Whereas it is true that most college admissions committees (ADCOMs) view secondary school (high school) academic performance and standardized test scores (PSAT, SAT, ACT) as the two most important attributes in a college application profile, there has been a growing emphasis on other parts of the application. College counselors will tell you, gone are the days where grades and tests are all that matter to a colleges admission officers.

With more and more information available, students know which schools they can be competitive at. Be it Yale or the University of Alabama, the students applying and being seriously considered by college admissions committees generally look very similar to other candidates from a grade and standardized test perspective.

Couple this lack of candidate differentiation with the fact that securing the best candidates has become more competitive. In the last three years, average college applications per college bound student have gone up from 4.1 to 7.2.

For these reasons colleges are putting a renewed weight on candidate performance outside of high school grades and the standardized tests. More weight is being placed on other parts of the application profile. College admissions consultants and counselors using tools like Naviance have long been focusing their clients/students on the importance of solid intangibles. There is not a finite definition of the intangibles (hence the name). Generally though, universities and colleges are looking for evidence of extracurricular activities, participation in athletics, recognition/honors from the school and external bodies, demanding courseload, work experience, and degree of candidate fit (typically evaluated through college essays and on-campus interviews).

Admit Insights estimates that depending on the college (and all colleges are different) up to 35% of the decision of admission can depend on intangibles. For this reason the Admit Insights Candidate Strength ScoreTM has taken this into account to assess the competitiveness of a college application profile. Understanding the components of this score can be as valuable as a college admission advisor.

College applicants completing college admissions applications and college admission counselors should spend time ensuring the academic house is in order with good high school grades and college standardized tests, but they should also spend some time thinking about the softer side of college admissions. This will help maximize college admissions chances.