Hopefully you are a freshman (at any point in the school year), and even if you are a sophomore (semester 1 hopefully), you are in good shape to start with this post. If you are a junior, this is kind of an unfortunate position to be in UNLESS you keep reading and see that you already did what you were supposed to do your first two years. If you’re a senior, then this is totally not for you.
I AM AN INTERESTING PERSON – THIS IS WHY.
That is the question every applicant will essentially be answering. There will be three types of applications: Type A, Type B, and Type C. Type A applications will say “I’m a high school super star, pick me.” Type B applications will say “I’m not really perfect but there is something special about me; consider me as a likely candidate.” And Type C applications which will outright say “I applied cause…I believe in miracles.” As silly as these descriptions sound, and albeit they are grossly simplified, they are highly accurate and to the point. You want a Type A or Type B application.
Let’s look closer at Application Type A and Type B.
Type A applications are truly A in the sense that this student was a high school superstar. This can take form in a plethora of ways but the main characteristic of this student is his mastery and excellence in a certain area(s). This mastery and excellence is exemplified through state, national and international level recognition. This is on top of their perfect or near-perfect GPA, and 34+ ACT (or 2250 SAT)—not in place of it!
Here are three examples of Type A applicants.
Student 1 (White Female): 4.0 UW GPA, 4.6 W GPA, ACT 34, Debate team (4 years), Debate captain, 1st place at national debate tournament (2x), tutor kids in rhetoric and writing, recommendation from debate coach, spent summers volunteering at rehab center for people with oral disabilities. (This just lists the student’s activities related to her principal interest, debating. She also has other extracurriculars like National Honor Society, Horticulture club, and two summers working at some local clothing store. However, in context of the aforementioned activities relating to debate, these non-debate activities are not as important.)
Student 2 (Asian Male): 4.0 UW GPA, 5.2 W GPA, 36 ACT, Math club president (4 years), took Linear Algebra and Calculus III at community college, USAMO qualifier, best math student in state, math tutoring afterschool, computer science courses at community college, founder of Tech Club, Web design in free time.
Student 3 (Black Male): 3.95 UW GPA, 4.8 W GPA, 35 ACT, founder of non-profit that sells magazines to support local homeless shelter, top community service student in state (won 1 winner per state service award, e.g. Prudential Spirit of Community Awards), 1500 community service hours, serve on Mayor’s youth advisory council, peer mentor at school.
Each of the above students is clearly a super star. When you think of Student 1, you think of Debate girl, when you think of student 2, you think of math genius, and when you think of student 3, you think of community service kid.
Of course these students are involved in other activities but 1) there is an overarching interest and 2) they are accomplished in their respective interests. It is one thing to say I find neuroscience fascinating and it is another thing to say that I worked in a neuroscience lab for ten weeks and it convinced me to consider neuroscience as a career. You need experiences, internships, competitions, awards, honors and recommendations (from the right people) to supplement the idea that this person is a “fill in blank” kid.
Some interesting things to note is that your interest does not solely have to be ONE thing – it can be multiple, semi-related things. For instance, student 2’s interests include primarily math but also computer science. These two fields have commonalities so if one was pursuing mathematics, it would be very plausible to also get involved with computers. Point: the “overarching interests” can be multiple interests so long as they are all well supported with awards and experiences.
That being said, a few years ago, someone on college confidential noticed a trend regarding students accepted to Yale Early Action. Students accepted to Yale EA had 3-4 main extracurricular activities. That means that a typical accepted student had some combination of three to four pursuits in which they had state to national level recognition. This just reinforced the point being made: your application needs to read that you pursued some passion(s) in high school and are not accomplished in that area.
Type B application is a little different. They are not based on the solid academic foundation that Type A applications are based on. Type A applications are distinguished by the accomplished extracurricular activities – on top of academic excellence. On the other hand, Type B applicants are not necessarily 3.95-4.0 UW GPA’s, or 34-36 ACT. Type B applications are truly a gray area. For instance, they can have a hook to cover for their lack of academic perfection, or they are over the top superstar of superstars in terms of extracurricular, a true protégé.
Here are three examples of Type B applicants.
Student 1 (Native American Female): 3.75 UW GPA, 4.6 W GPA, 32 ACT, under represented minority (URM) race, first generation from family to go to college, president and founder of Gardening club, Girl Scout Gold award, editor-in-chief for school newspaper, top journalist in state (some award), help in writing center afterschool.
Student 2 (Asian female): 3.67 UW GPA, 4.8 W GPA, 35 ACT, low income, amazing essay, founder of youth non-profit (raised thousands of dollars), serve on national youth advisory board, National Honor Society, Biology class at university, somewhat significant Cancer research, paper published in journal, recommendation from professor.
Student 3 (Black female): 3.83 UW GPA, 4.5 W GPA, 29 ACT, low income, top rower in state, qualified for junior Olympics for rowing, published book on rowing techniques, participated in annual rowing for charity event (helped raise thousands for charity).
Looking at these three students, they definitely are not academically perfect relative to the Type A applicants. However, they are laudable and their accomplishments are not diminishable. In fact, considering factors like first generation to attend college (parents did not attend college), and low-income (traditionally defined as an annual income of less than 60,000) these students are highly praiseworthy given their circumstances.
Type A applicants tend to be of higher economic background, they tend to take the SAT, they tend to be well versed in literature, and dominantly from the East Coast (although many are not). Type A applicants might be viewed as the better student because they got good grades, good scores, and were smart in where they invested their times. Type B applicants are different because they have a story to tell – a story of how they persevered given obstacles such as low income.
Coming from a race that is under represented in the higher education system raises an applicant’s status. While many may not agree with this affirmative action, in the context of society and historical background, it makes sense in some cases. Regardless, if you fall under an URM category, great for you, if not, too bad, it’s not the end of the world.
With Type B applicants, you want to make the college admissions officers read the application and be impressed. The thought you want to instill in their head is that “This student is truly extraordinary. He isn’t perfect but we don’t want perfect students, we want extraordinary students. We want students who have made full use of their resources and this student has. I’ll put him in the considering pile.” If you can do that, even without perfect grades and perfect scores, you stand a GREAT chance.
Just keep this in mind as you continue high school. Whatever you choose to make your thing, master it through recognition. Good luck and keep reading!