So, if I attend COSMOS, Yale Young Global Scholars, UChicago’s Pre-College Summer Session, play varsity volleyball, start a breakfast club, and head up the robotics team, will I be competitive at the Ivies? This question–or a thousand variations of it–is typically posed by either my student or their parents within our very first counseling meeting.
What’s the magic list? What combination of academic experiences, volunteer hours, leadership titles, and dog grooming medals must I have to be competitive? If such a magic list existed, I certainly wouldn’t be sharing it here, as I’d have the intellectual copyright framed on the starboard side of my mega yacht as I cruised through Port Hercules. But I’m not sailing past Monaco, nor am I on a yacht. Why? You guessed it. Because no such magic list exists, at least not one that will guarantee you admissions.
Turning Passion Into Purpose
However, I like to think there is some magic behind a list of activities that truly represents a student's interests, curiosities, quirks, and ambitions. In my experience, the students who look at their future extracurricular endeavors solely as a list of resume bullet points often exhibit the greatest anxiety and frustration during their application year. When they reflect back on their experiences in effort to write a personal statement or a “Why College” essay, they struggle to find meaning much less convey such meaning to a prospective admissions officer.
Forget the Checklist—Find the Spark
Rather, it’s those students who dive in feet first and decide to learn about something that fully arrests their attention—regardless of the potential resume outcome—who end up being enraptured in their experiences. It’s the student who chooses to buy a beehive and keep bees because they’re worried about climate change, the student who writes a program to automate their home’s ceiling fans, the student who brings a community of people together on the tennis court because they just can’t put the racket down, who each seem to find magic in their experiences. It’s this rapture that students should seek after.
Follow the Curiosity, Not the Crowd
Your time is limited. High school students are busier than ever! I know; I see it! So let go of the idea of the magic ECA list. It’s not worth your time. Instead, look for the magic in your experiences and in your passions. Not only will you find yourself less prone to burnout and frustration, but you’ll likely open opportunities for yourself along the way. Maybe that beekeeping experience turns into teaching lessons to youngsters about keeping bees and farming honey at the local library. Maybe that tennis court becomes a nonprofit to offer free lessons for the underprivileged. Sure, those weren’t your goals when you first put on that stylish beekeeping suit or picked up your racket, but the best experiences don’t often stem from goals; instead, they grow from a genuine love for the effort involved.
And who knows, perhaps along the way of finding magic in your activities, you’ll also cast a spell on those admissions officers. I’d take that bet!
