application later for Regular Decision. Most importantly you will have learn a lot about college application by then.

13.             Apply as many colleges as possible.

14.             Apply to some safety colleges, no matter your excellent grades, SAT score or ECAs. You can never tell what US colleges are looking in their prospective students.

15.             Everybody is applying does not mean you should not apply.

16.             Do not judge a college by its acceptances rate or by its ranking. College ranking is not English Premier League.

17.             Writing emails unnecessary to an extent of aggravating the counselor does not necessarily improve your chance of acceptance. Only write emails to your benefit.

18.               Supplements are not Social Studies question and answers! Do not write only to fill the spaces. Put your thought into these. These may not be as important as personal essay, but could sometimes be a deciding factor between a waitlist and an acceptance. 

19.              Do not be compromise with your application. Give whole lot of time to complete your application. Do everything thing that can strengthen your application. Send them arts, sports or music supplements if they accept any.

20.             You might be rejected by need based schools  with a 2250 SAT/ 800 + 770 SAT IIs/ 4.0 GPA. Yes, money matters. Apply to need-blind schools but only a couple, as these are crazy reaches and then to true safeties.

21.             Stay on top of the due dates.

22.             Be realistic. But have a courage to apply to some reach colleges as well.

23.              Don't pin all your hopes on one or a few schools, especially if they are very selective. It's not fun being rejected from a school you've daydreamed about all of college application.

24.              Location and college environment should be a big consideration when creating a college list. After all, how well you do in college is hugely dependent on the environment around you. People need to put less of an emphasis on prestige/ranking and look more into how well they fit in to certain colleges.

25.             However, still go for your dreams. Make sure they are your dreams, not that of your parents, peers, or anyone else.

26.              Don’t rule out a college just because it seems like you wouldn't get in.

Post- College Application

27.             If things go well, make sure you choose a college where you believe you can thrive.

28.             Rejections does not mean you did not deserve the college on your merits. There are several other factors that come into play as far as our admission decision is concerned.

29.              Take a gap year or second gap year, if you think you deserve better college, better aid or both. However, do not come to the states or start your college in Nepal with a mentality to transfer after a year or two; transferring is ridiculously hard if you need as good a financial aid as freshman student. Believe me, transferring is ridiculously hard.

When in the USA

30.             Network with right people. Because social science claims that you are an average of five people you most interact with, be prudent to methodically place yourself in the company of the most mature, benevolent, and competent people you can identify.

31.             Involve in activities that interest you.  Make best use of the available resources and opportunities which may interest you.

32.              Do not get saturated with your accomplishments, but strive for more. Life is a long run.

33.             Invest in yourself. Increase your personal value. Where you are today is the result of your investment in last five years or so, where you will be in five years is the result of your investment now.

34.              Please invest back to Nepal both economically and intellectually. You all can be next Mahabir Puns, Anil Keshari Shahs, Upendra Mahatos or Jiba Lamichhanes.

35.             On a spiritual note, think beyond yourself. When you give to others, things will eventually come back to you, because world is run by this crazy thing called “Karma”. As they say it, life is a reciprocation: what you give is what you get.

36.             Travel a lot.

If in Nepal

37.             Do not undermine yourself for the rejections you  may have received. Thousands of students apply but only thirty to forty students go to top notch colleges with an excellent aid every year. It has always been the same case, and the competition has become ever so fierce with commercialization of education in last few years. 

Remember, it’s not how far you fall, it’s how high you bounce. Look at some people who've accomplished a lot and see where they started. Hari Bansha Acharya passed SLC the third time, Binod Chaudhary failed an entrance for Chartered Accountant, JK Rowling was a single mother living off a welfare when she began writing Harry Porter, Winston Churchill was so slow a learner that teachers used to write to his mother to drop him off the school, Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because the editor thought Walt lacked creativity and good imagination, and the list can only go farther. Life is a long run, bounce back!