Anatomy of a College Application
When it comes to crafting college applications, getting started can be very overwhelming. There are many different types of applications out there, but most of them tend to have the same basic structure or “skeleton.”
The Anatomy of a College Application is here to help you think through the different sections and to ultimately put together a strong application that best highlights your individual strengths and skills.
Rather than just listing the standard sections of a college application, we decided to break down the basic parts into manageable pieces that are hopefully easier to remember and understand.
For all the visual or hands-on learners out there, feel free to use the Anatomy of a College Application worksheet to follow along and complete at your own pace.
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The Bones: Demographic Information
All skeletons are built out of bones. The demographics section introduces what you’re made of. It also helps the admissions officers or committee get a general sense of who you are and where you come from.
On any application you’ll be asked a series of questions including your name, birthday, high school, and contact information. Next, you’ll answer some questions about your family, which generally include information about who you live with, your parents’ levels of education, the ages of your siblings, and more.
In the College Essay Journal there are whole sections devoted to your identity, family, and home that can help answer these questions. It will also store all the information in one central place.
The Brain: Academics
Now that you have the bones, the next piece is the brain. This section provides an opportunity to share information about the classes you’ve taken throughout high school, any standardized test scores you’ve received, and other academic pieces. For most applications, your counselor will be asked to provide a school report. This gives some additional context into your high school, the grading scale, type of curriculum, extracurricular opportunities, and more.
The Muscles: Activities
Flex your strengths! This is an opportunity to really showcase how you’ve spent your time outside the classroom. There’s such a wide variety of extracurriculars that sometimes applicants might not even realize something “counts” on their activities list. Activities could include anything from clubs and student organizations to sports teams, part-time jobs, internships, volunteer positions, family responsibilities, and much more.
On the application you will also have the opportunity to share awards or honors that you have received.
The College Essay Journal has two “activities” sections that will help you construct this list and reflect on your involvement in a positive and mindful way. You can also check out our resources page for some free activity list worksheets!
The Heart: Personal Statement
The heart is the most vital organ in the body. In the college application, the heart is the student’s personal statement. It truly gives life to the whole application! I’ve heard from many students that this particular college essay can be a source of stress or heartache. But that is definitely not the goal. This space is meant for you to share something about your background, community, an experience you've had, how you have overcome a challenge or even a topic of your own choosing. There’s no right or wrong answer!
The Legs: Supplemental and Short Response Questions
This is often the piece that truly can help a student “stand out!” That said, this section will depend on the specific college or university. Some schools may ask a few short answer questions to learn more about your academic interests or extracurricular activities. Others may want to read a description of a community that you are a part of or to see a list of books that you have recently read. And some won’t have any supplemental requirements at all! The most common supplemental question will ask “why are you a good fit for this school?” Colleges and universities are simply trying to determine if you’re a good fit for them and vice versa.
The Hands: Letters of Recommendation
The application process wouldn’t be complete without the hands that lift you up, point you in the right direction, applaud your victories, and cheer you on. The recommendation section gives you the opportunity to have a teacher, mentor, or another adult share information on your behalf. This can provide insight into who you are as a student, your personal qualities, your accomplishments, and more.
The Appendix: Additional Information
The additional information section is not an application requirement. However, some schools or applicants may choose to include it. Providing additional information might mean include submitting a research project, an official résumé, creative writing piece, performance, audition, portfolio, or a number of other things. Like the appendix, these is not required and your application will be fine with or without it. In fact, most students won’t need to include any additional information with their application.
The Voice: Interviews
Some schools might give you the opportunity to add your voice to a college application through an interview. Interviews can vary from school to school. Some are informational, some are evaluative, some are with admissions officers, others with current students or alumni.
Check out each school’s website to learn more about their interview offerings!
The Body: Context
Last but not least, the skeleton cannot exist without the skin, nerves, and tissue. In an application this is your individual context, background, neighborhood, communities, etc.
As you write, we encourage you to reflect on this question: what do you want colleges to know about you and where you come from?
For everything else, just trust your gut.
We encourage you to stay mindful and present while working on each part of the college application. Take breaks and take your time. You’ve got this!
