Julia got into Harvard!
That makes her my second mentee who got into Harvard this year (a few weeks back Ellen was accepted).
2020 college admissions is different (in some critical ways) than when I applied for college twenty years ago. First, while number of applicants have soared to insane levels, acceptance rates remain very, very low across the board (see here and here). We have students applying from not just the States, but also from all over the globe. As the numbers have been increasing, so have the “quality” and “caliber” of students. There are more highly qualified applicants than there are seats available, especially at the most highly sought after institutions, like Harvard.
Second, as information becomes more easily accessible and available, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult for students to distinguish themselves and standout from the pack. Many are beginning to look the same on paper. Most competitive applicants, for example, will have taken a certain number of AP classes, achieved a certain score on the ACT/SAT, logged a certain number of volunteer hours, and written their college essays about COVID-19, global warming and/or their families.
So what does it take to get into an elite institution like Harvard?
There’s no single magic bullet. But I have a major DO and DON’T that most students (and parents) seem to be missing:
Yet Jayden sent me a text this morning, disappointed that he didn’t get into any of the Ivies.
What did Simon Cowell used to say — “You’ve got to have the ‘likability’ factor”? What he said is especially applicable to Jayden and college admissions in 2020.
It doesn’t matter how perfect you look on paper. If you aren’t likable, then it’ll be difficult to impress admissions officers.
Because I’m studying theology these days, I find myself alluding to Old Testament stories about people, like Abraham, Jacob, and Moses. We only know these characters on paper via written words. When you read about them, you realize just how imperfect and flawed they were. But they are so likable because they are authentic human beings that we find relatable.
“Relatability” is the key to likability.
Unfortunately, it’s hard for teenagers to discern how to position their college essays and applications, so that admissions officer (= adults) find them relatable. More often than not, adults look down on what feel like deep and important epiphanies for teenagers. It’s especially difficult for ethnic minorities and international applicants because most college admissions officers are highly educated caucasian Americans who just cannot empathize or relate from the heart with non-mainstream American sentiments.
This is why when I mentor my friends’ children or teens I meet through various programs, I ask them to spend a lot of time conversing with adults that aren’t their parents.
This is a difficult task in itself because for most teens their access to adults are limited to their parents’ network, and most parents just aren’t that well connected. Religious sanctuaries, like church, synagogue, mosque, temple, etc., provide some levels of network, but often they lack the breadth in intellectual diversity.
I feel a conviction to do something about helping the future generation better connect and converse with adults—enable teens to expand their adult networks; empower them to own and form their authentic voice.
That makes her my second mentee who got into Harvard this year (a few weeks back Ellen was accepted).
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| Radcliffe Quadrangle (The Quad) @ Harvard University |
Second, as information becomes more easily accessible and available, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult for students to distinguish themselves and standout from the pack. Many are beginning to look the same on paper. Most competitive applicants, for example, will have taken a certain number of AP classes, achieved a certain score on the ACT/SAT, logged a certain number of volunteer hours, and written their college essays about COVID-19, global warming and/or their families.
So what does it take to get into an elite institution like Harvard?
There’s no single magic bullet. But I have a major DO and DON’T that most students (and parents) seem to be missing:
DO be authentic and DON’T strive to appear “perfect.”Jayden is an amazing high school senior who lives in Canada with his younger brother and Russian immigrant parents. Jayden’s done it all—ran marathons, ranked in a few ironman triathlons, founded his school’s Model UN debate team, achieved straight As, took 15 AP tests (and scored 5s on all of them), hit a nearly perfect SAT score, and received amazing recommendation letters from his teachers as well as from the lab he researched at. Jayden isn’t his real name; it’s a pseudonym. But aside from his name, everything I just shared with you is true about this kid.
Yet Jayden sent me a text this morning, disappointed that he didn’t get into any of the Ivies.
What did Simon Cowell used to say — “You’ve got to have the ‘likability’ factor”? What he said is especially applicable to Jayden and college admissions in 2020.
It doesn’t matter how perfect you look on paper. If you aren’t likable, then it’ll be difficult to impress admissions officers.
Because I’m studying theology these days, I find myself alluding to Old Testament stories about people, like Abraham, Jacob, and Moses. We only know these characters on paper via written words. When you read about them, you realize just how imperfect and flawed they were. But they are so likable because they are authentic human beings that we find relatable.
“Relatability” is the key to likability.
Unfortunately, it’s hard for teenagers to discern how to position their college essays and applications, so that admissions officer (= adults) find them relatable. More often than not, adults look down on what feel like deep and important epiphanies for teenagers. It’s especially difficult for ethnic minorities and international applicants because most college admissions officers are highly educated caucasian Americans who just cannot empathize or relate from the heart with non-mainstream American sentiments.
This is why when I mentor my friends’ children or teens I meet through various programs, I ask them to spend a lot of time conversing with adults that aren’t their parents.
This is a difficult task in itself because for most teens their access to adults are limited to their parents’ network, and most parents just aren’t that well connected. Religious sanctuaries, like church, synagogue, mosque, temple, etc., provide some levels of network, but often they lack the breadth in intellectual diversity.
I feel a conviction to do something about helping the future generation better connect and converse with adults—enable teens to expand their adult networks; empower them to own and form their authentic voice.
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