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At Great Expectations, we talk a lot about the Four Pillars that hold up a strong, competitive College Application. The first, GPA and Test Scores, gets your application looked at, but the other three are what set you apart. These include Developing Unique Interests, Making a Community Impact, and Showing Depth of Academic Exploration. These are what we emphasize when we discuss Narrative Building.
To build these three pillars, you must pursue your passions whenever and however possible. There are countless students out there with excellent grades, excellent test scores, excellent athletics and extracurriculars—what makes you different from them? Ask yourself these questions:
Do you have unique interests?
Have you written a book of poetry? Have you studied butterflies since you were little? Do you jump rope competitively? If so, don’t stop now—keep finding ways to do what you love. Differentiate yourself from all of the other stellar, cookie-cutter applicants.
If you aren’t sure what interests you yet, take advantage of opportunities to explore new fields. Think you might be interested in engineering? Sign up for a robotics camp. Inspired by recent environmental policy changes? Find an environmental law class or an internship in politics. Worst case scenario, you might learn what you DON’T want to do, which can be just as helpful—for instance, so many students are dead set on becoming doctors but volunteer at a hospital and quickly discover they cannot handle the sight of blood. Sure, it might be disappointing, but better now than in your first year of Medical School!
Have you made an impact on your community?
Colleges want students who take initiative; whether you start your own volunteer program or small business, prove to the admissions officers that you can be a leader, not just a follower—that you march to the beat of your own drum, don’t only join activities your friends are involved in, and have made a positive impact on others. Can you spearhead a fundraiser? Can you deepen your volunteering by identifying a problem and working to solve it? Do you have an idea for a product or device that would improve someone’s life? Colleges are actively seeking changemakers who approach life with a collaborative, problem-solving mentality. Show them, through your involvement, that that’s you!
Have you gone deep into a particular academic field?
Colleges want to know that you’re prepared for the rigor of higher education, but they also want to see your intellectual curiosity. Whether you sign up for courses that interest you at the local community college, undertake an independent study or research project, or spend time on career-oriented pursuits like internships or shadowing, colleges love to see you go deep in your academics!
Have you taken advantage of your summers?
Not only do college applications often ask how students spent their summers (and you don’t want your answer to be “played video games and went to the beach”!), but these months grant students a real opportunity to explore their interests or make a difference in their communities.
There are many ways you can have a productive but fun break:
- Summer programs can introduce you to academic subjects that you may not have the chance to delve into during high school (neuroscience, 3D design, engineering, entrepreneurship, etc).
- Internships give you the chance to explore potential careers with limited commitment. Spend a month working at a PR firm or shadowing doctors at a hospital, then ask yourself: is this something I can picture doing every day for the rest of my life?
- Invest your time and energy in a cause that matters to you. Are you dedicated to environmental conservation, or do you want to find ways to help our veterans? The longer you stick with a particular cause, the more rewarding it will be and the greater impact you will have.
- A paid job not only offers the obvious benefit of disposable income, but it also shows colleges that you are responsible (after all, someone values your contribution enough to pay you!).
The overarching question: have you made a conscious commitment?
Commitment is what colleges are looking for: commitment to a passion project, hobby, academic subject, volunteer opportunity, internship or whatever else you may find interesting demonstrates your ability to endure despite challenges over a long period of time. Dedicating yourself to a few activities, through which you can show a long history of progress, always trumps listing out numerous activities with little longevity or depth. Commitment shows your ability to follow through, and it speaks to your character as a reliable individual that colleges would be thrilled to welcome onto their campuses. Furthermore, conscious commitment means that you are not just blindly taking on as many activities and AP classes as possible. While that enthusiasm is great, it is vital that you strategize to incorporate diversity into the activities you choose to invest your time in. And remember, some of the most unique endeavors can stem from your own (true) passions, so be creative!
To put this all into action, let’s take a look at examples (from real students):
Student 1
Student 1 is very academically talented with an almost textbook portfolio.
ACT: 36
GPA: 3.9
National Merit scholar
AP Scholar with Distinction
But, they seem to lack diversity in their extracurricular activities:
Science National Honor Society: 11th-12th, no positions held
Sports: Baseball, 9th-10th
Mathletes: 11th-12th, no positions held
Student 1 applied to 14 schools:
UC Berkeley
UC San Diego
UCLA
Harvard
UPenn
MIT
UT Austin
Carnegie Mellon
Notre Dame
Georgetown
Stanford
Boston College
Columbia
Princeton
And was only accepted into 1…
UT Austin
Let’s look at another student (who applied just one year later):
Student 2
ACT: 32
GPA: 3.9
AP Scholar with Distinction
Extracurricular activities:
French National Honor Society: 10th-12th, President for 11th grade, fluent in French
Sports: Varsity Track and field, 9th-12th
Community theater: from age 9, over 22 shows
Singing lessons: since age 9
Piano lessons: competed in French Symposium 10th-12th, placed with various awards
Student 2 applied to 9 schools, which included:
UT Austin
Georgetown
UC Berkeley
UCLA
Boston College
Columbia
Princeton
Carnegie Mellon
Boston University
Let’s look at how Student 2 fared in comparison:
UT Austin - accepted with full ride
Georgetown - waitlisted, then accepted
UC Berkeley - accepted, and enrolled
Stanford - waitlisted, not accepted
UCLA - accepted
Boston College - accepted
Columbia - not accepted
Princeton - not accepted
Carnegie Mellon - not accepted
Boston University - accepted with partial scholarship
As you can tell, both students have very similar academic portfolios and very similar college lists. To top it all off: these two students were from the same town and went to the same high school. So why is it that Student 1 had so much less luck with their ultimate acceptances than Student 2?
Conscious commitment.
If you look at Student 1, they are academically very strong and clearly intelligent. But, what else have they shown? Student 1 hasn’t been involved in any activity for more than two years at a time, highlighting their transience and inability to remain truly devoted to something. Listing an activity that lasts less than a year during high school may come off as “performative” – meaning it seems that the student solely listed the activity to show admissions counselors they’re doing something.
Student 2 is also very academically strong—though not quite as strong as Student 1—so why did Student 2 have so much more success with their applications? Student 2 clearly has a wide range of interests, but they are unique in that they demonstrated both breadth and depth in these chosen activities. Their commitment is clear, no matter what task they undertook.
Commitment to something speaks for itself. If you have a passion, it should shine through on your application by your sheer dedication to it. Period.
If you do, you will build your Four Pillars and shape your narrative to make you a competitive applicant come admissions season!
If you’re stuck on how to do so, reach out! We have experienced counselors available to help you find your passions, make a commitment, and stand out.
