General Principles

1. College Application Basics: Crash Course

Timeline:

Request recommendations from teachers (different subject areas) and counselors
Most early action deadlines: November 1
Most regular action deadlines: around December 31
UC system: end of November
Harvard and Princeton priority: December 1
Set each deadline one day early to account for technical issues and time zone confusion
Plan completion well before submission

Application Requirements:

Typically need 3 recommendations: 2 teacher letters, 1 counselor letter
Optional additional letter allowed (employer, mentor, etc.)
Choose schools strategically: safety, likely, reach categories
Use spreadsheets or software like Naviance to track schools

Tips:

Error correction procedures exist for applications already submitted
Create alternate versions of Common Application via instructions section
UC system provides after-application procedures at their admissions website

2. The Prime Directive of College Applications

Present yourself as an interesting, engaging, and multitalented person -- someone admissions officers would want to spend time with on a road trip, while demonstrating intelligence and diverse abilities.

As C.S. Lewis noted: "Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth, without caring two pence how often it has been told before, you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it."

3. The Overlapping Jigsaw Puzzle

Efficiently convey multiple facets of yourself by:

Structuring essays around a general theme while including varied details
Filling gaps during interviews when possible
Supporting claims with extracurriculars, awards, and achievements
Using letters of recommendation to demonstrate passion and character
Addressing serious weaknesses directly (no excuses -- acceptance or rejection)
Principle: "it's easier to be well-rounded than well-lopsided"

4. What Makes an Application Impressive?

The "Failed Simulation Principle" suggests that impressive applications make admissions officers ask, "How did a high school student accomplish that?" Success comes from genuine, beneficial accomplishments outside the ordinary -- not perfect grades and scores alone.

5. The Spirit of Action

You become an accomplished person through the application process itself, regardless of acceptance outcomes.

Theodore Roosevelt's perspective: "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles...The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood."

Requirements for success:

Genuine desire for college admission
Open-mindedness and excitement
Nonjudgmental approach
Willingness to explore your deepest past and present self
Genuine engagement with the process