Many seniors at Beverly have already begun to apply to various colleges and universities across the United States. T.his application process can be confusing and stressful for many seniors, but there are ways to help prepare for these applications.

In an interview, college counselors Jennifer Price and Matthew Negersmith shared advice on preparing for college applications and doing a deep dive into the application process for students.   

When asked what colleges are looking for in students’ applications, Negersmith shared that “colleges aren’t just looking at your grades to see if you would be the right fit on their campus…Colleges are looking for a handful of things in students’ applications, especially just beyond your grades.” 

SAT and ACT testing have played a big role in seniors’ lives, with over a million students in the class of 2023 taking the SAT at least once in high school, according to the College Board Newsroom. But some schools don’t even require ACT or SAT scores as of recently, but your scores can be helpful in the admissions process, even if the school you are applying to doesn’t require the test scores. 

“It depends on the school, for example, the UC or CAL states are not going to look at them [your scores], but it can also be something that helps in your application,” said Negersmith

For some students, their experience with the application process may be difficult due to recurring deadlines. But for some, it is best to start writing your essay the summer before you are going to apply to schools.

“The advice that I would give would be to figure out what you want to apply to and to start writing the essay in the summer,” said senior Race Findley.

Beverly has a large variety of AP-level classes that students are recommended to pursue.

AP classes are college-level classes, and being enrolled and doing well in those classes shows the college admissions team that you are prepared to take on a college-level class.

 “When students are taking on more AP-level classes on campus, they are demonstrating to that college that willingness to take on college-level courses,” Price shared.

So if students take AP classes, then they shouldn’t worry about college admission