You’ve planned your strategy: Take challenging classes—check! Tackle the SAT or ACT and send your scores to colleges—check! Choose teachers who know you well to write your letters of recommendation—check! Create a college list and pare it down to a reasonable number—check! Write that 500-word Common App essay—check! Create an activities list—check!
Take care of those tasks, and you’ll be at the finish line, right?
Maybe not. Many students, after tackling the college-related tasks they perceive to be most important, begin to relax and take the “small stuff” less seriously. But taking the “small stuff” seriously can often make a real difference.
Consider some of the following frequently glossed-over college-related tasks:
• Written communication
Do you have a professional e-mail address (or at least one that’s not sketchy) to use when communicating with colleges? An off-color address can create a questionable impression.
Are you prepared to write to college-admission offices in “real English,” not with texting shortcuts or slang? u better b!