If you’re like most college applicants, you have a dream school, and it would break your heart not to be admitted. While it wouldn’t be the end of the world, there’s no reason you can’t make certain moves to ensure that you get in. Here are five steps you can take to make your application process one that ends in a joyful result.

1. Apply Early

If you know you’ve wanted to go to a certain school your whole life, why would you wait to apply? Grab the application as soon as your junior year transcript is available and get to work. Early Decision or Early Action are two of the clearest indicators that an applicant favors an institution above all others. Aside from admitting students that have the appropriate grades and extracurriculars, universities want to cultivate a student body that’s passionate about attending.

2. Study in High School

Find out what the minimum G.P.A. and test scores are for your school of choice and blow those out of the water. The earlier you know this information the better, but hopefully, you’ve been putting effort into your studies since you started your freshman year. We wish there were a workaround, but school revolves around studying, and institutions can’t afford to give a spot to a student that shows clear indicators they will not be able to keep up with the academic pace. So if your grades need improving, do whatever you can to exceed expectations.

3. Interview

If you want to all but guarantee admission to your top choice school, you need to show them in every way possible that they’re just that, your top choice. This means taking advantage of every opportunity they give you beyond your application to score face time. Go visit, meet with alumni and get an interview. Sitting down one-on-one is an amazing way to stick in the brains of the school’s admissions counselors. If you already know grades, extracurriculars, and test scores won’t be an issue, an interview is only going to help you.

4. Be Specific

No first choice school is going to be very impressed that you want to attend because it has a good reputation, football team or housing program. Actually, if you want to go to that school for those things, you should probably reconsider. Choosing a school for superficial reasons is a great way to find yourself transferring in a few semesters. Do your research and figure out what about the school you’re excited to take part in. Do they have a specific program that appeals to you? Maybe there’s a professor that you’ve dreamed of studying with for ages. Whatever the reason, communicate why this place in particular appeals to you.

5. Go the Extra Mile

At every level, getting into college is especially competitive these days. Parents are not above hiring tutors to boost their children’s grade point averages, nor are students above stacking their applications with extracurriculars and service work to look more well-rounded than they actually are. If you think you’re going to get into Princeton University with only a 4.0 G.P.A. at your disposal, click here, we have a warm, sunny island in Alaska to sell you. If your top choice university is competitive, you will need to do far more than just apply with good grades. Think about what you have to offer aside from your academics, and promote those heavily to your favorite school. Whenever you think you’ve done enough, think about one other thing you can do to make yourself attractive to them. If this is your first choice college, nothing is too much!