Why THIS College?

Answering college supplemental questions - those questions that are uniquely for each specific college can be an important step for many of the applications, especially for the more competitive schools. One of the common questions you may see will be asking why you are interested in their college in particular.

These types of questions are taking you back to the basics.  Why do you like a particular college?  What is it about the school that made it stand out to you and left you with the impression that this would be a good place for you to spend your collegiate years?

Hopefully, you have an idea about what you'd answer for both of those questions for each school that you are including on your list of schools where you are going to apply.  And, let me clear - you should like something about every college that you are considering and you should feel good about each of the schools if you are applying there!

In addition to those answers mattering for deciding where you are going to apply, your answers to these questions are essential when you are trying to answer college-specific essay questions - especially if they ask you a question related to what you like about their school.  They may phrase it in different ways, but the bottom line is that they are trying to determine why you believe their school is a good fit for you.

Remember, the admissions officers who work for the school already think their school is great and they know about the wonderful opportunities available so you need to take it beyond saying that they have a great location, outstanding professors, a strong academic reputation and wonderful weather.  You need to take it to the next level by identifying specific aspects at the school where you can see yourself contributing to the school and the particular offerings that you plan to take advantage of while you are in college.

Good luck in searching for the right college fit for you and for conveying why it's a good fit in your essays. Also, remember, tomorrow night, Monday, October 13th from 5-6:30 the counselors will be hosting a College Application Completion Workshop in the Commons. If you're not already done with your application, please bring your chromebook/ laptop and let's work on making some solid progress together! And for those of you not planning to attend college following high school, don't forget that you can come to the Counseling Center tomorrow night at 6pm for a Pre-Apprenticeship presentation. Lots of great opportunities tomorrow evening and I hope to see you there!