I just wanna start this off by saying this post is in a completely non deprecating way, I’m not saying this like I’m complaining or whining or anything at all! I know this post might sound immature, but I’m just panicking and need some insight. (also I’m sorry if this isn’t the place to be posting this kind of stuff!!) Thank you!!
So this girl in my grade today was just committed to Columbia as a junior after choosing between Columbia, Yale, and Brown- that all wanted her because of her lacrosse. Shes an amazing lacrosse player no doubt, and I’m honestly very happy for her, but its made me a little upset and panicky. Columbia is my absolute dream school, and I know that they cut slack for athletes because how important athletics are to colleges. I know that shes pretty smart, and in the nicest way possible she probably wouldn’t be a candidate for these schools if it wasn’t for lacrosse (just saying this from being in her classes and knowing her sat score). I’m not saying that in a mean way at all, lacrosse is her talent and shes a prodigy at it so she definitely deserves it. But it made me realize, what do I have that makes me different? I couldn’t think of anything. I feel like I’m just average at everything. I do have a 4.0 GPA and I’m in pretty much all the APs possible and SATs that can be in the range for top schools according to collegeboard, but nowadays that means nothing. If you have those things you’re just average. I run cross country and play lacrosse, but just in school, not on travel teams with tournaments like that girl I mentioned before. I’m an artist and I’m in national art honor society and I play guitar, and I write for the school newspaper as well. I’m also a neurology research intern at mount sinai hospital over the summers. I just feel like those are basic things that everyone does, I don’t have anything that really sticks out. The one thing I feel like I’m most talented in is painting and drawing, but I’m not majoring in art and colleges don’t have a demand for artists. I always hear about these Ivy league students who have these amazing accomplishments and things that make them so unique and desirable by schools, and I feel like I lack that. I’m not saying this in a whiny, “feel sorry for me” way at all, I just feel like there has to be something I can do that can make me stand out and not be so average.
Well if you do research maybe try to make Intel STS or ISEF. If you like the sciences maybe try for the us national olympiad teams. There are a lot of things you can do to make yourself stand out, but these things take a lot of effort, as you would expect.
You are not average by any stretch of the imagination in the broad group of high school juniors across the country. You are way, way above average. But what you are seeing is realistic - to get into one of the top 5-6 colleges in the country, it helps to have a great talent of some kind. Why not? They have their pick, might as well pick that minuscule percent that are exactly what they want. And you can’t just make yourself into someone with a specific great skill or talent overnight. So join pretty much the rest of the human race on that one.
But the good news is that there are literally thousands of colleges in the US, and you will be just fine at any number of them. Sure, apply to Columbia and a couple other reaches. But spend time picking matches and safeties you would like, too. Get a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges and read through it. You are bound to find more colleges that pique your interest. I agree that Columbia is a great school. But so are Williams, Carleton, UMichigan, Harvey Mudd, Pomona, Haverford, UVA, UNC, and Wellesley. And lots more. Focus on developing a list of safety, match, and reach colleges where you would be happy to go to any of them. Stay away from pining for one top college – there be dragons there.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t spots automatically reserved for sports’ players anyways? And I’m pretty sure athletes are in different pools anyways, so this girl would not likely have any effect on your chances. And in reality, multiple can and have been accepted to one school.
The basic problem you are dealing with is the law of supply and demand. Even though you are probably in the top 1-<5% of students nationally, you are competing with tens of thousands of other people in that top <5% for a limited number of admission spots to highly selective colleges, and the number of available spots is far fewer than the number of qualified applicants.
The lacrosse player is in demand because she has a highly specific skill at a very high level which differentiates her from other applicants. She can bring something to those schools that other people cannot.
I have previously suggested that applicants should approach the admissions process from the perspective of the admissions committee, in terms of what they might bring to a particular school that is of value:
Not many people - including most of the ridiculously talented people who get accepted to top schools - are in the envious position that you describe of getting to pick between Ivy schools in their junior year, with the assurance that they will have a spot (unless something changes drastically). That’s just a reflection of how much NCAA sports are valued by those schools, and how good your friend is in that particular area. Life doesn’t work with an even playing field for everyone. Forget about it and move on.
Between now and next year all you can do is make the most of who you are, and then package yourself as best as possible when you apply. As @intparent notes, it’s not healthy to obsess about specific schools, and you should have a range of schools to which you apply.
In terms of how to make yourself appear more distinctive, I would try and do more with your arts background, given that you say that is your strongest outside talent. Some things that I would consider:
- Submit entries to prestigious arts competitions, such as the Scholastic Arts and Writing awards and the National YoungArts Foundation:
http://www.artandwriting.org
http://www.youngarts.org/our-program
Their website has a gallery of previous winners, so you can get an idea of whether your work is of comparable quality.
The National YoungArts program is closed for this year, but you should consider applying for next year.
- Submit entries to teen literary/arts publications. It will enhance your application if you have had drawings published. For example, the Claremont Review is an international (Canadian-based) magazine for young writers that also publishes drawings, photography and art submissions:
http://www.theclaremontreview.ca/#!visual-art-submissions/caq9
You can do an Internet search to find others.
- Plan on submitting an arts supplement when you apply to colleges. Getting submissions for art competitions will help you prepare a portfolio so that you don't have to rush a year from now.
- Combine your art and neurology interests.
One of the best ways to be distinctive is to combine 2 areas in which you have some “expertise”. Art therapy is an emerging field, and neurology is a key area in which it will be applied. You’ve already interned at Mt. Sinai, so you can contact them and find out whether there are any opportunities, and whom to contact. Mt. Sinai apparently does have a creative arts therapy program for children:
This is also a way to connect your art interest to a broader outside interest. If you are able to get involved, it may open doors to other opportunities (publications, conferences, working with other groups or hospitals in this area). It has the potential to do 2 very important things:
- Differentiate you.
- Connect your interests and allow you to present a coherent narrative that links your interests.
It’s also possible that your music could be tied in, as music therapy is also an emerging field, though it’s not clear from the OP how much music is a major focus.
This is just one example. Be creative! And take @intparent’s advice. There are lots of great schools out there, and you should have a bright future.
I think @renaissancedad knows what he’s talking about. Doing those things and writing really creative and insightful essays, and you will have a good shot. If it makes you feel any better, I (a composer, a type of artist) didn’t do half those things until after I submitted my college apps, and I still got into Columbia (and am going there now). Since you’re in your junior year, you have plenty of time to hone your skills and accomplish more before you apply. So take that chance! But also consider why it is you’re doing art. Do you want to have a career in it? Why do you? What do you want to accomplish with your art? What do you want to accomplish with neurology?
You don’t have to have your whole life figured out before you apply - nobody does - but I feel like it really helps when it’s obvious that you know yourself and what you want through your application.
If you’re planning on visiting, try to set up meetings with faculty members in areas that you’re interested in. I think that helped my chances hugely, since I had a lot of stuff to write about in my essays. Anyway, don’t worry about being “above average” - nobody’s perfect, and even the most successful-on-paper students still have personal issues they need to work through. And about chances, it’s really all luck-based past a certain point, so don’t stress too much.