By the end of March, your high school senior will either have received that coveted acceptance email to his or her top-choice college or the dreaded rejection letter in your mailbox.

If your child is a straight-A student who plays varsity sports, wins state music competitions, serves as president of the senior class, and volunteers at the local animal shelter, it may be hard to understand why he or she was rejected from any college.

It is especially difficult for students applying to the most selective schools to figure out why they didn’t make the cut, especially if their SAT or ACT scores were within the colleges’ acceptable range.

Yet many colleges do not look at your child as an individual with all the exceptional qualities he or she may have. They are reviewing a large pool of applicants and selecting students who may meet certain criteria they are looking for in the next freshman class.

Here are five ways to help you understand the logic behind the college admissions process:

1. It’s beyond the student’s control. There are certain things that students can control: their test scores, GPA, extracurricular activities and a well-written application. But there are many factors beyond their influence. Your child’s dream school, for example, may be looking for players for the varsity lacrosse team or for applicants from the West Coast. Students also can’t control who reads their applications, which may affect whether they are accepted or not.

When students apply to college, they often need to choose a major before they’ve even stepped foot on campus.

Whether they want to become an engineer, an architect or an accountant can seem like a daunting decision. Yet what can help students make an informed choice is to spend the summers after sophomore and junior year exploring potential careers.

Using summers to look into different careers can also provide an advantage on college applications. Admissions officers notice when applicants try to expand their horizons by taking on new opportunities during summer vacation.

Here are some ideas for summer activities that can help high school students explore their career options. Given the coronavirus outbreak, not all may be available this summer.

1. Volunteer in the community. Students can volunteer their time to learn more about a particular career. If they’re interested in medicine, for example, they can volunteer at a hospital or a nursing home. Students who want to major in education can work at a summer camp.

Attending college is a big investment. The cost of a private four-year college, including room and board, has climbed to an average of $49,000 a year, while the annual price tag for a public four-year public college is $21,000, according to the College Board.

Yet if you are worried that college is unaffordable, keep in mind that you will not pay the sticker price advertised on a college’s website. With a strategic plan for applying for financial aid, you can offset the cost with a combination of grants and scholarships offered by the school that are based on need.

Applying for financial aid is a key part of the college admissions process. Yet many parents have misconceptions about how to apply, or even if they should apply, for need-based aid.

Here is a list of ten tips that will help you get the most financial aid you can: