What is some things you can do other then the "normal" things that can really boost your application?Answered
Most highschoolers know they have to get good grades to get into college. However your college application requires more then that, and I would like to have ideas in what to do that isn't "publish a book" or "start a business" because it may not be within means.
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4 answers
Hi @Peter-E, Chances are you are already doing things in your free time that you are passionate about and good at. So if you love reptiles and have dozens of pet snakes or lizards, you can start a TikTok or youtube channel about sharing your love of herpetology with the rest of the world. Or if you are an avid skateboarder and or snowboarder, you can explore the physics behind being able to land difficult tricks and how you improve as a rider by changing up your style. Or if you love playing an instrument, figure out how you can delve deeper into your connection to music and explore that. For example, someone shy and introverted or autistic might not like being on stage and talking about themselves but maybe you are comfortable expressing yourself through your instrument like your piano, and when you play it's transformative.
So the bottom line is that colleges like applicants that have some angular aspect about their narrative, that helps them stand out in the crowd because they are curating interesting, compelling, kind cohorts as they shape their incoming class of 1st-year students.
No one can tell you what you like or what to do with your interests so you have to decide how to package up your narrative so they see someone besides your Grades Test Scores, and ECs. You need to the kid who raised $10,000 uni-cycling for Ukraine over the summer or developed meal-kits for latch-key kids who needed something healthy and nutritious to eat after school before their parents come home.
What you do not want to do is make a list of Tier 1 and Tier 2 ECs and then check off the boxes because you think by checking off the boxes, you will get into a top college. That is what 90% of applicants do. They think I need to be Class President, Editor of the Newspaper, Team Captain, Science Olympiad winner, Intern for my congressperson, Volunteer 500 hours to collect an award, and join 3 community service org. It's true if you can to all these things at the same time and have a 4.0 UWGPA, take 12 APS and get 4s and 5s in them and a 1550SAT, 35 ACT score, you can pretty much write your ticket anywhere but 99% of students are not programmed to do that nor have the bandwidth and support at home to accomplish all that.
Unless you have a dedicated parent who is going to mentor you all through HS and help you make every single decision that affects your college outcome, it's not going to happen by osmosis. Therefore you have to pick your battles and figure out what you like and what you are good at and focus on that.
Be a contrarian and it will serve you well.
Some things are so simple, yet so overlooked.
Be a nice person and be a curious learner in school, so that you stand out to your teachers and get glowing letters of rec.
Spend time months in advance to write essays - the prompts are generally available online. A good quality essay can be the difference between an acceptance and a rejection.
Other than that, just doing stuff within school and starting a club is a really good way to stand out in the admissions process, but I caution you to only start a club for the sake of having fun, rather than having it be for the purpose of getting into college.
Quality over quantity! I know most students always "publish research" or "start a business," which makes it seem incredibly difficult to stand out as an applicant. However, the easiest way to "stand out" is simply show your passions!! Colleges want to find students who are extremely passionate about their ECs, rather than students who are just "publishing research" or "starting a business" to look good for colleges. When you show your passions in your ECs, colleges know you'll really have set/clear defined goals in college towards your passion. Students who are passionate about their ECs are more likely to become global leaders and really utilize the resources at a college. Remember, colleges are always looking for students who will maximize the resources provided at their college to become future leaders, and they know students who are passionate about their ECs will more likely utilize the colleges' resources. You can show passion in your ECs by creating a spike and choosing ECs which fit into your main spike/passion. If you don't have a spike though, it's totally fine! You can also show passion by committing to EC's and doing them all throughout highschool/reaching leadership positions within these EC's. It doesn't have to be something crazy like starting a business or publishing a book, but can be as simple as contributing greatly to your most passionate EC's throughout 9-12 grade or for a few years!
To add to the great tips that others have responded with, you can significantly boost your odds of admission by emphasizing your hook. You can explain any hook that you have in the Demographics section of the Common App, in addition to your essays and the Additional Information section. Hope this helps!
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