<p>Our Naviance page includes a "brag sheet" featuring several prompts, one of which is to come up with a set of adjectives describing our child with an anecdote for each adjective.</p>
<p>For the life of me, I can't think of an adjective to describe someone who rises to occasions, who performs best when the stakes are high. I feel like there must be a perfectly good word for this, and it's just escaping me. I guess "clutch" is in the ballpark (sorry!), but I'm looking for something less slangy and context-specific. </p>
<p>Hmm, usually those types of people are known by their accomplishments. Perhaps that’s why there as so few adjectives. “This guy’s a really dangerous hitter with men in scoring position” is great color commentary … but a player like that is probably high up on the RBI list.</p>
<p>Strictly my opinion, but “rising to the occasion” can be a two-edged sword. Yes, it can indicate a person of exceptional character and leadership ability … like a chef who can adapt when things go wrong in the kitchen. But it can also indicate an individual who hangs in the background and only shows up when the spotlight goes on … like a chef who is somewhat lackadaisical EXCEPT when he knows a food reviewer dining in the restaurant. As I said, JMHO.</p>
<p>“Clutch” is really a pretty good choice. It exactly embodies what you are talking about, and that’s how it is used by the sports commentators and sports-talk callers of the world. I don’t know whether the OED recognizes it as an adjective yet, but it is.</p>
<p>Here are a few
zealous—full of, characterized by, or due to zeal; ardently active, devoted, or diligent.
steadfast—firm in belief, determination, or adherence : loyal
industrious— Assiduous in work or study; diligent</p>
<p>Thanks a lot, everybody. I think what I’m seeing here is confirmation that mathmom is right and I should just use a phrase and not worry about it (this is just going to the GC, after all, not to the colleges). The closest words to what I’m talking about are the ones like “intrepid” and “undaunted,” but somehow those sound too much like I’m talking about an Arctic explorer…:)</p>
<p>NewHope33, you have a point–this quality can be a two-edged sword. But the adcoms are already seeing the “bad” edge anyway, in the form of a middling GPA. I want to make sure they see the good edge too.</p>
trouble is *some *people (cough, cough) wouldn’t understand what you mean by this. When I hear the word clutch I think of a little purse, the thing you use to change gears in a stick shift, someone grabbing someone or something and holding tightly, a bunch of eggs in a nest. I don’t think of what the OP is talking about at all.</p>
<p>Well, you could get fancy and quote Aristotle, for example “dyna ton kata dynamin” everything that is possible, “dynaton kata to telos” potency according to its goal, or “entelechy” the condition of something whose essence is fully realized, but I’d probably stick with something more straightforward! </p>
<p>I wouldn’t go for “diligent” or “industrious” or similar - at least not as a stand alone or central quality. This can said about almost any student (at least sometimes) and while perhaps not the kiss of death on an app, I’ve been told that it does very little in terms of setting one apart.</p>
<p>“Resourceful?” You could back it up with anecdotes that describe how your S performs well when the stakes are high or when he has risen to a challenge or an occasion.</p>
<p>This doesn’t quite capture the quality you’re trying to express, but how about “practical”? In other words, your S is good at solving problems, esp. in clutch or high stress situations. It doesn’t matter if those situations are of his own making, such as those caused by procrastination or prior laziness! The fact is he solves the problem when it counts. Also, he is practical in the sense of being efficient with his time and effort. He does what is necessary when it is necessary, which also kind of falls into the definition of “practical” that states: “being concerned with reality and not theory” He doesn’t care if he’s supposed to always do his best work–why should he kill himself when he get along just fine and still pass doing less?</p>
<p>enterprising? dynamic? indefatigable? diligent? indomitable? I am not sure there is really a single word that conveys what you are searching for.</p>
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