Students Beware!

Top Ten College Application Mistakes

ACT, the company that produces the college admissions exam, suggests that before applying to a college, check out the following list of the top mistakes students make on their applications:

Misspellings and grammatical errors — If you misspell on something as important as the application, it shows that either you don’t care or aren’t good at spelling.

Applying online, but the applications isn’t submitted — If you apply online, you should receive confirmation that the college or university received it. Confirmation could be an email message or credit card receipt.

Forgotten Signatures — Make sure you sign and date the form. Make sure all spaces are complete.

Not Reading Carefully — Know the difference between country and county! If the form asks what county you live in, the United States is not the answer.

Listing extracurricular activities that aren’t — Those that make the list include sports, the arts, formal organizations and work. Hobbies or downtime activities are not. Make sure your information is accurate. Colleges may check with your high school.

Not telling your guidance counselor you have applied — Let your guidance counselor know which colleges you are applying to. Ask to review your high school transcript before it’s sent to colleges. Some transcripts have errors.

Writing illegibly — First impressions count, so take your time and use your best handwriting.

Not using a professional email address — Email addresses that include your name is best.

Not checking your email regularly — If you have provided an email address, the college will use it. Don’t miss out on anything because you didn’t check your email!

Letting Mom or Dad help you fill out an applications — Admissions people know if your parents help, whether you have two different styles of handwriting or your admissions essay sounds more like a 40-year-old than a 17-year-old. It’s fine to get advice, but do the work yourself.

For more college planning help, visit the student section at ACT’s website, www.act.org.