<p>Hi!</p>
<p>I've been reading in several places that students should do research on colleges they are interested in and find out what kinds of students the college is looking for that specific year, eg. musicians, debaters etc. I tried to look this up for some colleges with no luck...</p>
<p>Anyone have any suggestions as to how you find this out? Should I contact the colleges directly? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Think this out logically: if you were to mold yourself into a certain “personality,” it wouldn’t be your personality. You shouldn’t do that.</p>
<p>It’s definitely not smart to ask colleges what kind of students the colleges are looking for. Clearly that’s a sign that you’ll mold yourself to try to fit that. I think that you should try to be an interesting, smart person, who it would be really great to go to college with. That’s the short answer. It’s not something that you just become. It comes naturally, not forcefully.</p>
<p>Seems next to impossible for most kids, unless you have a very specific skill demonstrated at a high level. I’m specifically thinking of something like an All-American quarterback who weighs his chances of starting against a school’s needs at that position and previous recruiting classes.</p>
<p>The only other way I see trying to market yourself is not so much changing who you are but in finding buyers for what you’re selling. If you’re a guy, then you might be more highly sought at a LAC. If you’re a girl good at math and interested in engineering, consider schools that are looking for you.</p>
<p>I think it’s important to get across the message that you’re intelligent but still have a life. Having perfect scores won’t get you in everywhere, they need to see that you’re a real person with real interests. Having said that I agree- it’s stupid to “mold” yourself into what you think a college wants, because no one but the adcoms really know for sure. Build a mind reading device, anyone?</p>