<p>We had to do this for S when he was entering pre-school. The two adjectives have not changed: left-handed and stubborn.</p>
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<p>Are they really to avoid? Colleges seem to put more weight on GPA these days. That would point to favoring âhard-workingâ and âsolidâ</p>
<p>Just between you and me:</p>
<p>S1: Sweet, intellectual, idealistic, wry, procrastinating</p>
<p>S2: Sensitive, guarded, smart, creative, driven</p>
<p>S1: brilliant, anti-social, curious, driven, single-minded
S2: intelligent, curious, scattered, idealistic, empathic</p>
<p>(I only used some of those words with the GC.) Our GCâs donât only ask for input from the parents they ask for brief letters from a couple of teachers (not necessarily the same ones the student will use for recommendations.) My older sonâs GC had her eye on him because he had the highest PSAT score as a sophomore and she was brand new. Heâd also helped her with the course scheduling program. He won a bunch of math and science awards so people in our huge school actually knew who he was. (Despite a very small social circle he was voted most likely to be a rocket scientist in the yearbook.) Younger son had an even lower profile, though many more friends. The GC certainly acted like she knew him.</p>
<p>I like these</p>
<p>That would be too positive, too much bragging, I do not know any parent who thinks of his/her child in negative terms. Not sure about the goal here, I can definitely fill few pages bragging about my children and grandchildren. Every person on Earth has some negative personality traints, I refuse to think about my precious kids/grandkids negatively.</p>
<p>I have not seen anyone mention âperfectionistâ (maybe because it is not an adjective, though it can be used to describe someone). I wonder whether that would also be a negative descriptor in the current college admissions environment.</p>
<p>I am a little torn by this question. I could describe the positive traits of my children but on the other hand I do not want to sound cliche. In resume writing, the advice is avoid terms like âinnovative, reliable, self motivated etc.â.</p>
<p>For the limited purpose of the GC, I am not sure that it matters. But if the GC uses it his/her recommendation, do admissions committee look at it the same as an prospective employer. Will the description âself motivatedâ be a positive for a high school student but a given (i.e. expected normally and hence not to be mentioned) for an experienced employee?</p>
<p>Just looked up what I wrote for my daughter last year:</p>
<p>responsible, dependable, organized, inquisitive, creative, shy, cheerful, kind, and modest</p>
<p>Since we donât get to see the GC letter - I have no idea what she did with these adjectives!</p>
<p>All I can think of right now: busy, busy, busy.
Ah, and not getting enough sleep.</p>
<p>S1: Loud, forceful, abrasive, brilliant, exhausting!
D1: Unfocused, immature, creative, silly, full of potential
D2: Loud, forceful, abrasive, committed, acidic</p>
<p>(Guess which two are Aspies?)</p>
<p>Can the 5 adjectives be embedded in a longer phrase?</p>
<p>If so, Iâd say, âLeaps tall buildings in a single bound.â </p>
<p>That leaves a subliminal message: âTall, Single.â</p>
<p>We had to do that last year during the application process for GC also. I looked back and I wrote:</p>
<p>Compassionate
Loving
Gentle
Bountiful
Altruistic</p>
<p>I certainly could have chosen words that described her as a student, but her transcript did just fine in that regard so I chose to describe her as a person.</p>