For students with Ivy League aspirations, the process of building a unique and cohesive admissions profile begins on the first day of freshman year. As top colleges become increasingly competitive and their applicant pools continue to swell, students should take a strategic approach to every decision they make during their high school career, including which clubs to get involved in, classes to take, opportunities to pursue in the summer, or volunteer opportunities to explore. Each of these decisions will convey something about a student’s personality, perspective, and passions to admissions officers, so it is critical that students use every opportunity to communicate something distinct and authentic about themselves throughout their high school career.
At the same time, doing so requires a proactive approach and strategic mindset. So, as students return to school this fall, here are five crucial decisions they should make that could boost their odds of getting into their dream school.
1. Explore Your Passions with Purpose
Freshman year is the ideal time for students to explore their interests and take risks in trying new things. Students should dive into all that their school has to offer, whether that’s clubs, student organizations, extracurricular opportunities, or local community initiatives. Getting involved in activities that pique their interests will help them discover their passions and form lasting relationships with those around them.
However, it is critical for students to approach this experimentation with purpose and planning—simply joining a myriad of clubs with no intention or self-reflection will not lead to a better understanding of a student’s guiding interests or convey a clear narrative about their goals and passions in their application. As freshmen engage in various activities within and outside of their school, they should do so with an attitude of introspection and purposefulness, asking themselves questions along the way such as: what clubs do I enjoy most? What subject areas do most of the activities I enjoy fall into? What do I want to learn about more deeply? In which activity could I envision myself taking a leadership role in the future? Approaching the process with direction and curiosity will ensure that students set themselves up for success during their first year of high school.
2. When It Comes to Activities, Prioritize Quality Over Quantity
One of the most common misconceptions about Ivy League admissions is that prestigious schools want students who are well-rounded and who have been involved in a vast and disparate array of clubs and organizations—but nothing could be further from the truth. Elite universities are looking for students with clearly articulated passions that they have meaningfully explored and demonstrated throughout their high school careers.
With this in mind, starting in sophomore year, students should strive to tailor their extracurricular involvements based on what they have discovered about their core passions, so that each of their activities tells a cohesive story about the student’s guiding interests and goals. Students should be deliberate about how they spend their time so that they can participate in leadership roles and deepen their engagement with their interests over time.
3. Develop a Passion Project
Finally, perhaps the most important element of a successful application at an Ivy League school is the completion of a passion project. A passion project is an independent project that synthesizes a student’s interests and learning over the course of their high school career through an initiative that mobilizes their passions in the service of their community. Such a project will naturally look drastically different depending on students’ goals and interests—a student interested in medicine may found a nonprofit committed to bringing CPR and other emergency interventions to businesses and community centers in their area, while a student interested in literature may kickstart an initiative to help migrants in their community develop their literacy skills through a second-hand book drive. The possibilities are endless, but a standout passion project requires time (students should begin brainstorming during sophomore year), dedication, self-reflection, and strategy.
4. Challenge Yourself in the Classroom
While activities and extracurriculars are an important component of a competitive application, students should not allow their out-of-the-classroom involvements to negatively impact their performance in the classroom. Keep in mind that while standout activities and a unique passion project will set you apart from other applicants, excellent grades and test scores are the bedrock of your application—don’t allow a low GPA or SAT score to eliminate you from consideration.
5. Maximize Your Summers
The much-anticipated breaks from school offer opportunities for students to deepen their engagement with their area of interest in myriad ways. Students can explore their interests in experiential ways through volunteering, internships, passion project development, or summer jobs. If students want to explore an academic interest further, they can apply for a merit-based summer program or take a class at a local community college. However, students and parents should keep in mind that summer planning begins in the fall—the deadlines for most prestigious programs fall during the winter months, and due to the competitive nature of these programs, students should plan ahead in order to have a backup plan should they not be admitted.
The key to building a compelling and cohesive admissions profile lies in timing and strategy. Whatever grade level students are entering, starting the school year off right begins with making proactive decisions to better their chances of admission at their dream school.
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