College Application Help: Do You Need It?

What is College Application Help and is it Worth it?

College application help is becoming increasingly more sought after as college acceptance rates drop and competition to get in increases. College application help encompasses a wide variety of services and expert help students can turn to for assistance with their college applications, academics, extracurriculars and more.

As it stands, the average acceptance rate for colleges in the US is around 68%. For the top colleges in the country, the acceptance can fall below 10%, with the average acceptance rate at top-ranked US colleges falling around 13%. For instance, Stanford University has an acceptance rate below 5%, whereas the acceptance rate at Cornell University hovers just over 10%. The competition to get into college is fierce, and your application needs to be perfect and polished from top to bottom. This is where college application help services come in. They can help you with anything from helping you develop your extracurriculars for college and how to write a killer college essay to how to find internships for high school students.

Do I Need College Application Help?

The big question is: do you need college application help to get accepted? The short answer is, no, it’s not a requirement. Plenty of students get accepted on their own without getting professional help putting together their application. However, there are some noteworthy benefits to getting professional application help.

Applying to college is a stressful experience, and it takes a great deal of work, preparation and discipline to put together an excellent application. If you’re applying to one of the Ivy League colleges or a competitive school, the pressure and stress can be even higher. Getting college application help can demystify the college application process, help you get organized and stay on task, and save you time and money.

If you’re on the fence about whether you need application help, ask yourself a few questions:

1. Am I applying to a very competitive college or a college with a very low acceptance rate?
2. Are there gaps in my application I’m not sure how to address, such as a low GPA or SAT score?
3. Am I feeling stressed or anxious about preparing my college applications on my own?
4. Is there a specific school or schools I am targeting I really want to get into?
5. Do I feel underprepared or unsure where to start with my college applications?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should consider getting some help with your college applications.

Average Acceptance Rate for Colleges in the US

Average Acceptance Rate for Top US Colleges

Who Can Benefit from College Application Help?

The short answer is, everyone can benefit from professional help with their college application. But some applicants are coming from a different perspective or time of their lives and may have different needs when it comes to college application help.

The ideal time to start working with expert college application help is when you are still in high school. This way, you have more time to develop your extracurricular and volunteer activities, get help studying for exams, raise your GPA or plan your educational and professional future.

Of course, plenty of students decide to take a gap year before college starts, or you may be a mature applicant, a reapplicant or an international student. Whatever your background and circumstance, it’s a good idea to get college application help at the start of your journey so you can make the most of the experience and streamline the process for yourself.

How does College Application Help Work?

So, how does college application help really work? What aspects of the college application experience does it help you with? Can it help boost your chances of admission?

Getting professional help with your college application can significantly improve your chances of admission, but it’s not a guarantee. It is still up to the student to put in the hard work of crafting their application and participating in various activities, studying for exams and achieving good grades. College application help can provide guidance, information, feedback and coaching.

College application help covers a wide variety of specialized services, as well as more general admissions consulting services. Here are a few key areas where these types of services can help you and how it works:

1. College Selection

One of the first things college application help can do is deciding which schools to apply to. College admissions consultants, for instance, can coach you on finding the schools which fit your needs and goals best. They can also match you with colleges based on your applicant profile by evaluating matriculant profiles at various colleges.

It’s always a good idea to research the schools you want to apply to and determine whether you are a competitive applicant, and most importantly, whether the school is the best choice for you. But it’s certainly an advantage to have some expert feedback on your profile and the list of colleges you plan to apply to.

For instance, if you’ve chosen schools that are not a good fit academically or will not provide the educational experience you are looking for, an advisor or admissions consultant can work with you to determine which schools might be a better fit, and that you have a better chance of getting into, saving yourself the time and hassle of preparing applications for inappropriate schools.

Worried your GPA is too low? Here's how you can get into college with a low GPA:

2. Application Guidance

College application help services can save you some pretty big headaches just by walking you through the application process and content. Most colleges in the US use the Common App system for admissions. This is a unified application system wherein you create one application you can send to multiple colleges. Check if your target colleges are on the list of schools which use the Common App system and start getting familiar with the application content. College application help services can guide you on writing a Common App essay or how to write your Common App Activities Section to maximize your extracurricular and work experience. They can also give you tips for filling out vague or confusing sections such as the Common App additional information section.

If you’re applying to any schools who do not use the Common App, and instead use an online application or other format, it is even more important to read the application instructions and admission requirements carefully. This way, you can avoid any application mistakes that could easily get your rejected.

3. College Essays

There is an entire subset of college application help dedicated to college essay review and college essay writing help. Your college essays are a significant part of your entire application, and they are extremely important to your candidacy. Your college essays help you distinguish yourself from other applicants, personalize your application and basically put a face to your application. College application help can look like a second set of eyes to proofread, expert feedback on your writing, or help with brainstorming.

Some colleges also ask applicants to submit additional writing samples, or you may choose to write a college interest statement or college diversity essay to round out your application. If writing is not your strong suit, or you are looking for help navigating these different types of writing samples for your application, getting an expert’s help is an excellent idea, as they can provide far more than just college essay tips. Each written portion of your application serves a specific purpose and needs to be well-written and free of errors, so asking for a professional eye to review it is an easy way to improve your application.

For extra help with writing your college essays, you can also read some sample college essays or Common App essay examples to get a better idea of the quality of writing and structure you need.

Here are some stellar college essay examples!

4. Extracurriculars and Experiences

Chances are you’re already enrolled in extracurricular activities you are passionate about. Or you may already have some volunteer and work experience on your high school resume. But what colleges really want to know is how those experiences have shaped your values and motivation, what you have learned from those experiences, and what skills they have taught you. You need to be able to demonstrate all of this clearly in your application. College application help services can work with you to identify your most important experiences and how to highlight them in your application. If you’re in need of more extracurricular experience or something specific to add to your application, application help services can also be a resource for finding summer programs for high school students, internships or work placements, volunteer opportunities and more.

5. College Recommendation Letters

Plenty of colleges ask for college recommendation letters, and this raises a lot of questions. Who do you ask for a recommendation letter? How do you ensure a good quality recommendation? What type of recommendation letter do you need? College advisors can give you advice on who to ask for a recommendation, how to ask and how to submit your letters. Certain colleges have very specific rules around submitting or asking for recommendation letters, too. Having a guide walk you through this part of your application can mean the difference between securing strong recommendation letters that add to your application or submitting letters that add nothing, or worse, hurt your chances.

6. Secondary or Supplemental Essays

Secondary or supplemental college essays are another part of the college admissions process that can throw first-time applicants off. Though they may seem less important by default, they can be critical to your success. Just like your college essays, you will be presented with a college essay topic or prompt to respond to.

Often, the prompts for secondary essays are designed to get to know you better or ask specific questions like “why this college?” or “what will you contribute to your college community?” They also have specific guidelines for submitting secondary essays and the required word count. College application help services can coach you on how to make the most of your supplemental essays and how to write an excellent essay for your target schools.

Here are the different types of supplemental college essays you need to know:

7. College Interview

Your college interview can be a significant source of stress, so college interview prep help is a great way to reduce your anxiety, learn the ins and outs of a professional interview, and give you time to practice your interview before the real thing. You can use an expert’s help to review common college admissions interview questions such as the classic “tell me about yourself” and learn how to craft strong answers to any kind of question.

Many colleges will have specific questions you can expect in the interview, and they may list these on their websites. Colleges may use different interview formats or may not conduct interviews at all. Ivy League interview questions can look a bit different from other colleges, since Ivies use the college interview for a different purpose than just interviewing students for admission. You can see differences even between top schools, for example between Yale interview questions and Princeton interview questions. Depending on which schools you’re applying to, your college application consultant can coach you on preparing for that specific school’s interview process, format and unique interview questions so there are no surprises.

Want some tips for acing your college interview? Watch this video:

8. Financial Planning and Scholarships

Financial planning and scholarship hunting are a huge part of your overall college planning. Applying for financial aid or scholarships often means filling out entirely separate applications, on top of your college applications. It requires a great deal of research, writing and work to get done. College application help often extends to help with applying for financial aid or scholarships. With the rising cost of tuition, many students have a need for good financial planning, and many do not know there are scholarships, awards, financial aid and loans they are eligible for that could help them fund their application.

Just for saving on tuition costs and getting help with complex financial aid or scholarship applications, college consulting services can be worth the expense, since you will save money in the long-term. There are many specialized consultants out there, such as international student scholarship consultants, who can help you answer how to fund your education.

9. Career Planning and Professional Development

Last but not least, working with college application help or professional admissions services can have long-term benefits and advantages. Aside from helping you apply for college, they can help you plan your future education and career trajectory, and help you develop professional skills you will use not just in college but throughout your life.

Many of the skills you’ll work on during your college applications, such as interviewing, writing, communication, research and more, are essential skills you’ll use throughout your career. A college advisor or admissions consultant can help you sharpen these skills and get a big head start on developing them before you even step foot in a college classroom.

How to Find the Best College Application Help

With so many options to choose from, how do you find the right college application help for you? Finding the right service for your needs, budget and timeline can take some time, but we have a quick guide to help you through that process:

FAQs

To your success,

Your friends at BeMo

BeMo Academic Consulting

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