What factors count most for getting into college?

(MoneyWatch) What are college admission officers looking for as they pour through the latest crop of student applications?

College gatekeepers say that the applicants whom they value most have taken college-prep classes in high school and have performed well in these courses. The latest annual admission survey from the National Association of College Admission Counselors indicates that 84 percent of admission directors at state and private schools say grades in college-prep classes are of "considerable importance."

This admission factor has dominated the association's annual list for two decades. Coming in second in importance, according to the survey, was the strength of a teenager's curriculum (68 percent).

The admission factor that has fallen dramatically in the polls over the years is class rank. Back in 1993, for instance, 42 percent of institutions said class rank was of "considerable importance," but today that number has shrunk to 19 percent. A prime reason for the drop is because many high schools have stopped ranking their students.

College admission factors

Here is a rundown of the other admission factors listed in the survey, ranked by the percentage of admission administrators who say they are of "considerable importance:"

- Admission test scores (ACT, SAT), 59 percent
- Essay or writing sample, 25 percent
- Counselor recommendation, 19 percent
- Class rank, 19 percent
- Teacher recommendation, 16.5 percent
- Subject test scores (AP, IB), 7 percent
- Portfolio, 6 percent
- Interview, 6 percent
- SAT II scores, 5 percent
- Extracurricular activities, 5 percent
- State grad exam scores, 4 percent
- Work, 2 percent

The key takeaway: The best thing a teenager can do to lower the cost of college for themselves is to strive to be the best student possible.

Colleges possess finite amounts of money to distribute for financial aid and merit scholarships. The students who have assembled superior academic profiles are in a much greater position to capture the best awards.

[wordhelper]

Thanks for providing this list, Lynn. It is very helpful. While essays rank fourth, they obviously still count for something, so students should make sure their essays are compelling, let their personalities shine through, and diffentiate themselves from their competitors. In addition, the essays must be free of errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling. This last factor is something journalists need to be aware of too. In your first sentence, the word "pour" should have been "pore." "Pore" means "to examine closely." "Pour" means "to send something flowing." The verb "pore" is usually followed by the preposition "over," but in recent years, the preposition "through" has started to replace "over." Try to remember the following phrase to help you in the future: "I pore through my books while sweat pours out my pores." ;-)

[ricosu]

I'm not sure what State grad exam scores are but I will say this: the more talented a child is, a parent simply MUST let them participate in things like the American Math competition, science competitions, language competition, etc. Keep in mind that SAT and ACT scores have highest scores which many very talented children will exceed but the SAT/ACT will not show that(e.g. you cannot go higher than 800 on the SAT math). In these national math competitions two children may have an 800 on that SAT test but the competitions will go much higher displaying further disparity between the two(both of whom no doubt are VERY talented). Princeton gets all kinds of 800 scorers: when they see these competitive nationalized scores that take it yet further it's makes a difference.

[eduLaunchpad]

I find the position of extra-curriculars very interesting. I can't remember how many times parents asked me about what other groups or activities their student should be in. There is a pervasive myth out there that students have to have their hands in a dozen different activities in order to "improve" their chances.

[TeenLife-com]

The importance of extra-curricular activities is artificially low in this ranking. The majority of compelling essays and recommendations, which are ranked as very important, are fueled/inspired by what a student does outside of school. I agree that students don't need to be engaging in "a dozen different activities" but rather a few, meaningful ones.