Grades and Community Service: Will having 50 hours of community service at X Club help me get into Y University? Will 100 hours? The short answer is: probably not. For top universities, academics are paramount because these applications are number games. Some numbers are more important than others. Generally speaking, grades and course rigor is 50% of the fight. 25% is SAT or ACT scores. (Quick side note: SAT and ACT scores are interchangeable. A good ACT score will make a terrible SAT...

Personal Statement: Especially for STEM majors, you should show interest in your desired field. For example, if you want to go into Mechanical Engineering, write about something that you built (reference my personal statement essay regarding my go-karting experience). You need to set yourself apart from the rest. Write about something that is completely unique to you. If you write something that sounds like someone else can do the exact same...

I Declare That You Declare: Going in as undeclared is not the way to go. Make your college plans now. If you go into college not knowing your ultimate goal, you will be spending a lot of money in tuition,...

Nonessential Exams are Essentially Essential: Generally speaking, the only required exams are the SAT or ACT. But why stop there? Those two exams can only show admission officers so much. Give them more data points for them to analyze you with. Take SAT Subject Tests to show that you're good at other subjects. If you happen to like United States History, take the SAT United States History Subject Test. What's great about SAT Subject Tests is that you can continue studying for your AP class and exam, and you will be simultaneously studying for the SAT Subject Test equivalent. It's...

Do it With a Purpose: Directly preceding this piece of advice, I did say that 100 hours of community service will make up for one of those pesky Bs. However, in the end, quality trumps quantity. Student 1: "I made cards for cancer patients in the hospital." Student 2: "I organized and managed my town's local benefit...

Personal Projects: Personal projects will make you stand out. Most applicants don't do any during high school. One of my classmates built a flight simulator during his junior year of high school. Though he didn't have the best grades (mostly Bs and...

Summer Jobs: In my opinion, jobs are will really help your application. Find a summer job! Food service jobs are cool. But jobs that apply to your intended major will...