Beyond the Numbers - How to Stand Out to Your Dream School
By Path Mentor A.J., a graduate of Williams College majored in Literary Studies (Originally Posted on May 21, 2019)
In the United States the university system is a business. Butts in seats mean tuition in the bank, means bigger buildings, nicer facilities, better professors, and more butts in more seats. Getting students to enroll requires offering a peak college experience - the best educators, the most interesting classes, and the most beautiful campuses. But what makes college a true peak experience for the best of the best? What sets one stunning campus green apart from another?
Classmates!
The people with whom we attend college are the factor most likely to shape our experience. Why does everyone want to go to Harvard? Yeah, the professors are the best in the world, but also - Natalie Portman went there. So did Barack Obama, W.E.B. DuBois, JFK, Teddy Roosevelt, and Rashida Jones. The most interesting, connected people who can attend any university in the world choose Harvard. And Stanford and Princeton and Brown - the list goes on. To be at these schools is to rub shoulders with the most incredible people from every walk of life. It is to learn about the world from your fascinating, brilliant peers. And to be admitted means the admissions office believes that you will contribute to the richness, the texture, and the depth of this ecosystem. Your grades and SAT scores are simply a filter. The students are the product that these schools are advertising.
So if you're thinking of applying to one of the top schools in the US, you have to ask yourself how you stand apart from the hoards of other applicants. How would you contribute to the ecosystem of your dream school? Of course we are all unique, special, and valuable by our very nature, but schools look for more than that. Have you devoted yourself to something bigger than yourself? Have you dived so deep into a passion project that you have years of work to show for it? Have you explored the world beyond your doorstep and developed empathy, depth, and curiosity?
It's never too early to become your own person. Your good grades and 1600 SAT score are an amazing accomplishment, but to an elite university they're just numbers. Make yourself more than a number. Make yourself YOU. Stanford isn't looking for another valedictorian - every school has one of those. And I promise you that Princeton isn't in desperate need of another member of the golf team. The best way to land at an elite campus is to become the most passionate, vibrant, and brilliant version of yourself. So step back and ask yourself what you're passionate about, and then do that thing. It could be archery, game theory, or basket weaving. It could be welding or acid jazz. If you're lucky enough to have the resources, it could be travel and volunteer work. Whatever it is, just do it. Do it not to get into college, but because it makes you feel happy and whole.
And then write your essay about it.
