You know when you’re in your last years of high school and your counselors tell you about how you need to start applying to college? Well, every senior is told to look at their options and figure out what they want to do. This puts tremendous amounts of pressure and stress on us as students. Here are some of the things that your counselors and others don’t tell you and some common misconceptions when you apply for college.

1. You don’t have to have everything figured out. A lot of the time we are told that we have to have everything figured out right then and there. The truth is, you don’t. When you’re applying to college you need a general idea of what you want to do. When you apply, most colleges will have an Academic Advisor to help guide you through things and to help you figure out what you need to do ASAP. Your academic advisor can help you out with problems in your application and help you get registered for classes and help you figure out what classes you need to get your degree. 
2. Scholarships are big and important. However, they are not just given to you. Most scholarships have an application or other things for you to apply. These things need to be completed before the deadlines and have to be good to be considered. Applying for lots of scholarships is a great idea and applying to every scholarship that applies to you is an even better idea. Try to find out of the box scholarships that not a lot of people would think to apply for. 
3. Taking easier classes doesn’t mean that you will get a higher GPA. Some people think that taking a lower level class is going to make you have a higher GPA because the class is easier. The truth is that when you take your classes you need to take the classes that are meant for your degree and certification. This is important because taking these classes will mean that you could be taking classes that are challenging and are harder for you. Taking these classes means that you need to stay on top of your classwork and making sure you understand the material. 
4. Colleges check your social media accounts. People often post things on their social media that are not appropriate and colleges look for this. They look for things that would look bad to people outside of the college because when you apply and possibly get accepted you are then a representation of that college. When you think about social media, specifically yours, you need to think about the kinds of things you are putting on there and how it is going to affect your standings as a possible student. 
5. Essays. Some colleges will have you write an essay about something. Some of the ones I’ve seen are prompts like “Write about a hardship you’ve encountered and how you’ve overcome it.” “Write about a hardship you’ve faced.” Prompts like this make you think about your life and what things you’ve been through. However, a common thing people write about is losing a parent or grandparent and how that has affected them, and some people will even write about a sports injury or something else that has affected them. Think about the college people that read these essays, they probably get so many of the same, generic answers. You want to stand out in the college’s eyes and you want them to remember you so they put your application through. 
6. Standardized tests. Standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT are an important part of applying to colleges. These test scores are going to tell the college you’re applying to what kind of student you are. However, lots of people think that a high standardized score means a guaranteed admission to the school. This is false. Having a high standardized score means that you have things mastered that maybe some other people don’t. Standardized tests are not the only factors that a college looks at when they are considering your application. Some other things that colleges look at are things like your GPA, extracurricular activities, volunteer work, among other things. 
7. Recommendation letters. These letters do not always help your chances of getting into a college or specific program. Think about the college, do you think they want to sit and read 3-5 recommendation letters per student that applies? That could be thousands of letters. Recommendation letters that suggest you are a great person and suggest that you will be an amazing student or even suggesting that you are a perfect match for their college are sometimes ignored and most of the time a waste of time, unless the college specifically asks for them. 
8. Optional interviews are optional. Some colleges want applicants to do interviews with the college to see how they are in person compared to on paper. These colleges will put the word “optional” in front of interview. What this means is that they want to see if you are going to do the interview or not. If an “optional interview” is offered, you more than likely want to do the interview. Why? Taking this interview will show the college that you are serious about getting into their college and what the college means to you. Also, taking this interview gives you the opportunity to see if the college has any questions about your application or any concerns they may have. 
9. Application fees. One thing that is not widely known is that some colleges have an application fee. An application fee is a fee you pay when applying for college to even have your application be considered. 

These are just some of the things that you could encounter when you apply for college. Always remember that you are in charge of your applications and you can control how the college thinks about you based on what you tell them. I’m not saying that you should keep information from them, you need to tell them everything they want to know, but on things that you get to choose what you tell them, you should strive to tell them all the good things about you.