Applying to college is a huge undertaking, with many things to consider—prepping for standardized tests, taking and excelling in the right high school courses, participating in meaningful extracurricular activities, crafting the perfect personal essay, and more. With all of this in mind, it’s easy to overlook another important component that can carry a lot of weight: the recommendation letters.

As the school year winds down, many juniors are setting their sights on college applications. While focusing on grades, standardized test scores, and extracurriculars is certainly important, there is one piece of the college application that can make a huge difference –– especially with the competition to get into schools being so high. That is essays. But just how important are they?

Many people think a college search and decision ends with acceptance into a university. But that’s not necessarily true. What happens when your chosen university has multiple colleges within it? This is the case with most large universities, which are divided into smaller colleges, schools, or departments. Each focuses on specific academic disciplines and opportunities.

When you begin the college application process, you probably don’t give much thought to results other than “accepted” or “denied”. So, what happens if you end up on a waitlist? In short, it’s not an acceptance, but it’s also not a rejection – you can still receive an acceptance offer. But there are things you need to know about waitlists and what you can do to improve your chances of admission.

What will it take to get accepted to your dream school? Colleges consider many factors in the decision-making process. It obviously takes more than simply telling a college counselor how much you love the school. Good grades, high test scores, great essays, and impressive extracurriculars certainly make a difference.