Highlight from U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2013 guidebook: 10 college admissions officers share their pet peeves

While the “best colleges to attend” isn’t the “best way” to choose a college, attending a highly ranked college over a local junior college will add dollars to your starting salary. But getting accepted is the first hurdle. Choosing a college only happens after you are accepted. Here are excerpts from the article based on college admissions decision-makers:

• Be yourself: “I’ve been jaded by years of reading captivating pieces only to meet the student and realize that he or she could not possibly have used the vocabulary relayed in the writing,” reports Tom Delahunt of Drake University.  “Students should submit their strongest work, not someone else’s.”
• Passions, not laundry lists: “I become leery about a candidate when I notice his or her list of extracurricular activities increase significantly during senior year,” reports Delahunt. “Instead of a laundry list of commitments, we admissions officers want to know which one (or two) of these activities is truly a passion.”
• Avoid slang: “While there is a time and place for shortcuts, emoticons, and other symbols of contemporary communication, your application should reflect formal standards that would make your English teacher proud,” advises Bruce Latta of the U.S. Naval Academy.
• Watch what you post: “Many of our applicants tag themselves in photos after they have visited our campus, so it’s not hard for us to see what profiles are open to the entire world,” Latta notes. “My best advice is to remember that if your grandmother wouldn’t be proud to see what you’re posting online, it probably shouldn’t be public.”
• Know who we are: Too many students ask questions about what majors are offered and other information “that is plainly stated on our website.” says Suzi Nam of Swarthmore College. “We want you to display, through your application, that you have a meaningful understanding of our institution and how and why you see yourself as being a good match. This kind of authentic, thoughtful engagement with the admissions office is what all colleges value most.”

Excerpted from “What Not to Do When You Apply” in U.S.News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2013. Available at usnews.com/college13. Copyright © 2012 U.S.News & World Report, L.P. Used by permission of U.S.News & World Report, L.P. All rights reserved. U.S. News allows republication of this excerpt without specific written permission or payment of royalties, provided that the excerpt is republished in its entirety without any modifications and includes this notice. Please contact permissions@usnews.com with any questions.

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