Before applying to college, students need to understand the criteria by which their application will be evaluated.  This information helps students to discern if admission to a college is within their reach and the pieces of the application that need to be emphasized.

Factors Influencing the Admission Decision

Admission officers will base their decision on the following items (order of importance will vary slightly by college):

• course selection (in the context of high school and its rigor)
• grades in individual courses
• GA's GPA at face value (typically state universities and larger privates) OR a recalculation (varies by college, often including only the main academic subjects:  English, Math, Social Science, Foreign Language and Science)
• standardized testing scores (some colleges are standardized testing optional)
• extracurricular activities and leadership roles
• essays and short responses
• accomplishments and awards
• teacher and counselor recommendations
• interviews

In today's admission process, there are a number of other factors that can influence the admission decision:

• A special talent
  • EXAMPLE - Playing the trombone, conducting college-level scientific research, playing a sport, etc.
• Legacy status
  • Defined uniquely by each college, but generally, having a parent or grandparent who graduated from the institution
• Demonstrated interest
  • Making contact with the college to "demonstrate" your interest, ie. visiting a campus, attending a tour and information session.  Maintaining email contact with an admission counselor, faculty member, or coach is another way of demonstrating interest.
  • Early Decision (ED) demonstrates interest most powerfully since it is a binding agreement to attend that institution if admitted.
• Geographic diversity
  • Most colleges like to have students representing a wide geographic range on campus.  When applying to colleges outside the Northeast, in the case of GA, students may give themselves an added advantage in the admission process.
• Ethnicity
  • Colleges and universities like to attract whatever groups are under-represented to their campuses.  As a result, groups considered under-represented on a campus may have an easier time gaining admission than another group considered over-represented.
• Gender equity
  • Some liberal arts colleges are shy on male applicants.  Being a male could possibly increase an applicant's chance for admission at these colleges.
  • Some majors struggle to attract applicants of one sex.  For example, nursing programs often seek male applicants and engineering programs often seek female applicants.
• Out of state applicant to a state university
  • Because of the state budget crunch, many state schools are actively seeking out-of-state applicants because they pay higher tuition fees than in-state students.
• Ability to pay
  • Being able to afford the cost of tuition, room and board without any financial aid or scholarships can be an advantage, especially at private colleges or universities that are not need blind.

It is vital to bear in mind that each of these factors can influence the admission process, but not all of them do at any given institution.  Institutional priorities vary by college and by year! One college may consider a family’s ability to pay, for example, and another may be “need blind,” meaning that it does not consider a student’s need when rendering a decision.  Being aware of these factors elucidates the complexity of admission decisions and the simple fact that the college admission process is not necessarily fair.

Ways to Apply to College – Application Plans
The National Association for College Admission Counseling delineates the following application plans:

Non-Restrictive Application Plans: These plans allow students to wait until May 1 to confirm enrollment.

Regular Decision is the application process in which a student submits an application to an institution by a specified date and receives a decision within a reasonable and clearly stated period of time. A student may apply to other institutions without restriction.

Rolling Admission is the application process in which an institution reviews applications as they are completed and renders admission decisions to students throughout the admission cycle. A student may apply to other institutions without restriction.

Early Action (EA) is the application process in which students apply to an institution of preference and receive a decision well in advance of the institution’s regular response date. Students admitted under Early Action are not obligated to accept the institution’s offer of admission or to submit a deposit prior to May 1. Under non-restrictive Early Action, a student may apply to other colleges.

Restrictive Application Plans: The following plans allow institutions to limit students from applying to other early plans.

Early Decision (ED) is the application process in which students make a commitment to a first choice institution where, if admitted, they definitely will enroll. While pursuing admission under an Early Decision plan, students may apply to other institutions, but may have only one Early Decision application pending at any time. Should a student who applies for financial aid not be offered an award that makes attendance possible, the student may decline the offer of admission and be released from the Early Decision commitment. The institution must notify the applicant of the decision within a reasonable and clearly stated period of time after the Early Decision deadline. Usually, a nonrefundable deposit must be made well in advance of May 1. The institution will respond to an application for financial aid at or near the time of an offer of admission. Institutions with Early Decision plans may restrict students from applying to other early plans. Institutions will clearly articulate their specific policies in their Early Decision agreement.

Restrictive Early Action (REA) is the application process in which students apply to an institution of preference and receive a decision well in advance of the institution’s regular response date. Institutions with Restrictive Early Action plans place restrictions on student applications to other early plans. Institutions will clearly articulate these restrictions in their Early Action policies and agreements with students. Students who are admitted under Restrictive Early Action are not obligated to accept the institution’s offer of admission or to submit a deposit prior to May 1.

Availability of Applications

Students can begin to access and complete applications in July prior to their senior year.  The College Counseling team strongly encourages rising seniors to work on their applications in the summer.  While all GA juniors will have completed the Common Application in College Seminar and an essay in Speech and Composition, many colleges require additional essays and most students will need to revise the work they did junior year.

The Common Application

With approximately 400 colleges and universities subscribing to the Common Application, most GA students will use this form to apply to at least one college.  Each July 1^st the application relevant to the rising senior class is uploaded to the Common Application website.  In addition to completing this one application to apply to numerous colleges, many colleges also require a supplement. 

Unique Applications for Individual Colleges

If colleges do not subscribe to the Common Application, they typically have their own application that can be found on the college’s website.  Students will find that colleges often publish their updated applications in the July prior to the student’s senior year.