When a student applies to college, the college admission office collects a folder of information to consider as it makes a decision about the application. The application includes simple biological information such as birthdate and family information. Frequently, students are asked to write essays, which are intended to acquaint the admission committee with certain student experiences, strengths and weaknesses, and writing ability. This is where students have the power to present themselves in the best possible light.
Colleges pay special attention to the challenging courses the student has successfully taken.
When a student's record is compared with that of his or her classmates, he or she is assigned a class ranking relative to the others in the class. Class rank is important is a means of showing admission officers the level of competition the student has encountered and how well she or he has achieved relative to the competition. Not all high schools compute class rank. Admission Test Scores Standardized testing has been the focus of much discussion in recent years. More institutions are re-evaluating the overall role of the tests in the admission process and seem to be placing less emphasis on the importance of the test results.