Myth: “This will Look Good on Your College Application”

Photo Credit: Daily News

It was the summer before I started high school when I first heard the phrase “this will look good on your college application.”  It was a ploy to get me to dress up as the town mascot, Taste T. Lentil, and ride on my hometown’s float for the summer.  Did that activity end up on my college application?  Nope.  Putting aside the fact I was too embarrassed to tell anyone, there were other things I had done in high school that were more important to share on my application. 

A laundry list of activities on applications has become the norm.  Students and their families believe they have to be “well-rounded” in order to be successful in the admissions process.  When in reality, colleges are looking for students with a variety of interests and experiences.  Diversity, in the broadest definition, is often an Office of Admissions goal: geography, academic interest, high school type, ethnicity, country of origin, etc.  

I recently read a Forbes article College Admission Zombies: Ideas That Need To Die in which Gil Villanueva, Associate Vice President and Dean of Admission at the University of Richmond, summarized it perfectly,  “the incessant belief that colleges want well-rounded students needs to just end. We want to build orchestras and we can't have them if everyone plays the cello.”

What does this mean for you? 

Students: Do what you love!  Say no to things that you are doing because you think “this will look good on my college application.” 

Parents:  Encourage your students to prioritize the activities they love!  Depth is more important than a long list of activities.  A student's ability to commit themselves to something for a significant time is always impressive.   Example:  play in the band for 3 year of high school, volunteering with the same organization for two summers, having a job for more than a few months. 

There is no secret sauce here.  Students need to balance a lot in high school: being a student, family member and friend.  Using their time in high school to do the things they love is what colleges really want.  

Interested in working with me? Send me an email at hello@apariciocollegecounsulting.com and we can set up a complementary 15 minute conversation to see if I would be a good fit for your family.