Hi all! I am going into my senior year of high school, and I am looking at multiple top-tier schools and Ivies; specifically Cornell, Columbia, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, and University of Chicago. I am not sure if I am applying to any of these yet, but I would really like to go to one of them. However, I feel like my application is not competitive enough for these schools. I think I have a chance, but I think my applications will be pretty much the same as every other kid applying to these schools. I have read other discussions on here and saw comments saying that qualified students didn’t have anything that would stand out to admissions officers, but I was wondering what you guys think stand-out applications would include?
Very few kids have stand out application. Winning an Intel Science award. Being a celebrity of sorts. Being a national champion in something that interests the college.
Earned standout attributes could be very high level (e.g. national level) achievement, award, or talent in something that interests the college.
Unearned standout attributes could be relation to a large donor, celebrity, politician, or other person of interest to the college.
Of course, nothing can stand out in a negative way, like poor essays or recommendations, high school record that is not top-end in the usual ways (4.0 or close to it unweighted GPA in hard courses covering the usual expected high school subjects), or test scores that are not top-end.
Do everything you can to make your application stand out. This is what the AO sees after all. Make them like you, want you, remember you.
Research your schools as much as you are able and do everything you can to show you fit and will be an asset to the campus. There are many books on this topic if you need help. You can’t really manufacture any awards, scores or personal qualities at this point, but remember: you are in total control of your application and essays. Make them count.
And the obligatory: Make sure you apply to match and likely schools that you can afford and would be happy to attend. If you have trouble finding some ask here, it is a favorite topic and there are many experts.
My younger son, the king of the B+ did surprisingly well with his applications. He put a lot of thought into every single essay and how they all fit together into a single package. If a school had optional essays, he picked one that he could really have fun with and that would show a side of him that was not necessarily obvious elsewhere. He dared to be a little risky and to show a self-deprecating sense of humor. One essay started off, “When my parents suggested I apply to ___ college, I thought they were crazy.” Another optional essay, was an alternative history of the United States. He did it as a series of primary documents and went to the trouble of translating headlines into German for part of it, adapting excerpts from Ben Franklin’s diary for another part. He spent days on it. His main essay about his interest in origami, also had some pretty funny lines. I think he came off as funny and creative. I would guess an AO reading his application thought, this kid would be fun to sit next to in class or to have as a roommate.