Should I talk about my family achievements? Not intend to be braggy here but my family has built an incredible business and I am kinda part of it by giving my advice and steering the wheel sometimes. I just wonder how much this matters to College. I think colleges hope their students to be successful right. Students benefit from colleges, while colleges benefit from famous alumni as well. I think it makes perfect sense if colleges value applicants based on their possibility to be successful but I don’t know if that’s actually how the system works. Please let me know if you know about how the system works inside the Admissions office. Thanks
Is your family applying to college or are you? So, no, you should not talk about your family’s achievements.
How involved were you in the family business? If you were really involved with almost daily contributions at some point then yes.
If your mom and dad did all the work and you just showed up every now and then…no.
I am applying. But I’m the VP of my family’s company and I’m actively involved in it. I just wanna know if talking about it would increase my chances of getting in.
Don’t emphasize your “VP” title. You’re the child of business owners who have you involved. You wouldn’t be VP of another family’s business. Don’t exaggerate.
You should include specific information about your involvement and contributions. At a family business I’ve gone to for years, I have watched the owner’s daughter grow from a minimal role to acting as a manager…and she is still in high school now. It is impressive to watch her function with the maturity of someone much older. If you are making a difference in the success of your family business, definitely put it on your application.
^ Exactly. If your role is truly vital, discuss it. Don’t drape that phony “vice president” label on it. That sort of puffery can be sniffed a mile away.
Thank you all! And Yes, I have a vital role in my family business. I’ve truly built the company together with my parents. And I think i will write about it in my essays. I mean I got nothing to lose right. I think it would be smart for colleges to take me because I would certainly be a generous alum. I believe in giving back and I think it’s a virtue to give back to those who helped me.
Just stick to writing about what you are actually doing now. Do not include anything about being generous in the future.
Only admission to the school you want to go to.
Don’t brag or exaggerate about what you have done or talk about what you will do in the future. If you want to give a matter of fact description of your responsibilities, you could do that. If you actually make sales, do accounting, build or produce the product, or actually wrote the business plan to get financing, say that. But “steering” or “advice” are not actual business functions.