A student does not need a perfect application to be admitted to college. In fact, perfect applications don't exist. But certain red flags can weaken an otherwise competitive application, particularly at highly selective colleges where admissions officers are making difficult distinctions among thousands of academically qualified students.

If you're the parent of a high school student applying to college, you've probably said it more than once: "I just want my child to be happy." and as parents ourselves, we understand this is a sentiment rooted in love. Many of us grew up with moms and dads who were strict, emotionally reserved, or expected perfection.

Every year, admissions readers get through thousands of personal statements in a matter of weeks. Although many are grammatically correct, and well organized, they have the fatal flaw of being entirely forgettable. The essays that stop the reader mid-sentence are the ones that get passed around the office, read aloud, and remembered when admissions decisions are being finalized.