(MONEY Magazine) – Marketing is the M word that creates confusion in college admissions. But that's not the only problem. An atmosphere of half-truths and rumors has settled like a fog around the process, contributing equally to its terrors. Happily, dispelling such myths is far easier than solving the marketing mess. Following is an applicant's guide to the leading hearsays -- and the facts beneath them.

MYTH 1 The SATs do not count as much anymore. Most college admissions officers today proclaim that Scholastic Aptitude Test scores are not as important as a student's grades, academic program and teacher and counselor recommendations. While admissions officers may genuinely believe what they are saying, their behavior often belies their assertions. The truth is that the SATs are the single best predictor of college admissions. Only rarely will a school accept a youngster whose SATs fall more than 10% below the mean score of its admitted students. For example, if your combined SATs total no more than 950 and you are not in a special group, don't be surprised if you are denied admission to a college where the average SATs of those admitted total 1100. The major exceptions are applicants in special groups: athletes, minorities, development cases -- those from rich families that can endow a faculty chair or fund a new building -- and children of alumni. Another factor that tends to reinforce the SATs: faculty members regularly ask admissions directors to explain why high SAT scorers were rejected, adding to the pressure to admit SAT achievers.

MYTH 2 Your peers are your best advisers. Throughout the college application process, it's important for students to remember that their peers may know what's best for themselves but not for others. Although their knowledge of higher education is negligible, many teenagers breezily stereotype institutions and offer authoritative-sounding advice on who should go to what schools. Here is the message your child needs to hear, whether from you or from a less emotionally involved adult: your best advisers are your parents. Given your grades, test scores and goals, your guidance counselors can provide you with a reasonable list of colleges, but they do not know you well enough to assess the fit between you and a specific institution. Your parents, on the other hand, have the surest insights into how you react to certain environments. Listen to them. They are much smarter than they seem.

MYTH 3 The senior year doesn't matter. Admissions officers examine every transcript looking for rigor, balance and performance. Students who think they can slide through their senior year of high school on fluff courses might find themselves sliding out of their favorite college's ''admit'' pile. So avoid the ever-popular California strategy. Admission to its state university system is tied to grades, SAT scores and the completion of 15 Carnegie units (one unit equals an academic year's study of a major subject). Many students aiming for Berkeley or UCLA complete most of their Carnegie units by the end of their junior year. The last thing they want to do is to jeopardize their grades, so they register for such soft courses as student activities, weight lifting and community service. While such a ploy may work in California, it is disastrous elsewhere.

MYTH 4 Valedictorians are always victorious. Not all valedictorians are outstanding scholars, and the 27,000 secondary schools in the U.S. vary tremendously in quality. Many are absolutely first rate, with more than 90% of their graduates going on to colleges and universities. But many are little more than adolescent day-care centers, sending fewer than 10% of their seniors to college. The student's goal is to do as well as possible in school. The better the grades, the greater the options. But don't assume that even a straight-A record is an automatic ticket to the Ivy League. Top institutions have more valedictorians and straight-A scholars seeking entry than they have spaces in their freshman classes. When I was dean of admissions at Princeton, I accepted no more than 40% of the valedictorians who applied each year. The bottom line for all applicants: apply to a range of schools, and make every effort to present yourself in a compelling and complete fashion.

MYTH 5 You can rely on your high school to help you get in. Silent numbers can sound the loudest alarm. Some secondary schools have a college counselor for a senior class of only 50 students. Others have one counselor carrying a student load of 400. Still other schools have no counselors at all. This inequity results in applicants receiving markedly different advice and support from their respective schools. And because secondary-school reports are confidential, candidates have no idea how strong the written support may be. Tom Hayden, director of college counseling at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H., often writes a single-spaced, two-page report on candidates from his school. By contrast, at Princeton, I received one-line recommendations from some school counselors. One wrote simply: ''She's a real good student.'' Another offered: ''We refuse to recommend Michael to a non-Catholic college.'' To be on the safe side, assume that counselors do not know your child well, will not write a recommendation that states anything other than the obvious (unless the candidate is truly outstanding or truly disruptive) and will not lobby on his or her behalf. In short, don't assume that a counselor will shoulder the major burden of getting the right college to say yes. That's the student's job.

MYTH 6 No one reads the applications. Not only are the application materials read at the selective colleges, they are scrutinized by at least two admissions officers. These readers may underline memorable phrases, award nonacademic and academic ratings, write a synopsis of a candidate's strengths and weaknesses, and make recommendations for admission, denial or wait list. The essays are the only place among all the submissions where the applicant's own voice is heard. For this reason alone, essays can be critical. If the student's handwriting is abominable, the reader at the college admissions office may not be able to decipher the scrawl. If the contents are bland or insincere, the essay is easily forgotten. If the student is crude, that will certainly cause problems. The best advice for any applicant: Make sure that you are giving admissions officers reasons to admit you. Don't waste valuable space trying to be clever or apologizing for a blemish on your record.

MYTH 7 An admissions interview can make or break a candidate. Twenty years ago, admissions officers from many selective colleges interviewed candidates at secondary schools and then awarded ratings of A, B or C. An A rating indicated that the student would be admitted, while a B student was encouraged to apply. And a C meant the candidate should look elsewhere. As an outgrowth of this, college applicants concluded -- not without reason -- that the interview was a vitally important part of the process. But much has changed in the past 20 years. Except at a few smaller colleges, the interview is no longer used as an evaluative tool. The University of Pennsylvania and Stanford don't hold any. Dartmouth downplays them. Some smaller schools use them as recruitment tools. Sometimes an interview can be useful. It gives candidates an opportunity to learn about institutions and to inform the interviewer about their strengths and interests. Any student who arranges an interview should come armed with questions about the institution and should also be prepared to give the interviewer information about what he or she has done and wants to do.

MYTH 8 Connections will get you in. At Princeton, I denied admission to two sons of a trustee who was in the midst of raising $420 million for the school. I also rejected the child of a board member who managed the $2 billion endowment of the university. Because these candidates were not as competitive academically as most Princeton students, I concluded that they would have been miserable there. I also denied late admission to a son of the Shah of Iran, to a daughter of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos (another daughter got in), and to the children of some governors. I never considered any of these actions unusual. Just knowing a member of the board is not sufficient to put a candidate at the head of the applicant pack. A letter from a board member who knows your child well or has seen him or her perform in school, on a job or in the community might give the admissions officer additional information about character and contribute to a higher nonacademic rating. But just to have a letter in the file from a well-known person has little impact. The contents of a letter of recommendation are much more important than the name at the bottom.

MYTH 9 The process is apolitical. Herman Hickman, the legendary former football coach at Yale, once said he aimed ''to keep the alumni sullen, but not mutinous.'' At Princeton, I tried to keep a myriad of groups from mutinying. The coaches wanted more athletes, the faculty more students with high SATs, the musicians more violinists, the headmasters more preppies, the minorities more diversity and the alumni more of their children. During my first week on the job as admissions dean, the rabbi on campus complained to me that there had been a 1% decline in the number of Jewish students at Princeton and he was worried that this might be the start of a trend. How does this affect you? Use admissions hooks if you have them. If your child is a member of a minority group, have him or her check the appropriate , box on the application forms. If your son or daughter is interested in the college you attended, apply. A student interested in a particular discipline, especially one that is underpopulated -- such as classics, astrophysics or Near Eastern studies -- should get in touch with the professors in that department and inform them of his or her interests. An athlete with the skill to play in college should approach the coach of his or her sport. A good artist should submit a portfolio with the application. A talented musician might send along a tape. A creative writer might offer a sample story.

MYTH 10 It pays to get into the toughest college you can. There is going to be a great deal of pressure on your son or daughter to gain admission to the most prestigious college possible. Your wisest advice to the candidate: resist this pressure if you think you will end up struggling to survive. While I can argue the merits of the highly selective colleges, I can also argue that students who are ill-prepared or not motivated enough to compete in such an environment would be better served at a less competitive place. Everyone wants to attend a college where some degree of success will be likely. Developing self-confidence is as important as developing the mind. And the college graduate needs a transcript that will generate respect from graduate schools and prospective employers. Before moving to Princeton, I was director of the office for graduate and career plans at Harvard. In that capacity, I advised students applying to graduate and medical schools. About 10% of the premed students I saw at Harvard didn't get into any medical schools. Research revealed that they were students with average grades of C+ or B-. Had those students gone to slightly less competitive colleges where they would have done better in science and premed studies, they might have realized their career goals.