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Building a college list list is one of the most important steps in the application process. Too ambitious of a list, and you could end up with very few or no acceptances. Too uninspiring of a list, and you will feel like you did not push yourself or reach your potential.

The college application process is stressful and confusing and hard to wrap your head around. Which activities should you include on your application? Who should write your letters of recommendation? What story should you tell in your personal statement? What’s the best school for me? And the list of questions goes on and on…

What is a college endowment? And why should you care? Recently, students at Harvard published an article in The Crimson in which they lambasted the poor performance of the Harvard endowment as “unacceptable” – calling on the University to make personnel changes to ensure that Harvard did not continue losing the endowment race to its chief rival. Go Bulldogs.

What do the presidential debates and college admissions have in common? The need to be convincing. Election season matches up almost perfectly with college application season, and while the two things are seemingly unrelated, you can learn a lot about applying to college by watching the presidential debates. Again, the main similarity is in the ability to convince someone to do what you want – whether it is to cast a vote for your candidacy as president or as your candidacy as a freshman at your school of choice.

There are no hard-and-fast rules in the admissions game. If your strategy is to play the same game as everyone else, the odds are against you. Once you stop trying to be the best at the things everyone else does, and concentrate your efforts on the things that only you do, you will be miles ahead of your competition.

Many people feel helpless when they’re seeking a college letter of recommendation. Even if you are a stellar student and you work tirelessly on your application, your letters of recommendation sometimes seem out of your control. We have all heard horror stories about how recommenders screwed over their otherwise qualified students, either by failing to submit their letters or writing surprisingly negative letters. And if you’re a student who isn’t at the top of your high school class rank, or if you don’t have the highest SAT score, then a lot of pressure is put on your letters of recommendation. Must you just bite the bullet and say a Hail Mary?

Sometimes you don’t get your GMAT score to where it needs to be…not on the first try at least. When this happens, you’ll obviously want to make sure you hit your target score on the retake, so you can put the GMAT behind you and apply early on in the MBA application timeline. Here are some steps you can take to make sure you improve your GMAT score:

Whenever I tell people I went to Stanford, they usually congratulate me. I’ll respond with an awkward, “thanks” and move on. But while that validation feels great, I’m many times left asking the “why me” question. What’s the trick on how to get into Stanford?

Parents play an invaluable role in their kids’ applications. Every parent has a different style when it comes to applications – running the gamut from “hands off” to “Black Hawk helicopter” parenting. It’s easy to want to control everything from signing your student up for the best extracurricular activities for college to editing the essays they write. But finding a balance between being hands-on without being overbearing is key during the admissions process.

Before you can start your personal statement for college, ask for letters of recommendation, or even sign up for the Common App, you have to take standardized tests. The SAT or ACT may be the most important test of your life so far. It seems logical that you would have no trouble hitting the books so you could ace the test, but motivation can be hard to come by if you are tempted by other activities or simply feel overwhelmed by the thought of studying for this critical test. Here are a few motivational tips for when you’re studying for the SAT and ACT.