Some colleges try to identify who is seriously interested in them by tracking how much contact a student has had with the college—such as requesting an interview, chatting with a representative at a college fair, e-mailing a question to an admissions officer, visiting campus—and using that information when making the final decision. A student who has initiated a good deal of contact with a college is seen as more likely to enroll than a student whose first contact with the college is the arrival of the application over the Internet, and hence is a better bet for admission. Given hard choices among candidates with similar credentials, “demonstrated interest” can make the difference between an offer of acceptance and placement on the wait-list at some colleges.

Applying to college was a simple process for the Baby Boom generation, born between 1946 and 1964. Those bound for a four-year college usually planned to go to a school in their home state or one close by; many considered a college three hundred miles from home to be far away. Few students felt the need to apply to more than two or three colleges, and many applied to just one. College choices were most often based on location, program offerings, cost, and difficulty of admission, with a parental alma mater sometimes thrown in for good measure. For the most part, the whole process was fairly low-key. If students did their homework carefully before deciding where to apply, the outcome was usually predictable. Of course there were surprises—some pleasant and some disappointing—but nothing that would raise the issue of college admissions to the level of a national obsession.

For a few years now, the saying that admissions officers were looking at prospective students’ Facebook profiles was merely an urban legend. But now, a new study claims that this so-called rumor is actually a reality. And it’s more common than you would think.

After your first degree, there is also this need to acquire advanced knowledge, new skills to remain relevant in your chosen career or for the quest of trying out on a new career path.

Many early applications end happily, but a lot do not. As more and more students seek the benefits of an early application, colleges have to deny or defer more of them to leave room for regular cycle admits. Colleges differ in their approach to dealing with applicants they do not accept. Some, like Georgetown University, defer all or most of them, denying only those who clearly don’t meet the qualifications for admission. A deferred application is considered again along with the applications submitted during the regular cycle. Other colleges prefer to make hard decisions sooner rather than later, denying many qualified candidates they know they would deny in the regular cycle anyway, and deferring just a small percentage who look competitive for the final round. After years of deferring no one, Northwestern University deferred a small number for the first time in fall 2008; Stanford University also defers only a small percentage. If there is a trend, it is in the direction of denying more students in the early round rather than fewer. The continued staggering growth in the regular cycle applicant pool makes it harder to get the files read if there are too many deferrals. Colleges that deny students during an early cycle do not allow them to resubmit their application for the regular cycle for the same year.

Community colleges pride themselves on their "open door" or open admissions policies that do not impose many restrictions on admission"that is, the process of being officially recognized as a student at a college. Each community college, however, has its own admissions policies and requirements for documents you must have if you want to be accepted and enroll in courses for credit. So, you definitely should check with the college's Admissions Office before making your application.

It can be very difficult for a student to deal with the feeling of being denied admission to a college or university he or she wished to get into. The following article would help you deal with the situation in a positive way...

The article doesn’t try to dissuade you if prestige is important to you in selecting a college—you have lots of company. What it does do, however, is discuss many other important dimensions to consider in selecting colleges.

A wait-list consists of applicants who are not admitted outright but who are notified that they will be considered for admission if space becomes available later in the spring. What should you make of a letter that essentially puts you in limbo? Being placed on a wait-list means that your file will be considered again if the college has fewer acceptances than it anticipated when mailing out offers of admission.

Every college application asks you to “select a potential major” or to indicate an “area of concentration.” How should you answer this question? The answer depends on the individual. Approximately 50 percent of students applying to college answer that they are an “undecided major,” because they really have no idea what career path to choose and they don’t have a particular strength in one area, such as science.