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As we honor Oakland County’s top high school graduates, we talked to experts about what current high school students should be doing to ensure their success when heading off to college.
As college applications continue to rise and admissions at some universities grow increasingly competitive, counselors and admissions professionals say students should focus less on building perfect résumés and more on preparing themselves academically, emotionally and personally for life after high school.
“Whatever future that looks like, whether that’s in the trades or at a community college or four-year university or in the workforce, high school is that first opportunity to get a taste of where your path might lead you,” said Megan Henry, assistant principal at Troy Athens High School. “One of the first things they can do is to partner with their counselors and partner with teachers to explore those options.”
One of the things high school students can do beyond building grade point averages and test scores is promote themselves when it comes to presenting applications to colleges and universities.
“Use high school as an opportunity to practice advocating for yourself — to basically make sure that you are comfortable approaching teachers, understanding the resources that are available to you and managing your schedule,” said Shane Lewis, director of undergraduate admissions at Oakland University. “I think those are all really important foundational concepts for students that will absolutely set them up for success when they’re here on a college campus.”
“High school is the best opportunity to learn how to study, to learn how to advocate for yourself, to learn how to advocate for others,” said Henry. “Being able to narrow that pathway not only with things you like but things you don’t, I think is equally as profound for kids in their next step in their path.”
According to a Common App report, which presents application trends for the 2025-2026 application cycle through Dec. 1, 2025, the number of students applying through its application portal increased by 4% compared to the same time last year.
The total number of applications students submitted increased by 9%, and the average number of schools students applied to (applications per student) increased to 5.38, up slightly from 5.11 compared to the same time in 2024.
According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) the national college admissions rate is between 68% to 73%.
At the same time, admissions have become more selective at many institutions.
A March 2025 article in The Michigan Daily reported that first-year acceptance rates at the University of Michigan have fallen by 10% in six years, reaching a record low of 17% in 2024.
Michigan public colleges have experienced a 3.5-percentage point increase in acceptance rates, moving from 73% to 76.6%. Among the 14 competitive four-year colleges in the state, eight schools have increased their acceptance rates while six schools have become more selective over the last five years.
While colleges have seen an increase in applications over the past few years, 2026 marks the beginning of a drop in the number of 18-year-olds in the U.S., a demographic shift dubbed “the enrollment cliff.” The steepest declines will begin in the fall of this year and are projected to drop by 15% by 2029.
Getting admitted is about more than grades and a long list of extracurricular activities. Even with a great activities list, the most important factor, say counselors, is still your humanity.
“The process isn’t about stacking achievements anymore, it’s about standing out through authenticity and depth,” write the counselors at North Shore College Consulting, an Illinois-based education consulting firm. “Admissions officers aren’t asking, ‘What has this student accomplished?’ They’re asking, “What kind of person is this student becoming?”
Their advice — “Tell schools what excites you. Share your failures and what you’ve learned from them. Show them the ‘why’ behind your choices.”
“Students are involved in clubs and sports and activities, but it’s also about how they take those skills and those lessons that they learn while being involved in those clubs and activities and sports and apply them, and use them out in the real world,” said Henry.
“That’s one of the things we hear a lot from colleges is, how do you stand out above the rest? You might be the president of a club, but what is your club doing? How are they making an impact on their community? How are they making a difference in their school, in the city or wherever they might be?”
Based on a recent Adobe study, 95% of admissions decision-makers believe in the value of creative skills. Creativity is listed among the top qualities considered by Duke, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and UCLA, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be expressed through activities in the arts.
“Admission officers can see through the applicant who joins a million different clubs in their junior or senior year,” said Amy Thompson, a counselor at York Community High School (IL) and a NACAC member. “Use your activities to show colleges who you are.”
Colleges often look for creative thinkers, problem solvers, innovators and entrepreneurs. To demonstrate creative thinking, students might include an experience in which they came up with a creative solution to a problem or took a unique approach to an assignment.
“You don’t have to be saving the world if you’re also focusing on what you’re doing to help yourself grow,” said Lewis. “I think that universities really see that as a value. It would be someone they would absolutely want contributing to their university community.”
Getting off to a solid start in high school is still a basic component of success at the next level.
“You really have to make sure you’re keeping that GPA up high, because our college applications open up August of senior year and by then, when you apply to schools, colleges are looking at your junior year transcripts,” said Fernando Monge, executive director of the Hazel Park Promise Zone.
Promise Zones are designated through state law to make college scholarships available to all students within their respective localities. They are funded through private donations and captured growth in state property tax revenue. Hazel Park and Pontiac have established Promise Zones in Oakland County.
College fit is another factor often overlooked by applicants, Lewis said.
“The best school for them is the school where they feel like they’re going to thrive and actually graduate,” he said. “It’s not, ‘Will I fit the college or university?’ It’s, ‘Does the college or university fit me?’”
Monge encourages students to explore every opportunity available during high school.
“Go to every field trip you can go to, go to every representative visit you can go to,” Monge said. “Put yourself out there.”
He also recommends applying broadly.
“Maximize your options. Don’t pigeonhole yourself,” Monge said. “You never know what options are out there, whether they revolve around finances, closeness to home or the programs that they offer.”
Monge also urges students to take advantage of dual-enrollment and early-college programs that can reduce future college costs.
“High school is the last opportunity in a lot of ways that students have so much support,” said Henry. “We have so many ways to support kids and then they’re going to go out on their own. So use the support while you have it is what I would say.”
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