NBC News interviewed Eric Furda, the dean of admissions at University of Pennsylvania. Here are some tips he revealed during the interview.
-Be honest with each other when talking with your parents
-Think about academic goals, your career plans, and the distance from your home
-See where this institution invests in: for example, music, engineering, math and science are the priorities this institutions has.
-Check your affordability
-Take challenging courses senior year
-Admission officers look at grade trend
-One extra recommendation is fine, but three can be distracting
-During campus tour, go and see library where students hang out and college quad where students come out of their classes and hear their conversations; go to information sessions and tours and see what their day to day life style looks like
-Do not avoid math, language, or science in senior year and no C in AP courses!
*College Search Checklist*
-Start looking locally to determine type of school
-Research admission office web pages
-Look at admitted class profile
-Write down impressions of tour
-Ask to sit in on a class
-Begin scholarship search
-Read and volunteer during summer
-Begin work on common app essay
-Check admission policy on extra recommendations and materials
From The Choice Blog- The New York Times: http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/college-tips-for-juniors-from-an-ivy-league-dean/