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Even though your brain is crammed with college admissions info, somehow the crazy process of applying to college still feels like a scavenger hunt.

That鈥檚 where this list comes in. Wisdom from those who鈥檝e already tread this path — plus some lesser-known facts — may change your mind and your child鈥檚 approach to this process鈥� and it just might set you at ease.

Check out The ultimate guide to college and career readiness. College and career readiness is a fundamental part of every child鈥檚 K-12 education. Our guide provides practical insights to help you support your child鈥檚 path through high school and toward a successful college experience and a rewarding career.

1. Don鈥檛 try to read every college admissions guidebook.

   One or two good ones will be plenty.鈥� If you鈥檝e browsed college admissions books online, you know there are dozens to choose from. Don鈥檛 overload your shopping cart with promising-sounding, anxiety-provoking titles! That way lies madness, and let鈥檚 face it, you鈥檒l never get around to reading them all. Limit yourself to one or two good titles and go from there. We鈥檝e done the vetting for you. Here are five college admissions books worth reading.

2. Leadership matters

   College admissions officers admit they鈥檙e attracted to applicants who鈥檝e been recognized by their teachers or peers for their leadership qualities. So if your kid is a student council president or a team captain, that鈥檚 terrific. Luckily, leadership comes in lots of guises, and it鈥檚 definitely not too late for your child to get immersed in an activity and be recognized by their teachers, coaches, or peers for their excellence. Perhaps they can pursue being a Boys/Girls club state representative, a senior patrol leader, a student mentor, or hold an office in the drama club. If they鈥檙e not currently involved in an activity they鈥檙e passionate about, encourage them to start a new group, club, or sport and get it accepted as a school-sponsored activity.

3. Apply “The Grandparent Test”

   Your child鈥檚 social media presence is fair game as part of their college application; schools don鈥檛 want bad apples disturbing their campus. Encourage your teenager to clean up what鈥檚 out there and be cautious about what they post from now on. A 2024 found student social media posts are “fair game in the holistic review process” at prestigious universities. Have your teenager Google themselves to see what鈥檚 out there and delete embarrassing posts, photos, and captions to clean up their online presence. From now on, tell your teen to apply what IvyWise calls, 鈥淭he Grandparent Test,鈥� which works like this: 鈥淚f you wouldn鈥檛 want your grandparents to see it, don鈥檛 put it online.鈥�

4. When it comes to community service, think quality, not quantity

   Yes, colleges do still care about community service; according to the , a majority of college admissions personnel say a student鈥檚 community service experience has a positive impact on whether or not they are accepted. But that doesn鈥檛 mean you have to pad your resume with a lot of volunteer activities that don鈥檛 matter to you. Committing to something you care about over time tells colleges more about your values and what鈥檚 important to you than participating more superficially in a long list of activities.

5. Ask around

   Social networking, effective since ancient times, is a solid way to gain insight about where to apply. I鈥檝e been asking everyone for their recommendations because my daughter is in 11th grade. Family members have interesting reports on Macalester, Lewis & Clark, and University of North Carolina Asheville. One neighbor recommends Lawrence University; another says her son loves Whitman. I鈥檝e also taken to querying strangers wearing their alma mater鈥檚 sweatshirts, which has led to insights on Pepperdine, Middlebury, and Georgia Tech. I also like to check college Facebook pages. , for example, has excellent oak trees, but reviews of the education are mixed. Cynthia Muchnick, author of suggests asking parents who are a year or two ahead of you in the process. 鈥淭hey have great insights,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd they鈥檙e generally more generous sharing it since their child is not directly competing with yours.鈥�

6. Freshman year grades DO count (for some colleges)

   Maybe your daughter was distracted by the social adjustment in ninth grade, or middle school didn鈥檛 prepare her for the academic challenges of high school. You didn鈥檛 worry about her dismal 2.5 GPA that year because you heard, 鈥渇reshman grades don鈥檛 count.鈥� But at some schools, they do.鈥↖s your daughter鈥檚 future irretrievably ruined? No. Everyone likes a comeback story, including admissions counselors. 鈥淚f a student starts off with a less-than-stellar academic performance, an upward trend will be noted and appreciated,鈥� claims Kyra Tyer, former admissions officer at Brandeis University. Skyrocketing marks in 10th, 11th, and 12th grade can offset an abysmal start. Also, your child鈥檚 lapse-turned-fix can be powerful fodder for an application essay.

7. Guidance counselors have insider info

   A good guidance counselor can tell you about college planning sessions, scholarships, and college fairs. They can also give you the inside scoop on which colleges regard graduates of your child鈥檚 high school favorably and which schools tend to admit only one student (or none) each year. Ditto for which schools consider class rank — and which ones don鈥檛 look at rank. Counselors should know the published admittance rates for schools as well as unpublished info like how many students from your area applied and were admitted last year — and how many of those admitted applied early action (see #12 below). They may steer your child toward excellent colleges and universities you鈥檝e never considered. And, since they know your school inside and out, they should be able to steer your child toward high school teachers who write great letters of recommendation (and away from teachers who tend to miss deadlines).

8. Some colleges are free. Actually free!

   Amazingly, there are . Many of the free schools have specific requirements or require labor in exchange for your education. For example, asks students to work on campus 15 hours a week, plus two more 40-hour work weeks. Many highly selective universities, including Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, offer free tuition to students from families whose income and assets are below a specific level though room and board may not be covered.

9. American students can study in Europe — and it’s free or low cost

   If your teenager would enjoy going to college abroad, many nations, including Germany, Finland, France, Sweden, Norway, Slovenia, and Brazil, provide free college education — often in English. Germany is particularly welcoming, and they have excellent schools. Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, for example, was — ahead of prestigious U.S. schools like Brown (#58), Washington University #69), Emory (#98), Rice (#112), Tufts (#179) and Notre Dame (#190).

10. Apply for scholarships early and often

    Few parents and students realize the number of awards and scholarships that students can start applying for as early as freshman year in high school. Check them out at , , and . For example, the asks applicants to submit 250 words or less answering the question, “Would you rather be smart, funny or rich? Why?” The provides 105 $25,000 scholarships to students who “Display integrity and perseverance in overcoming adversity.鈥濃�� Your teen has nothing to lose by applying, and much to gain — including practice writing essays, an important skill that will assist them in their writing classes, their SAT and ACT tests, and in their college application essays.

11. It鈥檚 not just the grade that matters, it鈥檚 how rigorous the class is

    Straight-A鈥檚 in easy courses can be less persuasive than a B in an advanced class. A from the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) rated grades in college prep courses and strength of the high school curriculum as the first and third most important factors in admission decisions (grades in all courses was #2). Challenging course loads indicate to college admissions officers that your kid is gritty, determined, and willing to push themselves. Venkates Swaminathan, founder of college coaching company , puts it this way, 鈥淭ell your kids to take challenging courses, but only ones they鈥檒l enjoy!鈥� If your teenager is thinking of studying engineering or math, have them take AP Calculus and Physics, but don鈥檛 also feel compelled to take AP English or European History. The key, he says, is to take a challenging — but not overwhelming — course load.

12. Applying early decision or early action improves chances

    According to the College Board, 鈥�.鈥� ED and EA applicants apply earlier in the fall — way before regular applications are due — and it can substantially increase your child鈥檚 chances of getting into their first-choice school. ED 鈥�,鈥� claims Lora Lewis, educational consultant at Unigo.com. For example, in 2025, the was a miniscule 8.8% but the early decision rate was 26.4%. The risk associated with this reward, however, is that ED is binding, so if they鈥檙e accepted, students must attend that college. Early action, on the other hand, is non-binding, so students can still go elsewhere even if they鈥檙e admitted. EA applications typically provide less of an admissions advantage, but not always. Check out the most recent EA, ED, and “RD” (regular decision) at over 200 public and private universities. There are : students can apply EA to multiple schools (unless the school has a restriction in place, like Princeton University), and for students seeking financial assistance, EA applications give you time to review aid packages from other schools to make the right financial choice, too.

13. You can get an elite education for public school prices

    Would your teen prefer a small, cozy learning environment over a school with 30,000 undergraduates? Surprise! Many large universities offer honors programs that function as intimate institutes inside the more massive system. It鈥檚 like VIP treatment for select students. For example, Arizona State University (ASU) has a total enrollment of over 65,000 students, but ASU鈥檚 has only 6,198 pupils, with many attending small honors-only seminars. Barrett students also have their own dormitory, dining hall, and computer center. at the University of South Carolina also has its own residence hall, nearly 600 honors-only classes, personalized attention, and an average class size of only 16 students. Check out this list of the .