Kids who don’t have a spike or narrative

[Anonymous]

I think this spike thing is an internet phenomenon and has gotten further promotion by consultants. Never heard an admissions rep express an interest in this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this spike thing is an internet phenomenon and has gotten further promotion by consultants. Never heard an admissions rep express an interest in this.

I have heard Dean J mention an interest with “depth” which is the same thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't start looking at their activities until Feb of junior year. Then just see what connects what THEY'VE ALREADY DONE.

I promise you. The spike is already there. You don't need to manufacture anything.

Lol. I’m 45, and I still don’t have a spike. Luckily, I was able to go to ivys before spikes were needed, but the idea that a spike will already be there is kind of silly. You don’t need a spike to survive as a human, so why would one just be there for everyone naturally?

[Anonymous]

I just finished the process last year- no disappointment or sour grapes. If I had another kid, I’d encourage them to built a spike or narrative around something esoteric like macrame or vintage ads.

[Anonymous]

My little brother started at Stanford in 1996 and at the parent session on welcome weekend they told the parents they had, not a class of well-rounded students, but a well-rounded class filled with students who had deep interests in a variety of areas. My mother noted the comment because it was the first time she had heard that idea—we went to a prep school that, back in the 90s, that was all about producing well-rounded “Renaissance” students for old-fashioned college admissions. So I would say the “spike” thing has been around for a while, and has been working its way down from the most selective schools. (And also, when was the last time you heard “Renaissance”? I feel like that word was everywhere when I was applying to schools.)

[Anonymous]

I think it's important to understand that there is a difference between a narrative and spike. Spikes should occur naturally and some kids just have them - an extreme interest in or passion for something that shows through their ECs, etc. and perhaps academic choices.

But everyone has a narrative, it's how YOU weave what you've done together. You don't have to plan it. It's more of a reflective exercise. My DS's narrative - if you want to call it that (I think it's somewhat comical that things are termed this way now) - is "jack of all trades," meaning their interest in trying new things, whether they end up being good at them or not.

When people talk about the narrative, they're really talking about the essay, which helps sew the ECs up, or illustrate one or more of them through a narrow lens. In my DC's case, the narrative was one of curiosity, making the most of every day, and the joy of learning for learning's sake. You might say it's not compelling, but it IS a narrative, and it does completely characterize my DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this even normal or healthy developmentally? For a teenager to have a carefully curated spike or narrative that’s the product of an expensive college counselor’s hame plan? Aren’t teenagers supposed to be trying different things and aren’t they just beginning to figure out what they like? I understand that a few scattered unrelated activities, a typical retail or food service job and maybe a couple awards won’t cut it for T-20’s in 2025, but what is all this doing to our kids?

Great question and I agree 100%. Schools seem to want pointy kids who come together to create a well-rounded class. How many of these superstars actually continue those activities in college? I agree that it is important to show commitment to things, but being "very good" rather than "world class" should be fine if a kid is otherwise great.

At my top 10 school, even in the 90s, I remember initially not being happy as it took a while for all of the kids who were used to being the best to realize that not everyone can be the best and it is OK to take a step back and blend in. Pardon the non-PC term, but as we used to say, too many Indian chiefs, not enough Indians.

Agree. It’s all a facade. It doesn’t even make a “well rounded” class because it’s superficial. Plus kids aren’t engaging with each other much at college anyhow. Many classes are online, and in person classes consist of kids with faces stuck in their phones/computers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's important to understand that there is a difference between a narrative and spike. Spikes should occur naturally and some kids just have them - an extreme interest in or passion for something that shows through their ECs, etc. and perhaps academic choices.

But everyone has a narrative, it's how YOU weave what you've done together. You don't have to plan it. It's more of a reflective exercise. My DS's narrative - if you want to call it that (I think it's somewhat comical that things are termed this way now) - is "jack of all trades," meaning their interest in trying new things, whether they end up being good at them or not.

When people talk about the narrative, they're really talking about the essay, which helps sew the ECs up, or illustrate one or more of them through a narrow lens. In my DC's case, the narrative was one of curiosity, making the most of every day, and the joy of learning for learning's sake. You might say it's not compelling, but it IS a narrative, and it does completely characterize my DC.

Every kid comes with their own narrative. However this thread is more about the kids who have someone help them construct or craft a narrative from middle school on- one that ties courses, choice of major, extracurriculars, essays and summer activities into one cohesive narrative.

[Anonymous]

You don't need a private counselor and families can successfully help their own kids. The elite college acceptance trend does support kids who are specialists vs well rounded generalists. As a pp noted, parents can assess and help kid lean into their kid's academic strengths and genuine ec interests. Better to start earlier in hs to help kid identify programs to support their interests so they can create their narrative and have experiences to reflect upon in essays. We kept our kid focused on what they liked/were good at. Yes, kid had great grades and testing but didnt chase volunteer hours, team captain positions or rigor in every subject. They created their own path and they did have a clear story of what they did, why, and a future plan for college. This guiding strategy was very successful for my kid this cycle. We don't make the rules...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's important to understand that there is a difference between a narrative and spike. Spikes should occur naturally and some kids just have them - an extreme interest in or passion for something that shows through their ECs, etc. and perhaps academic choices.

But everyone has a narrative, it's how YOU weave what you've done together. You don't have to plan it. It's more of a reflective exercise. My DS's narrative - if you want to call it that (I think it's somewhat comical that things are termed this way now) - is "jack of all trades," meaning their interest in trying new things, whether they end up being good at them or not.

When people talk about the narrative, they're really talking about the essay, which helps sew the ECs up, or illustrate one or more of them through a narrow lens. In my DC's case, the narrative was one of curiosity, making the most of every day, and the joy of learning for learning's sake. You might say it's not compelling, but it IS a narrative, and it does completely characterize my DC.

Every kid comes with their own narrative. However this thread is more about the kids who have someone help them construct or craft a narrative from middle school on- one that ties courses, choice of major, extracurriculars, essays and summer activities into one cohesive narrative.

NP and I’ll add that what I’ve seen (in real life and here) are the kids whose crafted “self” isn’t even genuine - it is all a game to be admitted to X elite school in whatever way the parents can make that happen (undersubscribed major, etc). There’s a post on one of these threads saying that kids leave activities and interests OFF the application just so they don’t look well rounded. That one nearly broke me, as the parent of an active, smart, genuine, well rounded kid for whom the “genuinely interest in learning” approach failed miserably in the application process.
I think colleges are running the risk of having a bunch of students who are only looking out for themselves and can’t or won’t form any kind of community because they’ve done everything for all the wrong reasons (and only care about going to the “best” school they got into, without regard for the culture or community of the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's important to understand that there is a difference between a narrative and spike. Spikes should occur naturally and some kids just have them - an extreme interest in or passion for something that shows through their ECs, etc. and perhaps academic choices.

But everyone has a narrative, it's how YOU weave what you've done together. You don't have to plan it. It's more of a reflective exercise. My DS's narrative - if you want to call it that (I think it's somewhat comical that things are termed this way now) - is "jack of all trades," meaning their interest in trying new things, whether they end up being good at them or not.

When people talk about the narrative, they're really talking about the essay, which helps sew the ECs up, or illustrate one or more of them through a narrow lens. In my DC's case, the narrative was one of curiosity, making the most of every day, and the joy of learning for learning's sake. You might say it's not compelling, but it IS a narrative, and it does completely characterize my DC.

Every kid comes with their own narrative. However this thread is more about the kids who have someone help them construct or craft a narrative from middle school on- one that ties courses, choice of major, extracurriculars, essays and summer activities into one cohesive narrative.

NP and I’ll add that what I’ve seen (in real life and here) are the kids whose crafted “self” isn’t even genuine - it is all a game to be admitted to X elite school in whatever way the parents can make that happen (undersubscribed major, etc). There’s a post on one of these threads saying that kids leave activities and interests OFF the application just so they don’t look well rounded. That one nearly broke me, as the parent of an active, smart, genuine, well rounded kid for whom the “genuinely interest in learning” approach failed miserably in the application process.
I think colleges are running the risk of having a bunch of students who are only looking out for themselves and can’t or won’t form any kind of community because they’ve done everything for all the wrong reasons (and only care about going to the “best” school they got into, without regard for the culture or community of the school.

I do fear that some of these overly curated humans we're sending out into the world will face an identity crisis at some point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's important to understand that there is a difference between a narrative and spike. Spikes should occur naturally and some kids just have them - an extreme interest in or passion for something that shows through their ECs, etc. and perhaps academic choices.

But everyone has a narrative, it's how YOU weave what you've done together. You don't have to plan it. It's more of a reflective exercise. My DS's narrative - if you want to call it that (I think it's somewhat comical that things are termed this way now) - is "jack of all trades," meaning their interest in trying new things, whether they end up being good at them or not.

When people talk about the narrative, they're really talking about the essay, which helps sew the ECs up, or illustrate one or more of them through a narrow lens. In my DC's case, the narrative was one of curiosity, making the most of every day, and the joy of learning for learning's sake. You might say it's not compelling, but it IS a narrative, and it does completely characterize my DC.

This!! The narrative is the fun reflective part. Who you are, what you are interested in, how you define yourself, where you are going.

Though I think narrative includes: future plans, ECs and essays. Also LOR can tie in too.

And the Dartmouth AO podcast openly talks about the kids narrative and how important it is. If you are new, listen to this year’s episodes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You don't need a private counselor and families can successfully help their own kids. The elite college acceptance trend does support kids who are specialists vs well rounded generalists. As a pp noted, parents can assess and help kid lean into their kid's academic strengths and genuine ec interests. Better to start earlier in hs to help kid identify programs to support their interests so they can create their narrative and have experiences to reflect upon in essays. We kept our kid focused on what they liked/were good at. Yes, kid had great grades and testing but didnt chase volunteer hours, team captain positions or rigor in every subject. They created their own path and they did have a clear story of what they did, why, and a future plan for college. This guiding strategy was very successful for my kid this cycle. We don't make the rules...

We did the same thing this cycle. Very successful in T20.

But didn’t plan anything out. Spent a lot of time reflecting from spring junior year to September though. Thinking about interdisciplinary connections. Research schools to find the ones that matched kids interests authentically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't need a private counselor and families can successfully help their own kids. The elite college acceptance trend does support kids who are specialists vs well rounded generalists. As a pp noted, parents can assess and help kid lean into their kid's academic strengths and genuine ec interests. Better to start earlier in hs to help kid identify programs to support their interests so they can create their narrative and have experiences to reflect upon in essays. We kept our kid focused on what they liked/were good at. Yes, kid had great grades and testing but didnt chase volunteer hours, team captain positions or rigor in every subject. They created their own path and they did have a clear story of what they did, why, and a future plan for college. This guiding strategy was very successful for my kid this cycle. We don't make the rules...

We did the same thing this cycle. Very successful in T20.

But didn’t plan anything out. Spent a lot of time reflecting from spring junior year to September though. Thinking about interdisciplinary connections. Research schools to find the ones that matched kids interests authentically.

UC/UMC parents have the time and resources to help their kids figure all this out. What about kids who come from less advantaged backgrounds? In some cultures, spending all this time helping your kids figure out their interests isn’t a thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this spike thing is an internet phenomenon and has gotten further promotion by consultants. Never heard an admissions rep express an interest in this.

I have heard Dean J mention an interest with “depth” which is the same thing.

Welp.
https://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/2022/09/the-spike-in-activity-section-for-uva.html

She basically says the spike is a new word for an old piece of advice that isn’t necessary.

“When I look at your activity list, I simply want to see that you're making a contribution in some area of your life. Activities don't have to be related to each other. Activities don't have to be related to your academic interests. Activities should be rewarding, interesting, and fun. You shouldn't be afraid to try something because it doesn't fit into a strategy.”