In order to be accepted to a college you must have a high school diploma, GED or the equivalent if you are from another country. You will also have to provide a transcript from your high school or secondary school, which lists the classes you took and the grades you received along with your GPA, which is a deciding factor for a lot of admissions committees. For most high-ranking schools a 3.5 or higher is required, but for most other universities a 3.0 or higher is acceptable. There are also circumstances in which schools will allow you to enter with a lower than 3.0 GPA if your ACT or SAT scores are above average.
Colleges will also require that you take one of two kinds of admissions test. The first is the ACT and the other is the SAT. There will also be a minimum score you must achieve on this test, which varies from school to school. While having low test scores won't necessarily keep you from being accepted, admissions committees do use them as a cut-off. If your scores are low, you have to make up for it in other areas of your application.
The average on the SAT is 1511, while the the national average on the ACT is 21.1
You will have to fill out the application provided by the college you have chosen; this is most often done online. Depending on the school, you may also have to pay an application fee.
Some colleges, usually private or top-tier schools, will ask for anywhere from one to three letters of recommendation. These letters should come from teachers, bosses, supervisors of volunteer work you may have done, coaches, or people who were in charge of an extracurricular activity. The letter is meant to attest to your abilities as a student and scholar, your talents and your strengths.
When you apply to college, you will also be asked to write a personal statement or personal essay. Though the required length will vary from school to school, and the prompts may vary slightly, you will typically write a one-page statement about why you want to go to that particular school, what you want to accomplish, and give a little information on your background and your journey as a student. The best way to start this statement is to avoid cliches like, "For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to go to *blank* university." Instead, try to set a scene, use an event in your life that inspired you or relates to why you want to pursue college, and show them in your writing by using vivid descriptions and narrative.