Fact Checking College Admissions Myths

Fact Checking
7
College Preparation Assumptions
Menlo college counselors
review seven common
misconceptions surrounding the
college preparation process
By Sophia Artandi
1
You Need a
4.0 GPA
Applying
Over 90% of colleges
admit over half of
their applicants, and
the national
unweighted high
school GPA average is
a 3.0. However, for
highly selective colleges there is
generally a higher GPA average among
students who are admitted. For
example, Stanford University has a
4.7% acceptance rate and admitted 24
Menlo students from 2017-19. Their
high school GPA average is a 4.18 on
the 4.0 scale. According to college
counselor Beatriz Hodavdekar, having
a 4.0 is not necessary. "It's true that
grades are the most important part of
an application, [but colleges]
understand that grades will fluctuate
throughout high school for a variety of
reasons," Hodavdekar said.
2
Applying early
decision is where a
student applies
around November and
hears back by
December, as opposed
to regular decision,
Early
Decision
Increases
Your Chances
where students apply
in January and hear back by May.
Students may only apply to one school
because early decision is binding.
According to college counseling
director Matt Mettille, applying early
decision increases your chances,
though only around half of Menlo
applicants tend use the option.
3
Test scores
are the most
Important
Element on
the
Application.
According to Mettille,
the transcript is the
most important
element on the
application. "I would
say that for most
schools, especially
4 Freshman
Grades Do
Not Count
Freshman grades
are always sent in to
colleges, but some
schools, such as the
UCs and Stanford,
calculate a separate GPA that doesn't
include freshman year. However, most
colleges do not omit freshman grades;
therefore, they do count.
the highly selective ones, the testing is
probably the second or third most
[significant element,]" Mettille said. In
addition, standardized testing is
becoming increasingly unpopular. More
colleges are becoming test optional,
meaning that tests are not part of the
review process.
6
Different
colleges
prefer
different
standardized
tests
5
You need to
do as many
extracurriculars
as possible
All colleges who
require standardized
testing offer both the
SAT and the ACT. It is
a common myth that
some schools prefer
one over the other.
According to
Hodavdekar, colleges
dislike it when
students do as many
activities as possible.
"As a former
admission[s] officer, I
remember reading files of students who
tried to do it all, and I would get a sense
of inauthenticity," Hodavdekar said.
College counselors recommend that
students focus on what they're
passionate about, rather than trying to
do everything.
Though there are many misconceptions
about college preparation, college
counselors emphasize that there is no
formula or way to hack the college
system. "The frustrating part about the
admissions process for students and
parents is the 'it depends' response,"
Mettille said. Hodavdekar suggests that
students should not focus on
finding out exactly what colleges want.
"Do the things you love, and the right
college will admit you because of who
you are and not because of who you are
pretending to be," Hodavdekar said.
In addition, the area where the tests
are offered often dictates which test
applicants will be taking. For example,
the ACT is more popular in the
Midwest than the SAT.
You need to
be as
narrow as
possible
7
Rather than being
as well rounded as
possible or as
narrow as
possible, students
should aim to
pursue their
interests. An
example of a
narrow student
would be a great
violinist who only focuses on that.
According to Mettille, colleges accept
students who are well rounded and
students who are narrow. "At the end of
the day, colleges want to see that you've
developed interests outside of school,
whether that's one thing you've been
super committed to, or a variety of
things," he said.