These are admirable goals, but you might consider something you could do now that would improve your chances of admission. You only need a few minutes to think about personal qualities that you would never consider mentioning in a college essay, but should.
Your application and recommendations will cover all the awesome things you have done. But given the need to distinguish yourself from the horde of other applicants, it can be helpful to think not about what makes you great, but what makes you weird.
What are you bad at? What are your friends teasing you about? What do you do that makes them laugh? A successful candidate I know spent an entire trial discussing his ability to identify any tune by just the first three or four notes. She told her first-choice college, “The happiest place in the world for me is inside my car singing (badly) to pop music.”
Talking about your success on the school baseball team would work better if you mentioned the time you hit three in a row, which would lead your friends to suggest that you’re better off blindfolded during your next at bat.
You can be rightly proud of your main essay on how to reform US trade policy with Asia. But don’t you think college admissions officers would be more likely to appreciate and remember your story of trying to change the school’s mascot from crusaders to cockroaches?
In other words, laugh at yourself, at least once, maybe twice. This is not a recommendation you will find in standard college admissions advice books. Don’t overdo it. But slipping in a bit of self-mockery can help.
It will leave the impression that however brilliant and accomplished you are, you will not be a hangman. You don’t take yourself too seriously. You’ll be fun to have around, in the dorm, in class, at dinner with the Dean.
If you’re applying to a big school, the people reading your essay at the admissions office may never meet you. But a little self-tease on your part will remind them of the classmates they most enjoyed being with in college. It’s not their friends’ academic averages or impressive extracurricular activities that they remember. When these admissions officers have to choose the best from the huge amount of applications they have read, something unexpected that made them laugh can carry considerable weight.
Doing this may scare you. If so, don’t. You must be comfortable with whatever you send to colleges. Your parents may not like you deviating from the standard college application traditions. But then again, they might surprise you and reveal what they consider your most endearing flaws.
Here are some possible approaches. “I learned a lot by volunteering at the local hospital. Even though once I was so clumsy I almost disconnected an IV. At least, I think that was it. Or, “I thought my speech on why I should be elected student body president was a triumph until I tripped over a wire on my way off stage and fell on my face.”
As far as I can remember, I haven’t done anything like this in my college dissertations. I was young and serious. I would never have seen the point. I regret that I missed the opportunity to let the admissions officers enjoy reading my obsession with grades. Mentioning a character flaw sends the message that you have matured to the point where you can deal with it.
The first marking period of my freshman year of high school, I complained to my counselor that my Latin teacher had given me a B-plus, not the obviously deserved IA. While I was sitting there the counselor called the teacher and they had a jovial time discussing my problem. What I remember most clearly is my teacher referring to “millimeter bandits”. He was talking about me.
Making fun of yourself can often be just that: having fun. Modesty is a hard virtue to convey when your job as a college candidate is to show how good you are. But this can be done.
