Reply to Yale breaks own record with # of applications for 2016

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "Yale breaks own record with # of applications for 2016"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don't think that that kind of story works well for many upper middle class (private school?) kids.  It's just as generic as the other parts of the application.

What the privates offer wrt college admissions is not so much advice re packaging/storytelling as insight re which colleges are looking for kids like yours.  In my admittedly limited experience, they also do a good job with recs and deadlines and keeping everyone involved in the process on task and on time.[/quote]

[b]Why wouldn't it work for upper middle class kids?[/b]. I basically provided the formula for how to articulate the course you have charted as per 10:13, who said the same thing but was a bit vaguer in advice. Obviously don't sit there and spew off those sentences fill in the blank style, but if you can cover all those points with compelling, personal answers, you will drastically increase you me chances of getting in. [/quote]

In part because it *is* a formula. And in part because the obstacles are usually fairly trivial/similar (and the ones that are real -- e.g. serious depression -- may send up red flags).  Also, there's no way you can know these stories "worked" because you haven't seen the rest of the pool and other parts of the applications (e.g. recs).

I think that the difference between your answer and mine is not primarily the degree of specificity but a focus on where kids put their energy and why in the years leading up to college vs. a focus on how to play the applications game.  (I'd have different answers from yours re the latter question as well).[/quote]

*shrug* Well, if you have any specific advice, feel free to provide it instead of making vague arguments against mine. Once you have a certain level of accomplishment, it's all about how you sell your story.

Me: What types of activities are you involved with? Can you tell me a bit about that?

Kid A: I play softball for my school team year-round. I made captain my junior year. I really like it because it of the teamwork and it pushes me out of my comfort zone as a leader. We were state champions last year.

Kid B: I play softball for my school team year-round. I made captain my junior year. I was an only child growing up and the neighborhood kids would get together in a nearby field, so that's how I discovered my love of softball and the kind of teamwork it entails. Last year we lost one of our key players due to a really bad injury halfway through the season, and it really pushed me out of my comfort zone as a leader because team morale was really low. I pulled the team together by organizing trips to the hospital to visit our teammate, and we ended up becoming state champions.

Me: What are you interested in studying?

Kid A: I like science. It's my best subject.

Kid B: I like science. Last year in AP Biology we studied suriname toads, and I thought it was so interesting how their baby toads just pop out of their backs. It's my best subject.

Whether that's in an essay, rec, or interview, Kid B is way more memorable and likely to get in.[/quote]

NP here. I teach a STEM subject at a local university and I agree with you that kid B comes across better *to the low level HR-type folks who run college admissions*.  The extra fluff B puts in does nothing for me, and in fact would be a turnoff. But it seems to appeal to the admissions folks who don't have much STEM background, are themselves way less talented than the students they are evaluating, and are looking for something not too challenging to break up the monotony of reading lots of files.  I have always thought it weird that essays are evaluated by inexperienced folks who themselves have fairly low writing skills on the basis of pop-psychology. I guess that as long as the SATs and GPAs are in a certain band, it really doesn't matter to the faculty who they pick to admit in schools with many more qualified applicants than places  --- making the tie-breakers into an opaque self-promotion game anyone can play creates a hoopla and drives up the applications, which is good for the brand.
[/quote]

I think your response is unfair. The college admissions officers look for these type of responses not because they are low-level, uneducated, or too stupid to know better, but because creating compelling student profiles for marketing materials, getting a job, getting into graduate school, and convincing other people that what you are working on deserves funding and recognition are all impacted by story-telling ability and the ability to connect with other people. Whether or not you think soft skills should count as qualifications, they are extremely important in life.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics