WhatItTakestoBeCompetitiveforCollege:

AcompilationofcollegeadmissionsadvicefromtheIvyLeaguesandothersources
ByStephenLayng

4CommonCollegeApplicationMisconceptions
(NotestakenduringCongressofFuture
MedicalLeadersconference)
1.)
Ifyoudonthavea4.0GPA,youwontgetintoanyIvyLeague
Wrong!
IvyLeagueschoolsarelookingmainlyforimpactandengagement.
a.)
Impact:
Theyaresearchingforstudentswhowillnotonlysucceedin
academia,butalsowhowillmakeanimpactonothers,thecommunity,andthewholeworld.
Mrs.DeborahBedorgivestheIvyLeaguedefinitionofleadership:aspiringtobeinspirational.
Withthisnewdefinitionofleadership,thegoaloftheapplicantsistonotonlyfocusontheirown
future,butalsoothersfutures(Philippians2:35).

b.)
Engagement:
Theyarealsolookingforindividualswhoarewillingtoengage

intheworldaroundthempeoplewhowilltakeadvantageofeveryopportunitythatpassestheir
way.Mrs.Bedorencouragesthestudentsshementorstobecomeextrapreneurs.
Extrapreneurs,Bedordefines,areadolescentswhodecidetogodeeperintotheirpassions
regardlessofwhetherornotanyoneseesthemdoingit.Collegeswanttoseepassionflowing
throughyoubecauseitistrulyyourpassion!
2.)
Youcanusethesamecollegeessaysforeverycollegeyouapplyto
Wrong!
a.)Makeeachcollegeyouapplytofeellikeitistheonlycollegeyoudesireto
attend.
FindtwocoursesattheIvyLeagueschool,orstandardcollegeyoulove,
andstatewhytheyarephenomenalandwhyyouwouldbenefitgreatly
fromthatspecificcollege
Meet,email,orfindsomeotherwaytocontactaprofessororchairman
fromyourdesiredschool.Thenmentiontheminyourcollegeessays.
Findaninternshiporclubthatyouwouldbewillingtoattend.The
extracurricularactivityyouchooseshouldbeoneofyourstrongpassions

*SpeakerattheconferencewasDeborahBedorCEOofCollegeAdmissionCentral.Shehas
theresponsibilityofmentoringhighschoolstudentsinthecollegeapplicationprocess.

soyoucaneasilygivereasonforwhyyouwouldparticipateinthe
activities.
3.)
IfIdonotgetfinancialaidwithFAFSA,Iwillneverbeabletoreceiveit
Wrong!
a.)Findscholarshipsfromsomewhereelse!Ifyouarepersistent,settlingfor
nothinglessthanhavingfinancialaid,youwillfindaway.

4.)
Idonotneedarsum
Wrong!
a.)The
rsumisoneofmost,ifnotthemost,importantaidtogettingintothe

collegeofyourchoice.ThersumiswhatshowstheIvyLeaguesorcollegeswhatyouhave
actuallydonewithyourtime.Italsoexplainsyourpassionswhichthecollegeswillbelooking
for.

IvyLeagueSchoolandOtherUniversityCredentials
IvyLeagueschoolsaresearchingforstudentswhowillbethebesteducatorsofone
anotherandtheirprofessorsindividualswhowillinspirethosearoundthemduringtheir
Collegeyearsandbeyond(HarvardCollege).Thereisagreyareaintheapplicationprocess.
Thequalificationstheyaremostlylookingfor,however,isthecompetitivenessofthe
transcript,extracurricularactivities,SAT/ACTscores,SATsubjecttests,lettersof
recommendation,andpersonallettersfromtheapplicants,describingthemselves(Princeton
College).Theydonotlookmerelyatthegradepointaverage.Theylookmostlyatthehigh
schooltranscriptinthecontextoftheparticularhighschool.Theylookforwhatcoursesyour
schooloffers,howthegradingsystemworks,whatcharacteristicshelptodefinetheschool
communityandwhatpercentageofstudentsgoontocollegeaftergraduation.(Dartmouth
College)Theywillalsolookattheadvanced(AP)coursesyouattendedinthecontextyour
schoolaswellastheleadershipopportunitiesthatwereoffered(VanderbiltUniversity).
UniversityofPenn,similarly,evaluatesapplicationsholisticallywhichiswhywe[they]arenot
abletoprovideapplicantswiththeirchancesofbeingadmitted(UniversityofPenn).Again,
everycollege,IvyLeagueorstandardcollege,willbelookingatyourtranscriptinthecontext
ofyourschoolandpersonallife.Ifyourschoolofferscalculusandyoudonottakeit,thecollege

ofyourchoicewilltakenoteofthat,anditwillreflectpoorlyagainstyouintheapplication
process.

ApplicationProcess
GrowthandPotential
Haveyoureachedyourmaximumacademicandpersonalpotential?
Haveyoubeenstretchingyourself?
Haveyoubeenworkingtocapacityinyouracademicpursuits,yourfulltimeorparttime
employment,orotherareas?
Doyouhavereservepowertodomore?
Howhaveyouusedyourtime?
Doyouhaveinitiative?Areyouaselfstarter?Whatmotivatesyou?
Doyouhaveadirectionyet?Whatisit?Ifnot,areyouexploringmanythings?
Wherewillyoubeinone,five,or25years?Willyoucontributesomethingtothose
aroundyou?
Whatsortofhumanbeingareyounow?Whatsortofhumanbeingwillyoubeinthe
future?(Harvard)
Haveyouchallengedyourselfwiththehighestlevelcourses?Howhaveyou
demonstratedyourpassionforlearning?(CornellUniversity)
InterestsandActivities
Doyoucaredeeplyaboutanythingintellectual?Extracurricular?Personal?
Whathaveyoulearnedfromyourinterests?Whathaveyoudonewithyourinterests?
Howhaveyouachievedresults?Withwhatsuccessorfailure?Whathaveyoulearnedas
aresult?
Intermsofextracurricular,athletic,community,orfamilycommitments,haveyoutaken
fulladvantageofopportunities?
Whatisthequalityofyouractivities?Doyouappeartohaveagenuinecommitmentor
leadershiprole?

 Ifyouhavenothadmuchtimeinhighschoolforextracurricularpursuitsduetofamilial,
work,orotherobligations,whatdoyouhopetoexploreatthiscollegewithyour
additionalfreetime?(Harvard)
Whatspecialtalentsorinterestshaveyoudeveloped?(CornellUniversity)
Activitiesthatareuniquetoyourschoolareimportantandbeneficialintheapplication
process.(VanderbiltUniversity)
Awardsinacademicsandextracurricularactivitiesarebothatthesamelevelof
competitiveness.Whatcollegesarelookingforinparticular,ishowdeterminedand
dedicatedyouhavebeentotheactivitiesyouhaveparticipatedin.(StanfordUniversity)
Travelandmissionsaregood,onlyifitisreallywhatyouareinterestedin.Donot
merelytravelorgoonmissiontripstoattachittoyourrsum.Collegeswanttoseewhat
youaretrulyinterestedin.(StanfordUniversity)
CharacterandPersonality
Whatchoiceshaveyoumadeforyourself?Why?
Areyoualatebloomer?
Howopenareyoutonewideasandpeople?
Whataboutyourmaturity,character,leadership,selfconfidence,warmthofpersonality,
senseofhumor,energy,concernforothers,andgraceunderpressure?(Harvard)
Doyourapplicationessays

andlettersofrecommendationsreflectyourstrongest
personalattributes?(CornellUniversity)
Youneedtobeapersonwhoisdesiringtotakejoyinlifetimelearning,andtolead
successfulandmeaningfullives(YaleUniversity).
ContributiontotheCollegeCommunity
WillyoubeabletostanduptothepressuresandfreedomsofCollegelife?
Willyoucontributesomethingtothiscollegeandtoyourclassmates?Willyoubenefit
fromyourcollegeexperience?
Wouldotherstudentswanttoroomwithyou,shareameal,beinaseminartogether,be
teammates,orcollaborateinacloselyknitextracurriculargroup?(Harvard)

 ColumbiaUniversity,aswellasotherIvyLeagueschools,focusoncommunity.You
havetofocusonthisaswellinordertoflourishatcommunityfocusedcolleges
(ColumbiaUniversity).
NormalCandidateQualifications
Whatcollegesrecommendisnotwhattheywant.(BrownUniversity)Iftheyrecommendtwo
yearsofaforeignlanguage,youshouldtakefourbecausethatistrulywhattheylookfor.

4yearsofEnglish
4yearsofmathematics(oftenthroughcalculus,ifavailable)
4yearsofsocialscience
4yearsoflaboratoryscience
4yearsofaforeignlanguage(Dartmouth)

WhatTheyWanttoKnow
Giventhecoursesthatyourschooloffers,haveyouenrolledinachallenging
curriculum?(Dartmouth)
Haveyouhadacademicsuccessthatsuggeststhatyou'llthriveintheclassroomatthis
college?(Dartmouth)
Yourpersonalessaysneedtoreflectwellwhatyouachieved,andtheyhavetodescribe
whatisuniqueaboutyouaswellasyourschool.(VanderbiltUniversity)

WhatYouShouldandShouldNOTDoWhenWritingEssayforApplication
Donttrytosummarizeyourentirelifeorhighschoolcareer.
Focusonatopicthatisofinteresttoyouchooseanexperience,aclass,aperson,an
issuethattrulymatterstoyou.
Makeitpersonal.
Dontwriteaboutyourawesomegrandfather.
Dowriteabouthowyouhavechangedbecauseofyourawesomegrandfather.
Don'ttrytobesomethingthatyou'renot.(Ifyou'realwaysfunny,that'sgreat.Thisis
probablynottheplacetostarttryingtobefunny.)

 Don'tforgettoproofread.(Dartmouth)
Tellyourstoryhavefunwithwhatyouaregoodandbadat.(BrownUniversity)
Givecarefulthoughttothequestionsasked,butdonttrytowritetheanswersthatyou
thinkwewanttoheargiveustheanswersthattellusaboutyou.
Inyouressay,helpusunderstandyourthoughtsandfeelingsaboutsomethingthatis
importanttoyou.Weareinterestedinthetopicyouchoose,howyoudevelopyouridea,
andhowwellyouexpressyourself.(CornellUniversity)
Wealsoscrutinizeapplicationsforextracurriculardistinctionandpersonalqualities[...]With
theseaspectsacademicexcellence,extracurriculardistinction,andpersonalqualitiesin
mind,wereadwithcareallthecomponentsofeachapplication.(HarvardDeanWilliamR.
Fitzsimmons
)

FinalPreparation
Cleanupyoursocialmedia.IvyLeagueschools,aswellaseveryothercollege,willlook
atyoursocialmediaprofilesbeforetheyevenglanceatyourapplication.Shareonyour
socialmediawhatyouwouldwantyourchoicecollegetosee.(DeborahBedor)
Contactyourregionaladmissionsofficers.Letthemknowyouareapplyingtothe
specificcollegetheyareinchargeof.Keepthem,aswellasthecollegeyouwishto
attend,updatedoneverynoteworthyactivityyouparticipatein.(DeborahBedor)
Gettoknoweachschoolyoureconsideringinsideandoutthisincludesacademics,the
studentbody,thelocationoftheschool,andthevibeoncampus.Interactwiththeinstitution
reachthematerials,speakwithadmissionsofficers,meetwithstudents,andtrytovisitcampus.
Doanythingyoucandotodetermineiftheatmosphereisoneinwhichyoucanbesuccessful
andenjoyyourcollegeexperience. (KristaKPittsburgh,Pennsylvania)