Ellen Richards Educational Services

Applying to college will always be stressful, but knowing the trends in college admissions, can cut down on that stress a lot! When you start the college admissions process, it's important to be smart, but it’s more important to be yourself.

As the volume of college applications remains high and technology continues to improve, it makes sense for colleges to begin adopting more streamlined options for application processing.

Students who show sustained and active involvement in community service are more attractive to colleges than those who just did a few weeks of community service to put it on their resumes.

For many students, achieving a high GPA and a high score on the SATs is important—and for students who struggle with standardized test taking, the pressure to perform well on these tests can feel overwhelming.

Early admission has continued to grow, and this past year both elite schools reinstated their early action programs, signaling that the practice is here to stay.

For these students, getting accepted to a college, something that might seem easy to a student who has never had to struggle with a serious personal or family problem can seem both incredibly important and nearly impossible.