Admissions officials say that the courses you take and the grades you get are the most important factor in selecting students. What courses should you take and when?

Learn all about courses and grades.

Colleges really care about the kind of people they admit. After grades and test scores, admissions people look for people who choose one, two, three activities they love to do. Dare to be yourself.

How to choose the best extracurricular activities.

Developing good relationships with your teachers and high school counselor is important because admissions people pay a lot of attention to their recommendations.

Set the stage for getting outstanding recommendations.

While hundreds of colleges don't require any admissions tests, many colleges and universities do. What are the SAT, PSAT, ACT, PLAN, Subject Tests and AP tests? Which ones should you take and how do you prepare for them?

Info about tests and test preparation.

The most important aspect of college admissions is coming up with a great college list that fits who you are as a student and a person. Learn what you can do to find colleges you love and who will love you back.

How to to put together a great college list.

One of the best ways of finding out if a college is a good choice for you is to visit the campus. Learn what to see and do while you're there.

What's involved in a successful college visit.

College admissions people tend to favor applicants who make contact with them before they actually apply for admission. Your showing interest in colleges can be a "tipping factor" in getting admitted.

Get the most out of your relationships with colleges.

After grades and test scores, admissions officers want to know how you spend time in and out of school. An activities resume is not only a way of providing information to colleges about who you are and what you do, it is also a good way to learn about yourself.

Create a really effective admissions activities resume.

Personal stories and anecdotes are one of the most powerful weapons to use in application essays and interviews. Find out how to make them work for you.

Identify personal stories to use in essays and interviews.

You have four decisions to make with early applications: 1) whether to apply early, 2) which early program to use, 3) to which college/s you want to apply early, and 4) are you ready to commit to one school if you apply Early Decision? What does it mean to apply Early Action or Early Decision?

Whether and how to use Early Action and Early Decision apps.

While every phase of the college admissions process is important, nothing is more important than the application itself. Learn how to be "just a little bit better and just a little bit different" than the competition. It's really not that hard.

What you need to do to make your applications stand out.

Except for testing, nothing scares college applicants more than having to write application essays. Find out the steps you can take to make essay writing a lot easier than you think.

Step by step directions for writing college application essays.

While bragging is a real turn-off for college admissions officials, it is a real turn-on for them to read letters of recommendation from your counselor and teachers who sing your praises. What you can you do to make that happen!

What to provide recommenders to help them sing your praises.

Few colleges require interviews, some recommend them and a whole bunch of schools don't even offer them. If you have a chance to interview, take it. Interviews almost always help, rather than hurt your chances for admission.

Learn how to shine in admissions interviews.

Dealing with Deferrals, Waitlists and Your Final Choice. How to deal with deferrals, waitlists and appeals, as well as decide on which school you want to attend.

Dealing with deferrals and waitlists and deciding where to go.