You’ve done all your research and you’ve picked the schools you want to go to. Now, how do you get in? We wish it was that easy to just tell you what to do to get in to the college of your choice. There are ways to advantage yourself in this process and it all begins freshman year.

All colleges are looking for the “well-rounded” student. This means they are interested not only in your academic background but also your personal history, i.e. how do you spend your free time? Your extracurricular development over the course of your high school years will be essential to applying to colleges.

Most colleges will consider the following criteria to be of utmost importance in deciding who gets in:

High School Record (approx. 60-80% of decision)

This includes:

• GPA

• The quality and rigor of the courses you selected in relation to what was available at SMES

• Patterns in grades

• SAT I, SAT II, and ACT exams

• Academic performance within the context of your school

Non-academic criteria (approx. 20-40% of decision)

This includes:

• Extracurricular activities (both within SMES and outside of school with church, civic organizations, community service, etc.)

• Quality of your essays, personal statement and what is revealed in letters of recommendation

• Alumni affiliation

• Geographic preferences

• Ethnicity

• Extenuating circumstances

By far, the most important criteria is your academic performance at SMES. While SMES is recognized as a highly challenging curriculum in comparison to some other high schools, a poor performance here will not be viewed favorably by admission committees. Colleges want to see you rise to the challenge of a competitive high school environment, pursuing courses in the core academic disciplines and performing well in them.