United States

A college application is part of the competitive college admissions

College admissions in the United States

College admissions in the United States refers to the annual process of applying to institutions of higher education in the United States for undergraduate study. This usually takes place during the senior year of high school...

 system. Admissions departments usually require students to complete an application for admission that generally consists of academic records

Transcript (education)

In education, a transcript is an inventory of the courses taken and grades earned of a student throughout a course.- United States :In United States education, a transcript is a copy of a student's permanent academic record which usually means all courses taken, all grades received, all...

, personal essays (as well as samples of high school work), letters of recommendation, and a list of extracurricular activities. Some schools require the SAT or ACT, while others make it optional. Deadlines for admission applications are established and published by each college or university.

Most college bound students receive application assistance and advice from their high school guidance counselor. Students who are transferring from a community college to a four-year college obtain guidance from their college counselor.

Recently, aided by marketing firms, colleges have begun sending out "fast-track" applications. These applications typically waive the application fee, don't require essays, and assured an admittance decision within a shortened time-frame. Critics warn that these types of applications are misleading, because they give the impression that the student is pre-approved to be admitted and may not explore other colleges because this easy option is provided to them. Fast-track applications can be called “Advantage Application,” "Candidate’s Choice Application," and "Distinctive Candidate Application."

United Kingdom

Almost all British universities

British universities

Universities in the United Kingdom have generally been instituted by Royal Charter, Papal Bull, Act of Parliament or an instrument of government under the Education Reform Act 1988; in any case generally with the approval of the Privy Council, and only such recognised bodies can award degrees of...

 are members of UCAS, a clearing house for undergraduate admissions.
Applicants submit a single application for up to 5 courses at different universities. There is a maximum limit of 4 choices for medicine, dentistry and veterinary science courses.

The application also includes current and expected qualifications, employment, criminal history, a personal statement, and a reference (which generally includes predicted grades if the applicant is still in education).

Additional forms are required for application to Oxbridge

Oxbridge

Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status...

. One can only apply to a particular college at Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 or Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

 in a single year.
Many Oxbridge applicants are assessed through academic interviews and sometimes further testing.

"Gaming" the college application process

In 2006, the Boston Globe reported that business schools were concerned about a growing problem with applications prepared with the help of consultant

Consultant

A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...

s. The consultants, for fees of $50 to $3000, promise to increase an applicant's chances of acceptance by coaching or assisting with the writing of applications. One consultant was quoted as saying "The schools refuse to admit [it] but the fact is, if you know the schools, there's a real formula..." The consultant went on to say that admissions officers at Harvard

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 look for applicants' leadership experience and ability to work through others, Stanford

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

 is keen on personal revelations, family dynamics, and identity politics

Identity politics

Identity politics are political arguments that focus upon the self interest and perspectives of self-identified social interest groups and ways in which people's politics may be shaped by aspects of their identity through race, class, religion, sexual orientation or traditional dominance...

, while Wharton

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton was the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States...

 rewards applicants who tell admissions committees in personal terms why Wharton—and not the other schools—is the perfect fit for them.

The Globe characterized admissions officials as "rankled" by such statements, and director of MBA admissions at Wharton indicate that coaching can work against an applicant: "Sometimes you read an essay and you lose a sense of who the individual is because the essay is overpolished." Harvard has responded by requiring all applicants to sign a pledge attesting that their application is "my own, honest statement," and requiring applicants to give permission to Harvard to contact all persons named in the application for verification purposes. The article says that the three business schools recently began using private investigators to verify the work experience listed in all their candidates' applications.

External links

• The Common Application, a form accepted by over 200 colleges and universities in the United States.
• Universal College Application, a new application made by the same people as the Common App, and accepted by over 40 colleges and universities in the US.
• college.gov - U.S. Department of Education