<p>Ok, so I am filling out the "parent brag sheet" that D's high school Guidance Counseling department recommends parents complete for the Guidance Counselor Report that gets submitted to her college choices. It asks for 4 adjectives to describe my D and I am stuck on one, total braine freeze has set in. What adjective could you use to describe a hard worker or strong work ethic? Diligent does not seem to fit and I am stuck. Any ideas? Thanks!</p>
<p>dedicated? driven? ānose to the grindstoneā? focused?</p>
<p>The adjectives I would use for my daughter are poised, articulate, committed, and funny. Does that help you out?</p>
<p>Thereās a thread about this where supposedly āhard-workingā is the kiss of death, so whatever you do, donāt use that one. :)</p>
<p>Thanks! Some of those are great. I appreciate the feedback about āhard-workingā being the kiss of death. I already have compassionate and conscientious so I hope there wonāt be any overlap. Committed, focused and driven are very good. The choice of funny is also interesting, makes the person stand out a little. (unfortunately it does not apply to D, she is a little too serious). Hmmm, great options, now to pick one.</p>
<p>At times, Iām sure a lot of parents would like to see their kids ācommittedā. ;)</p>
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<p>dligent, resilient, persistent, passionate, courageous.</p>
<p>Of all of the above, it is my personal opinion that my sās ability to persevere is my Sās greatest strength. That, and the courage to try his best and try things that are new. But if it was only one word, it would be perseverance/persistence. Conscientious is a good word, but itās a little stoic (or OCD) in my opinion. 
Iād chose diligent instead.</p>
<p>Hereās that other thread about ānegativeā descriptors:</p>
<p><a href=āhttp://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/706020-personal-descriptors-avoiding-unsuspected-negative-connotations.html?highlight=brag[/url]ā>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/706020-personal-descriptors-avoiding-unsuspected-negative-connotations.html?highlight=brag</a></p>
<p>I remember that some parents had some very tasty descriptors that may fit your bill.</p>
<p>^ I had diligent and persistent on my original list but I thought they kind of overlapped. I love your use of passionate, mind if I steal it?</p>
<p>motivated?</p>
<p>From a thesaurus search for āhard workingā</p>
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<p>Interesting selection of words. Industrious I like. And assiduous. Frisky though?! I certainly wouldnāt use that.</p>
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<p>From the previous thread</p>
<p>Adjectives are one thingāstories are what sells an adjective and if you have specific stories that show rather than tell, it will really help the GC.</p>
<p>As someone on the older thread mentionedāoften, phrases or whole stories can be lifted out of the brag sheet and show up on the rec. So if you can come up with a word that youād like the adcom to see, then be sure it gets into the brag sheet. Not to say that itāll show up, but if itās a good enough story, it probably will.</p>
<p>I like āfrisky.ā</p>
<p>If your D is one of the top students, GCs know she is hardworking, diligent, etc. Maybe this would be the time to emphasize or portray another side of her besides the one the GCs already know.</p>
<p>bull headed and stubborn as a mule are what comes to mind when I think of my daughter.</p>
<p>swimcat, I like to think of that as ātenacious.ā</p>
<p>Maybe we could provide a new service on CC: Adjective alchemy. Tell us what your kid is really like and weāll come up with adjectives that will intrigue an adcom!</p>
<p>swimcatsmom, ārock-like steadfastnessā could work.</p>
<p>Our counselors had a 10-question form we had to fill out. I just pulled mine up and read through it and it seems pretty obvious to me what words would have been pulled if I had only to use five or so. Which is probably what the CC did. </p>
<p>And sure, use passionate. My son is very much this, for better and worse Part of his greatest growth through highschool was to learn how to temper some of those and not become jaded or wilted by it. He was inspiring to even me sometimes. And hereās the thing, when someone who has evolved into a genuine realist still believes with such passion in something, you canāt help but see it too.</p>
<p>elemenope, thanks for the link, that thread was terrific. I have it narrowed down to the following 10 adjectives, of which I have to choose 4:</p>
<p>Compassionate
Conscientious (that word always looks like it is spelled wrong to me)
Devoted
Determined
Generous
Honest
Inclusive
Thoughtful
Integrity (not an adjective so I will need to think of replacement)
Passionate</p>
<p>The word āinclusiveā may seem odd but my D is that one kid that dislikes cliques and the pecking order established in school. When she has a party or friends over, she is very sensitive to ensure that the kids that are kind of loners or very shy are invited with her more popular friends. She is very sensitive to the kids that seem to be left out for no good reason. It is this trait of hers that I am the most proud of. I am not sure if āinclusiveā is the best way to describe that but it is the only one I can think of.</p>
<p>I think inclusive is a great word to use. A rare and attractive trait in the HS teen world.</p>
<p>Maybe ethical as a noun for integrity</p>