Applying to U.S. colleges and universities as an international student can be overwhelming. There are many different parts of the admissions process to consider, so experts recommend students plan carefully.

As prospective international students navigate the college application process, here are common mistakes they should avoid:

1. PREFERING ‘HIGH BRAND’ OR HIGH-RANKED COLLEGES

Professional Educational consultants don’t rank colleges; we think of them in tiers. For example: Princeton is in the first tier, UC Berkeley is in the second, UC San Diego is in the third and so on. If you’re like everybody else and want to go to the “best” college, official rankings might be useful to some extent to give you a sense of tiers, but otherwise they are not helpful at all.

You’re much better off creating your own tiers, keeping your needs in mind. Try categorizing colleges into reach, match and safety groupings, and then picking the ones that will be your focus based on criteria like educational fit, campus culture fit, etc.

• APPLYING WITHOUT A ‘NARRATIVE’

When you apply to a college, you are not just sending in your application. Whether you realize it or not, you are submitting a story about yourself and that story can be told well or told poorly.

Many people within the college admission office read your application and come away with a narrative about you that forms the basis of their picture of you as a person—they don’t remember details. Here, you have the power to frame that impression.

Instead of trying to explain everything you are doing in high school, focus on the one or two primary areas that you are most passionate about. And be sure to back up your passion with impressive achievements.

• STARTING TEST PREP IN YOUR SENIOR YEAR

We talk to so many students who start too late prepping for their standardized tests. Don’t wait until the end of junior year and the beginning of senior year to take these tests—and definitely don’t wait until then to start studying.

Whether we like it or not, standardized tests are one of the most heavily weighted part of the college admissions “formula” and if you plan in advance, you actually have a big advantage over other students. Don’t be one of those late starters. This is something under your control.

• HAVING NO CLEAR PASSION

Your application is unlikely to be compelling to colleges if you’re not accomplished in an area of genuine passion.

College admissions officers are looking for students who show deep curiosity and interest in some academic areas and some non-academic extracurriculars. It’s not enough to just get very good grades and test scores, you need to have authentic passion and have attained some notable achievements that area.