A strong application clearly and concisely explains academic achievement, and the Common App Honors section helps students do so. Use this section to list academic honors, awards, and formal recognition earned during high school.
Author: Dan Godlin
Dan Godlin
Dan Godlin is the Founder & CEO of CollegeCommit, a NYC-based boutique college admissions consulting firm serving high-achieving students worldwide. Over the past 14 years, he has guided 600+ students to top universities, including Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Yale, Columbia, UPenn, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and USC. He holds a Bachelor’s degree with honors from NYU, where he studied psychology with a focus on emotional intelligence and human behavior, and now leads a team of senior strategists and mentors who provide highly personalized, data-driven admissions guidance.
Most students should apply to 6 to 12 colleges. The right number depends on academic fit, selectivity, cost, deadlines, and time to complete strong applications.
If you are deciding how many colleges you should apply to, start with a balanced range rather than a fixed rule. A practical list should include schools where admission is likely, schools where your profile fits well, and schools that are harder to enter.
Yes, colleges review senior-year grades, and those grades can matter both before and after an admission decision. The question “do colleges look at senior year grades?” has a clear answer: They do, especially through first-semester grades, mid-year reports, and final transcripts.
Admissions offices use these grades to verify academic consistency, confirm that students are still challenging themselves, and ensure that accepted students finish high school in good standing.
Most colleges review senior year academic performance, but the timing and weight can vary by application plan, transcript policy, and school requirements. The question of which colleges don’t look at senior-year grades usually comes up when those grades aren’t available at first review.
An effective early decision strategy helps students determine whether applying early aligns with their goals, readiness, and financial situation.
Getting into the University of Pennsylvania means meeting one of the most competitive academic bars in the country. The average GPA for admitted students is 3.9, with 92% graduating in the top 10% of their high school class, and the middle 50% SAT range runs from 1500 to 1570.
Dartmouth College admits roughly 5 to 6 percent of applicants each year. Knowing how to get into Dartmouth means understanding that admitted students typically rank in the top 10% of their high school class, carry GPAs above 4.0, and score between 1450 and 1550 on the SAT or 32 to 35 on the ACT.
Those numbers are the baseline. What separates admitted students is how well they fit Dartmouth’s culture: intellectual curiosity, genuine interest in the D-Plan, and a real connection to what makes the school distinct from other Ivies.
Getting into Brown University with strong preparation means showing academic rigor, intellectual curiosity, self-direction, and fit with Brown’s Open Curriculum.
Getting into Brown is not about a single score or checklist. Strong applicants take challenging courses, earn strong grades, submit required SAT or ACT scores, write specific Brown essays, and show meaningful involvement outside the classroom.
To get into Cornell University, students need strong grades, rigorous coursework, competitive test scores, focused activities, and a clear academic fit with the college they select. Getting into Cornell also depends on strong essays, recommendations, and a complete Common Application. Cornell reviews the full application, so no single GPA, SAT score, or activity guarantees admission.
A strong Columbia applicant shows academic readiness, intellectual focus, and a clear fit with the university’s learning model. Getting into Columbia depends on crafting a cohesive application that ties your transcript, essays, activities, recommendations, and goals into a single clear story.