By Lily Bourne
Now, before any Westmont teachers attack me for my title, let me clarify. College is definitely worth it (for many students at least)! What’s not worth it is spending your entire high school career worrying about college. Too often I hear underclassmen plotting out how to craft the perfect college application, how to attain perfect grades and leadership positions so that they’ll fulfill their dreams of getting into a “good college” and doing it all again. Here’s the honest truth: if your goal is to get into a UC or a CSU, it’s probably still not going to be enough! Unfortunately, the college application system is extremely complicated (and somewhat luck-based) and following whatever “formula” got other people accepted might not work for you. There are plenty of people who got accepted into “better” schools and rejected from “safeties” and if you ask any senior right now, they’ll tell you that nobody really knows why schools make the decisions they do. So with that being said, here’s my advice on how to actually prepare for college applications.
Figure Out What You’re Passionate About
You don’t have to know what you want to do for the rest of your life! If you do, that’s amazing and my advice would be to join extracurriculars that relate to your chosen career in some way. If you don’t, don’t worry. Just figure out what interests you right now while you’re in high school and look into ways you can pursue that interest both inside and outside of school (clubs, volunteering, jobs, etc.). School leadership can be a great option if you’re not sure what specific topic you want to major in, but colleges look at the motivation behind “leadership roles” more than the actual title. Being the president of one club you actually care about means a lot more than being on the board of ten different clubs you have no passion for.
Find Meaningful Activities
College counselors often talk about “passion projects,” but many people disregard the whole “passion” part of that phrase. You should be excited to work on whatever it is, because that’s what you’ll be writing about on your application. The activities section gives you 300 characters; the essays give you 300 words. Find activities that you will actually be able to talk about, and understand their impact on both you and your community. If you’re looking for opportunities outside of school, research volunteer programs for high school kids (there are a ton in the Bay Area) or look into summer programs for your chosen field. Many of those “National Scholar” summer programs market themselves as super prestigious (which isn’t really the case), but they can provide valuable experience if you truly are interested in whatever subject they’re offering.
Market Yourself
Remember, the college is deciding whether they want you as a student on their campus. You want to seem not only accomplished, but also personable and interesting. If you have the chance to interview (this usually happens with private colleges), you should definitely take the opportunity to show yourself as a passionate, pleasant person (this is harder to find than you might think!) Don’t be afraid to show your personality and interests outside of straight academics on your application, especially in short answer questions on the Common App. Prestigious colleges get tons of applications from students with identical perfect scores and strong extracurriculars, so they are also looking for how you will bring a unique perspective to their campus.
Make Connections With Adults
Yes, being in clubs and volunteering with friends are fun ways to spend your time while filling up your activities list. However, if you want to strengthen your application and create connections that last beyond high school, you can’t be afraid to build relationships with adults. Whether it’s a teacher, coach, boss, coordinator, or other mentor figure, these people will be able to provide advice and opportunities (as well as a rec letter that isn’t written straight out of a template!) Take the time to make your motivations clear to your mentors and don’t be afraid to ask questions and reach out for opportunities. Initiative is one of the biggest things colleges look for, and your adults can vouch for you if you’ve shown that to them.