College decision season is in full swing and seniors are getting into schools they could only dream of. Hearing from experience is often the trick to make the college admission process a bit less daunting.
Throughout high school, many students have this insatiable feeling, whether it’s with their grades or their overall achievements which they think are the sole factor of getting into a good college. The myth that all colleges are looking for somebody who has done more extracurriculars than one can count on both hands and played at least three sports while maintaining a 4.0 unweighted Grade Point Average (GPA) has been debunked. It’s pointless to compare oneself with the capabilities that others have and that may come easy to them.
“My approach to high school and college, in general, was just that I felt like I should do whatever is true to me and hopefully the college will see the value in that [and] will take me for that,” senior Ravi Malhotra said.
Applicants are so wrapped up in what they think a college will want to see that they forget about the activities and classes that truly inspire them and bring them joy.
“Part of what they’re evaluating, at least from my understanding, is ‘how much can this kid benefit from all the services that we provide,’” Malhotra said. “Demonstrating how much you take advantage of everything at Woodside and how much you love that, I think that will do a lot.”
It’s all about the way applicants describe their courses and the things that inspire them in their supplements. Students tend to arbitrarily take classes just because they’re Advanced Placement (AP), which will give them a GPA boost, but don’t genuinely like the class itself. This isn’t to say that they shouldn’t take the class, but rather they should find an elective or pass time that they actually enjoy and can talk about for hours. Similarly, many apply to schools on a whim just to see if they’ll get in but not because they actually want to go there.
“I have some friends who’ve gotten into a bunch of schools but they don’t really care to go to those schools other than ‘Oh this will just check off a box on a list of what type of school you should apply to,” senior Grace Coffee said. “[Finding something I liked about each school] helped me in my application process to be sure that no matter where I got into I would be happy.”
While it’s exciting for applicants to see whether they will get into a top school even though they wouldn’t actually go there, it’s important to still find something that they like about the school other than it merely being a “top school.” Both Malhotra and Coffee will be attending top schools in the fall, with Malhotra at Dartmouth and Coffee at Oxford. Something they both had strong feelings about was taking courses that they were passionate about. Everyone has their strong suits and at Oxford, academics are a top priority.
“For the UK, you talk about your skills as a student, not really as a general overall person,” Coffee said.
All schools have their own values, and at Oxford specifically, they look more at well-rounded of a students. American schools tend to typically look more at what kind of subjects someone is passionate about. Overall, there really is no harm in applying to a school especially if an applicant thinks that you have a good chance at getting in.
“Even if you don’t feel confident about [applying], still do the applications and see what happens,” Malhotra said.
