While other high school seniors were probably spending their November afternoons studying or writing essays for their college applications, Tyler McNiven mounted a campaign to become a Stanford freshman next fall. </p>
<p>And “campaign” is exactly the word to describe the Woodside High School senior’s strategy to impress Stanford’s admissions committee. Concerned that his application alone would not get him into the school of his dreams, McNiven, a self-described Oval Office aspirant, took the political route, holding press conferences, passing fliers that detail his qualifications and engaging in marathon handshaking. </p>
<p>Driving around campus with a red car and a white bullhorn (Stanford’s colors) and with a small tree (the university’s mascot) strapped to the top of the car, McNiven discussed his strategy with a reporter via cell phone. </p>
<p>“I feel the application doesn’t show everything,” McNiven said. “They’ll see the wacky side of me. I’m exposing more of myself to the Stanford community.” </p>
<p>McNiven’s campaign raises questions many college applicants have probably asked themselves: How much of a risk should I take to get “noticed?” Or is it better to play it safe and risk appearing boring? </p>
<p>Though McNiven’s actions probably fall into the extreme category of application gimmicks, college admissions offices do receive a fair share of gifts and unusual gestures, all designed to demonstrate an applicant’s affinity with the school. </p>
<p>Generally, admissions officers are not impressed. </p>
<p>“Frankly, gimmicks don’t work,” said Joe Case, interim dean of admission at Amherst College in Massachusetts. “It really needs to be something of substance.” </p>
<p>“It can be something clever and substantive–that’s a positive thing,” Case said. “Driving around campus: No. Sending the world’s best brownie recipe: No.” </p>
<p>When the students’ qualifications come up for final review, Case said, nothing substitutes for good old-fashioned book learning. </p>
<p>“Basically, you’re going to have to back it up with secondary preparation (and) test scores,” Case said. </p>
<p>Christoph Gutentag, Duke University’s director of admissions, said he hasn’t seen too many outrageous stunts in his 15 years of working in college admissions. </p>
<p>“It doesn’t happen as much as you might think,” Gutentag said. “I think most students take the process seriously.” </p>
<p>Not to say Duke doesn’t receive its fair share of mementos every application season. The list of gifts received by Gutentag’s office reads like a mail order catalog: 4-foot greeting cards, life preservers with “Duke” emblazoned on them, prescription bottles bearing cutesy messages, cookies and more cookies. </p>
<p>“If it’s edible, we generally eat it,” Gutentag said. </p>
<p>Both admissions officers agreed that gimmicks usually suffer by failing to have much of a point. Gutentag said applicants should find better modes of self-expression, whether through the application essay or by sending bona fide support materials, such as a sample of the student’s artwork or a tape of a musical performance. </p>
<p>“(Applicants should) be their best selves and think about the best ways to have that manifest itself,” Gutentag said. </p>
<p>Gutentag said that while gimmicks rarely hurt a candidate’s prospects, an occasional one has been known to backfire. In the case of McNiven’s campaign, his chances depend on whether the admissions committee finds him amusing or immature, Gutentag said. </p>
<p>“It all depends whether they see him as being creative or harassing,” Gutentag said. "That might influence their decision. There’s always the possibility of going overboard. </p>
<p>“There’s always a risk of hurting your cause rather than helping it.” </p>
<p>Jean Dawes, a guidance counselor at Palo Alto High School, said she wasn’t aware of Paly students participating in application ploys. She said she doesn’t advise her students to send items along with their applications unless they reflect talents or accomplishments. </p>
<p>“Everybody likes chocolate chip cookies,” Dawes said. “But I don’t know if it ever gets written on an applicant’s file that ‘Mom makes great cookies,’” Dawes said. </p>
<p>As for McNiven, who applied for early decision, he may hear as soon as this month about his collegiate fate. Stanford’s dean of undergraduate admissions did not return a phone call about McNiven’s application or Stanford’s admission process. </p>
<p>But McNiven might have done well to consult “Questions and Admissions: Reflections on 100,000 Admissions Decisions at Stanford,” a book written by Jean Fetter, a former Stanford dean of admissions. The book advises: “It is definitely a myth that a gimmick can make a difference in the final decision.”
And I’m sure folks at CalTech do too. Do you know that chemists are in general good cooks but they usually dislike cooking (too similar to their work). Anyway, that must have been an interesting essay to read!</p>