An uncommon app with the Common App

Posted by Dee

Ah, the common application. This is a relatively old experiment by a bunch, over 300 rather, of US colleges and universities to make the application process a whole lot easier for all the applicants. Most of you will be applying to more than just one school, so instead of having to fill out twelve different applications that pretty much ask for the same things, someone finally had the brilliant idea to put together the Common App.

But, do not be fooled. The Common App, while it may somewhat decrease the amount of time you will spend on applying, is not a miracle-worker. Most, if not all, top schools will have a supplement for you to complete as well. Make sure you’re aware of what each school wants you to do logistically; Harvard for example wants you to send in the Common App with your supplement whereas another school might not care if you submit the supplement weeks after.

Well-rounded is out

Posted by Dee

Several years ago, the whole “well-rounded student” thing was definitely a la mode. Now, colleges don’t want to see kids that are good at or interested in a bunch of topics. Instead, they want to see the “well-lopsided student.”

You have to really own this college trend. Be very aware of this for everything you do, from the AP classes you take to the extracurriculars you pursue. You’re going to need to justify to your interviewers and in your essays and the app in general, the one, maybe two things you are passionate about. And, the quirkier the better. I’ve heard of people getting into top schools because they’re obsessed with opera — meaning that their classes in school focus on music, literature, or art, their extracurriculars focus on vocal development, and in their free time, they travel near and far to see another Wagner or Verdi. Nowadays, good luck if you’re trying to get in based on reading tech magazines, while taking AP English and History but not taking AP Computer Science, playing the flute in the school band, and being a part of the Gay-Straight Alliance. Instead, focus!

For some of you, these college trends are a blessing, for others, it is a nightmare. I am part of the latter group, I must admit — I’ve always been a person who has loved exploring many topics and interests, and while that’s great, I’m learning to accept that it’ll be much easier to get into a top school being able to pinpoint particular interests and then showing how my courses and extracurriculars enhance that.

For another example that’s not quite as dramatic or niche as opera: If you were

Established vs. new clubs

Posted by Dee

When you’re considering joining a club at school, there are two ways to go: either you join an established club, or you start a new one.

These days, colleges want to see leadership. That’s a huge buzz word in admissions nowadays, so either you’ve got to work your way up to being an officer in an established club, or just start your own club and make yourself the president of it.

There are obvious perks to creating your own club:
1. You are at the top of it — make yourself the president of the club.
2. Get your friends to join — you can offer them officer positions too. You can definitely create as many VP roles as you’d like.
3. At most schools, a club just needs to meet every so often, so get together during lunch once a week and talk about stuff that’s pertinent to the club topic.
4. Put together 1-2 events each school year regarding the topic of your club — this will give you just enough content to talk about in your app and interviews.

The drawback: it can be difficult to explain on the app and to interviewers what the club’s purpose is.

At the same time, there are obvious perks to joining established clubs too:
1. Name recognition — FBLA, JSA, Quills & Scrolls, DECA, SciOly, Robotics, GSA, YCS, BSU, etc.
2. Events, competitions, and activities are already planned out — minimizes the need for you to be creative about making activities and events.

The only problem with established organizations is that you’re going to need to work your way up for it to mean anything to the adcom. Keep that in mind.

When I was in high school, I tried out both routes, and I think the best route is actually a combination. Besides joining an established club (which I never ended up actually writing on any of my apps, so it was essentially a waste of time) and creating a new club (which ended up being difficult to explain to interviewers), I founded a chapter of an established club. This proved to be the best combination because I got the name recognition combined with the advantage of being able to say I started it.

SAT problem #1

Posted by Dee

One of the biggest issues people have with the testing required for college admission is that the tests are just way too long. That’s how they easily weed out the smarter people from the less smart people. You need to be able to focus and that’s just a fact! What worked for me — and I did pretty well on the PSAT and SAT tests — is you need to at least pretend to be excited about the information you’re reading about or solving.

Also, it really does help to have a watch or clock nearby. For those of you who, like me, are rather competitive, consider it a race against the clock. Making the whole test like a game helps you stay alert through the whole thing.

And, when you practice, I would definitely not recommend splitting up your practice sessions so that you do reading comprehension on one day and math on another and grammer on another, etc. Instead, try as best you can to take the whole practice test in one sitting, mimicking what will happen on test day. Then, you can figure out the areas you need more work on and drill those separately, but when you’re doing a practice test, literally do the whole test.

Oh, and coffee or tea is always useful to have too.

A name on the roster doesn’t cut it

Posted by Dee

Colleges like to see that you’re involved on your high school campus, and clubs are a great way to do that. I have, for the most part, always been a fan of school clubs as a means of enhancing your app, but I think it’s important to realize that colleges want to see that you are actually doing something with this club — that the club as a whole has done something really interesting, and that you as a club member has been a part of that.

Basically, you can’t expect that you’ll get into a top college or university off of merely saying you’re in a school club; you’ll need to explain at some point what your involvement was with these clubs. So, my recommendation is 1) be able to explain some really interesting and innovative or impressive things your club has done, and 2) be able to say that you were an officer of the club or at least that you were an active member, and 3) be able to tell colleges what your actual personal contribution was to these really interesting things your clubs was doing. The icing on the cake would be 4) to show them what the club’s impact was on the community, too.

Summertime is the time

Posted by Dee

Summertime is great! Basking in the sun, swimming, enjoying time off from school, etc. But, realistically, summertime is never the time to slack off.

Most top colleges have added a question to their applications about what you did over the summer — and, you don’t need to be part of an adcom to know that they don’t want to hear about how you lounged around and shopped and partied!

Get an internship. Get a job. Do summer school. Travel. Do community service. Pick at least two or three things to do each summer during high school that you’ll be able to talk about in a short response on your application. Also, it might come in handy for interviews too.

What’s a top school?

Posted by Dee

I suppose it might be helpful to define as best I can what a “top school” is. Yes, reputation is a key factor. But, are there not other characteristics that top colleges or universities share? I think besides reputation, top schools provide superior academics. This manifests itself in 1) top professors, and 2) a myriad of interesting class choices and learning opportunities, both in and out of the classroom.

Here’s my list of what I consider “top schools,” in no particular order:

- Harvard
- Yale
- Princeton
- Stanford
- UC Berkeley
- Cornell
- UPenn
- UCLA
- MIT
- CIT
- Georgetown
- Dartmouth
- Duke
- Columbia
- NYU
- Brown

To me, these are America’s top schools. They all have prestige combined with great academics and student life. Feel free to comment and leave your own list. And, if you disagree with my list or think one of these schools should be off the list, tell me why… or, conversely, if you think I left a school off my list, tell me why too!

What it takes to become an admit

Posted by Dee

Getting into college used to be difficult. Well, guess what, it’s becoming even more so.

Admission rates are plummeting; as schools turn away top candidates, high school students are asking what they can do to increase their chances of getting in.

Most “experts” I’ve come across continue to spit out advice about how us high school students should just take it easy and just do what we want to do and that life will be fine… but let’s get serious! These days, most people can’t do much without a college education, and it’s imperative that we get into a top school. Obviously, there are successful people who didn’t go to great colleges or universities, but this blog is dedicated to discussion from those of us who do think getting into a top college is integral to success.

Hopefully, you’ll find and/or contribute some truly helpful advice about what it takes to become an admit. Enjoy, and good luck.