The mystique surrounding Ivy League institutions often leads to the belief that only students with top accolades stand a chance of admission. And while achieving a national award or two can certainly impress an admissions committee, it is not a requirement. Understanding the Ivy League requirements for admission can help you focus on building both a strong academic and extracurricular profile.

Why are ACT scores important for college admissions? For starters, they provide a standardized measure to compare students from different schools and backgrounds. Your scores also help admissions committees determine your academic readiness for college and are often used for course placement and awarding merit scholarships. Standardized test scores also help with institutional rankings.

The college admissions process is now more competitive than ever before. Applicant numbers are consistently rising at colleges across the country, so it’s important to do everything you can to ensure your application is as competitive as possible. But to be competitive, you also need to understand how college applications are reviewed and what factors into admission decisions.

If you’re applying to college this fall, you can (and should!) be thinking about and getting a head start on your applications — even though most don’t open until mid-summer. Let’s look at the application timeline and why starting early is crucial. We also offer some college application tips to maximize your chances of success.

If you’re a college-bound high school student, you are likely already aware that it’s important to build a strong profile for college admissions. Colleges wants you to demonstrate on your application how you developed and deepened your academic interests throughout high school. A good way to do this is through academic enrichment.

In the context of college admissions, leadership can significantly enhance a student’s profile, showcasing their ability to influence, inspire, and drive positive change. High school students can find many ways to develop essential leadership skills to make a meaningful impact — and they don’t have to take on leadership roles to do it.

Whether you’re in ninth, 10th, or 11th grade, it’s important to find any opportunity you can to build a strong profile for college applications. One of the best ways to build a strong profile is by participating in summer programs — though it’s important to get an early start to avoid missing application deadlines.

If you have started researching schools for your college list, you may wonder about the pros and cons of community colleges versus four-year colleges. Both types of colleges offer unique benefits and challenges that can shape your educational journey and future career. Learning the advantages and disadvantages of these options can help you decide which path is right for you.

In a recent interview on the Smartless podcast, renowned scientist and MIT professor Max Tegmark was asked how he explains his job to people he just met. If he doesn’t feel like talking to the person asking, he explained, he simply says he works in physics, which is boring and confusing enough that there are typically no follow-up questions.

Setting goals is a great way to motivate yourself to achieve something that’s meaningful to you. And if getting into college is a major goal, then you can break it down into smaller, more manageable steps related to academic performance and expanding your knowledge in areas of interest. These two go together, and both are important for college admissions.