With just a few days left before the deadline for regular decision applications, I would like to offer these words of advice on what not to do.

Do not try and impress your favorite college by bombarding them with tons of e-mails and phone calls inquiring about the status of your application. You will look desperate. Overnight FedEx inquiries to the admissions office will only serve to alienate them. They call this tactic “stalking” and react very negatively to it. It will not make up for a so-so academic record or mediocre test scores.

Do not post anything on social networking sites that may reflect negatively on you. Colleges check these sites routinely. Save those photos of the motel party on prom night for the scrapbook. If I find objectionable material on a potential client, I request they remove it immediately. If they do not I will not work with them.

Do not try to act overly cute or clever during the college alumni interview. Jokes and hyperbole are dangerous admixtures in an interview. You run the risk of being seen as a lightweight or worse — as offensive and obnoxious. Believe me, this happens more than it is written about.

Students should try to impress interviewers with intelligent conversation and a few pointed questions. Ask them what they majored in in college and how it has helped them in their profession.

These are examples of good questions. But a smart-alecky political jibe or cynical joke about their chances of getting admitted because of their race or gender could cause irreparable damage. These comments are seen as signs of immaturity and are socially unacceptable.

Do not load up your application with as many activities as you can think of. Listing gym to improve your six-pack abs will make you look dense, alright — but in the wrong place. Colleges want to see activities to which you have applied energy and passion. They don’t want to see a lot of fill and fluff.

On the other hand, be honest if you have made a mistake somewhere along your high school career. Suppressing embarrassing or disturbing information can get you rejected even after you are admitted. If you got caught plagiarizing a term paper, live up to it. Write about it. If you don’t tell the truth about a serious infraction and it comes out later, they may revoke your acceptance letter. It happens more than is often talked about.

Do not bore the admission committee. One unstated benefit of having so many essays to write is that it gives colleges the opportunity to weed out the insufferable bores. Take each essay seriously. Use it as an opportunity to write about some facet of your personality that you feel makes you an interesting person.

Do not leave your cell phone on during the alumni interview. Nothing is more insulting to the interviewer than having a student’s phone go off in the middle of an important question. I’ve had this happen when I was an alumni interviewer. It irritated me that a student was ignorant or neglectful of the fact that I was taking my valuable time to interview them. The least they can do is have “turn off the phone” at the top of their prep list.

Do not let your “helicopter” parents get overly involved in the application process. A famous story goes around that the dean of admissions at Harvard, when he inspected the little box on an application that certifies everything the applicant has written is the truth, found that the student’s mother had signed it.

Don’t fail to proofread your application. The best evidence of genuine interest in a college is to send in an application that has been checked for errors, including spelling, and has all the requested material in good order and on time. Copy-editing and proofreading are indispensable.