How To Get Into Your Dream College

Going to The University of Texas at Austin has always been a dream of mine ever since I can remember. However, my road to get there took a-lot of effort.

The acceptance rate at UT Austin is very competitive, and let’s just say it took me two tries to get in. I am going to share my tips for getting into your dream school.

I also recently uploaded a video on how I got into The University of Texas at Austin. So, if UT is your dream school make sure to check out the video for further guidance.

Decide Your Major

The competitiveness of getting into your dream school may vary based on your major. The important first step of getting into your dream school, is to apply for a major that you have a chance getting in for.

I don’t mean to compromise your dream major for acceptance. However, in my situation it worked out. Quick synopsis is I went to Texas Tech University and I was a Finance major in Rawls College of Business. When I decided I wanted to transfer to my dream school, UT, I took a look into the different schools and their acceptance rates.

I found that if I tried to get into UT’s business school, McCombs, for Finance, I had a much slimmer chance of getting into UT period. With McCombs being the number one business school, the competition would be fierce.

I found that advertising was a major I would be a lot more interested in. It embodies elements of business and creativity. This is a better suit for my interests regardless. Advertising is in the communications school which is seemingly easier to get in than their business school.

If getting into your dream school is more important than keeping the major you initially wanted, I would recommend looking at your options and the variation of acceptance rates within the college’s schools (Business, Communications, Liberal Arts, etc.).

you might even end up with a major you love more, like I did!

Start the Application Process

Once you’ve decided on a major within a specific school of your dream college, you will start the application process.

In Texas there are two applications to go through. If you’re applying to a Texas school you must complete the “Apply Texas” app first. Then you will complete the application for the college of your choice. For example, UT.

The easiest way to find out the deadline is to do a simple google search. So, find out when your applications are due and do them. Putting off the application never ends well, and the essays will creep up on you. So, get a head start.

Now let’s go over different parts of the application and how you can do them to your best ability and get accepted into your dream school.

The Application:

Resume

Your extended college resume should be as long as you can make it. I included everything I did in High School through my sophomore year of college. The outline for my resume looked like this:

High School, GPA, years attended

College(s), Major, GPA, years attended

Honors and Awards

Extra Curricular Activities

Community Service

Work Experience

I managed to have 5-10 items under each section (except for the number of schools I attended). A pro tip is to also describe each item with as many necessary bullet points about the job/position/award/etc. Don’t be ridiculous, but if you can make whatever experience you have sound prestige and rigorous, you’ll be on the right track!

For reference. my extended college resume was a total of 13 pages.

Honors, Awards, and Extra Curricular

List all of your honors, awards, and extra curricular activities. Include as much as you can! School’s like to see how broad your horizons are and your ability to juggle a lot at once.

Community Service

If you haven’t volunteered in a while, make sure to do so now. Go online and look up local volunteer opportunities. Community service gets you brownie points. Universities want well-rounded citizens.

p.s. I had 130+ hours of community service hours from my freshman year of high school to sophomore year of college added together.

Work Experience

Make sure to include all of your job experience. From waiting tables at restaurants- to babysitting your neighbors children. In my extended resume, I made sure to have a good amount of bullet points explaining my responsibility at each job.

p.s. the more prestige you can make the job the better.

Essays

There are usually two or three essay prompts for the application. My advice for the essays is to tell a compelling story. Talk about hardships you’ve endured. The more you make them feel for you, the better your chance at getting in. This is one of those times in life that it’s okay to make people feel sorry for you when it comes to getting in to your dream college.

Don’t focus on sounding smart. Don’t use a synonym finder and replace simple words with SAT words. Been there, and it didn’t help me.

The people reading your application will know how “smart” you are by your grades and resume. The essays are the only time they get a chance to see the person behind the paperwork.

Transcripts

Make sure your college receives your high school transcript. If you’re transferring colleges, make sure to send a transcript from each university and community college you have atteneded.

Make sure to call the college you’re applying to and confirm they received your transcript. Sometimes there are technical difficulties, and college deadlines are not forgiving.

So, ya. That is my advice on getting in to your dream college.

If you do not get into your dream school the first time- try transferring in after a year! A lot of the time freshmen fail out and make room for you to transfer in!

Work Hard

Lastly, I want to encourage you to push yourself in your academics. Maintain a high GPA in high school or college, in order to get into your dream school. Hold yourself to a high standard. You might miss parties and social gatherings, but it will be worth it.

I hope this was helpful! Make sure to check out more college content on my YouTube.

xoxo,

Amanda Jewell