<p>When they ask for weaknesses what exactly are they looking for?
Academic?
Personal?
Things like time management?</p>
<p>For what school’s application is this?</p>
<p>Numerous ones have it (i.e. Exeter, NMH, The Hill)</p>
<p>Be honest and talk about whatever weaknesses you have, i.e. athletics, studying too much, time management, writing, always paying attention, etc. Be sincere, schools like to know that you realize that you’re not perfect.</p>
<p>Thanks. Before the start I made sure that I would be honest and sincere in whatever I wrote. I just was not sure what the question specifically pertained too.</p>
<p>Oh, so do you mean like the parent statement for Exeter? If so, I know what you’re talking about. Some examples of academic weaknesses may be bad time management skills, unmotivated in classes that are too easy, not a good test-taker, not good at preparing for tests, too hard one oneself when it comes to grades (a perfectionist), not able to perform well in group projects or parnter projects, easily distracted, etc.
Personal weaknesses could include being uncomfortable around adults, extremely shy so has a hard time making new friends, very intelligent but in turn may come off as “cocky”, struggles when trying to relate to people who are not as smart as them, immaturity, etc.</p>
<p>It may take some reflecting but I’m sure you’ll be able to pull out what some of your weaknesses are. Watch your wording though, so they don’t seem too severe. Wording is everything when talking about these types of things.</p>
<p>Thanks I can now think of one or two that I can relate to.</p>
<p>But what do you mean by:</p>
<p>“Watch your wording though, so they don’t seem too severe”</p>
<p>Are you supposed to make things seem minor (i.e. a little shy, does well on test preparation but can do better, manages time well but once in a blue moon things can get out of hand) or what?</p>
<p>Yes, and avoid strong words like how I put “perfectionist” in parentheses. Because there’s a difference between saying “My child has always set high standards for herself and therefore has a hard time accepting lower grades” and “My child has high standards and is a bit of a perfectionist”. They mean nearly the same thing, but give the sentences different moods; perfectionist could easily be misinterpreted as the extreme of the word, someone who NEEDS to get that 100% on every test, whereas there’s only one way you can look at “has a hard time accepting lower grades”. The wording thing is really case specific, but you’ll probably be able to tell by yourself when something you’ve said can be misread as a real negative.</p>
<p>kemmek, I actually think this </p>
<p>** My child has always set high standards for herself and therefore has a hard time accepting lower grades **</p>
<p>sounds worse than </p>
<p>** My child has high standards and is a bit of a perfectionist **</p>
<p>The former reads more “problem child” than the latter. Just an opinion.</p>
<p>agreed… perfectionist is a double edged sword. usually perfectionists, because of their habits to try to be perfect, tend to do generally well in whatever they do. that is good. of course bad grades and not being able to accept them, is not necessarily that good. the former is only mentioning the “bad” part of the entire meaning, if you get what i mean lol</p>
<p>yees actually i suppose you’re right. the first sentence was probably not a good example of the way you should correctly word things.</p>
<p>sorry tennis21! disregard my little example there :D</p>
<p>If you get into Exeter and go there, it’s going to be very hard to succeed in being a perfectionist…</p>
<p>If you get into ANYWHERE everyone will probably have a pleasant surprise.</p>
<p>Yeah, pretty much. Well, I don’t have to worry. My “perfectionist” side went away a loooong time ago.</p>
<p>Hey guys thanks for the advice and I thought up of some weaknesses and worded them carefully, but truthfully. I know that anywhere I get in to will be challenging.</p>