What this senior wishes he’d done differently
I’ve decided to do something a little risky:
I’m going to share with you some insight from one of my seniors who didn’t get the results he wanted in the admissions process.
Why?
Because we can learn a lot from students who don’t get a YES from their dream schools. A lot about the most common mistakes that younger students can easily avoid.
So, here is Luca’s story*:
Luca came to me the summer after junior year for support in crafting his college applications, including . . .
finalizing the list
crafting the essays for his top tier schools
developing a mini project over the summer (so he’d have something interesting to write about on his applications)
I ended up helping him create an informal research study focusing on the possible connection between developing a personal relationship with the natural world and a deepening passion for protecting the environment. He not only experimented with tracking his own unfolding relationship with the natural world, but he also invited a number of family and friends to join him.
It turned out to be an amazing experience for him. He felt so much more in touch with the world outside his COVID-bound home, he immediately started feeling calmer, and his family and friends in the research study started to experience something similar. And that all led to a fascination with studying climate change and sustainable development from a neuroscience perspective.
I’d almost forgotten what it was to feel sunshine on my face. After weeks of hunching over my desk in the dim yellow light, hoping my efforts were enough to produce strong AP scores, I was ready to get myself back outside. But as I began to head up the hill into the woods, the sunlight felt blinding, the shade beneath the trees foreign. And though I’d been holed up alone for so long, now the sense of seclusion left me wondering what to do with my mind. What should I focus on?
The woods seemed to chuckle at my confusion, inviting me just to be.
As I scuffed through the dried pine needles, the wind murmured in the trees. The rich scent of humus rose around me. I felt myself coming home. How had I disconnected from this place for so long? Only now that I was back, I was carrying a new awareness: this pristine beauty was in danger. Delving into Environmental Science had alerted me to the severity of the environmental damage. What could I do to protect this place? All the places that give us this kind of beauty and peace?
I began to wonder how others could come to appreciate nature’s bounty. If people understood the vast benefits of spending time in nature, would it make them more willing to fight for the natural world?
That’s a compelling opening, isn’t it? We get the vibrant beauty of the natural world, the student’s appreciation for this beauty, and the scholarly interest that comes directly from interacting with this outdoor space.
So, with Luca’s strong GPA (4.5/5.0) and test scores (1530 SAT) and beautifully crafted essays, we were hopeful that he would have a shot at this dream school: WashU St. Louis.
But when the results came out, he was disappointed to find that he’d been accepted only to Boston University. Now, Boston University isn’t a shoo-in, by any means. It only accepts 25% of its applicants. But it’s ranked among the top universities as #42. In other words, it’s not usually a high achieving student’s dream school.
So what happened?
Luca and I sat down together last week to discuss the whole process. Here are a few excerpts from our conversation:
Elizabeth: So, Luca, what stands out to you about the whole process?
Luca: Well, I know for one thing that the project probably would have fallen apart if we hadn’t worked on that part together. And I got outside a lot more. I also appreciated all of the help you gave me to help me brainstorm the essay topics.
Elizabeth: So, looking back, is there anything you wish you’d done differently?
Luca: Yeah, great question. I wish I’d put a little more effort into writing initially. I wish I’d let my ideas marinate more. I kind of kept the essay writing compartmentalized. But if I’d been thinking about the essays every day when I was going for a walk or brushing my teeth, I think the essay ideas could have sat longer and I would have had even deeper topics.
I also wish I’d done even better research into the colleges. I wish I’d reached out to professors directly instead of just looking at the websites.
Elizabeth: Yes, that makes a lot of sense. I know I encouraged you to research your schools with a new level of creativity, but it’s definitely a big learning curve, especially during COVID when you couldn’t visit the campuses. So, now as you look at how you’re heading into college, how do you think you’re going in differently if you hadn’t done your project?
Luca: Oh, I think I’m a lot more open to different types of professions. Because for a long time, my main interest was in physiology. So I naturally thought that I would pursue a medical career. But now that’s not an automatic anymore. That project helped me understand that topic itself and several potential career paths. It was really eye opening: neuroscience can be applied to many different areas, research, psychology, even business management.
Elizabeth: That’s really cool! So, now that you’re at the end of your senior year, what advice would you give your freshman self?
Luca: Oh, man. LOL. Yeah, I would say this: “Push yourself to do more in your extracurriculars.” One thing that I still regret was not making the state’s science team in sophomore year. If I had, I could have gone on to nationals and competed at that level. If I could go back, I would tell my younger self, “The earlier you get started [prepping for college] the better.”
Elizabeth: Would you say that that’s hard to do when you’re a younger teenager? What advice would you give yourself to keep that vision of what’s ahead?
Luca: Yes, that’s a big one. I would definitely tell myself to reach out to older students. Getting insight from them would have been really helpful and helped me understand where I was headed and what really mattered.
Okay, so are you getting a sense of how you might support your student to approach the college process in the most effective way possible?
Here it is in three simple steps:
Start preparing EARLY by developing a project as soon as you can in high school . . . and growing it as big as you can (without making yourself crazy exhausted!)
Research the heck out of the colleges you’re interested in so you have the right list! (Because no matter how beautiful your essays are, if you don’t have the right list, those essays won’t help!)
Craft a collection of compelling essays that showcase your unique personality AND show the colleges why you’re such an incredible fit for them
I wish you the best of luck as you and your student embark on the journey into college!