General Tips

Here are some general tips regarding the admissions process. If you have more tips that you think would benefit others, email our development team at [email protected]

Cohesiveness & Storytelling

One of the most important aspects of a college application is the cohesion of one’s application. Cohesion is the idea that there is an overarching theme that spans the different sections of your application. When creating a cohesive application, it is important for you to think about who you are, what type of profile your application is forming, and if your motivations make sense. Cohesiveness directly plays into the storytelling aspect, the idea of showing and not telling, and indirectly giving reasons for your motivation to study specific subjects. Your activities should be the topics for some of your supplements, which relate to ideas touched upon in recommendations and aspirations. Themes should emerge that build into a cohesive story. For example, if you want to study physics, you should have reasons for said interest that comes out in your supplements and an exploration of that passion that comes out in your activities.

Taboo

Generally speaking, admissions counselors want you to be honest about your life experiences. However, there are certain topics that we would recommend students to steer away from. These topics are considered taboo in college admissions committees. For example, topics such as drugs, sex, crime, and violence especially in explicit contexts can be an instant turn-off for admission committees. While the Kollegio team acknowledges that this might take away from expressing your experiences, writing about these topics in an explicit or even limited capacity may affect your chances of admission.