by Jenny Zhi
There’s been a lot of advice given in terms of completing
college applications; some of them are common sense (don’t procrastinate, for
example) but some I find very contradictory. One of my favorite vague and
confusing pieces of college application advice is the concept of round versus
pointy. We’ve all heard the virtues of being a well-rounded student, but we
also all understand the appeal of being a student whose expertise is in a
single area.
Throughout my high school career, I was always confused as to
which piece of advice I should follow. Eventually I discarded either strategy
and kind of just did whatever I wanted to, whatever made me curious, whatever
inspired me. I thrived on my robotics team, delved into my art, worked hard to
develop my newfound love for computer science, and picked up a new instrument,
and I enjoyed all of it.
As college applications came around the corner, however, I
was at a loss as to how I would package myself. I wasn’t really well-rounded (I
lacked the community service and athleticism of a truly well-rounded student),
but I didn’t excel in any of my interests either (I didn’t have computer
science research experience or any programs to show, and my skill at the
aforementioned new instrument was intermediate at best).
Yet as I looked at what I’d done in the past three years, a
common theme appeared. My interests were interdisciplinary: I’ve always been interested
in both art and technology, and my extracurricular activities, my schedule, my
awards and honors, everything on my application, showed that. I had spoken to
friends and teachers about my interests in both areas, I had written about it in the Joyce Ivy blog, and I was always interested in the latest news regarding
interdisciplinary advances in technology. This desire to blend the two seeming
poles became my story, and suddenly it became clear how I should package myself
in my college applications.
I recommend treating your application as a story. It has to
be focused, and all the components – essays, extracurricular activities,
recommendation letters, courses, etc. – have to make sense when fit together;
don’t leave any plot holes (those are terribly agonizing). I’m not saying to
fabricate something or force everything you do to fit neatly within this
narrative, but to reflect every so often on what your passions say about you. If
you realize that your interests are all over the place, your story could be
your adventurous spirit, your desire to try new things. If you are focused in one
area, your story could include how your ultimate goal is to use your interest
and expertise to change the world. There’s no one right way to do this; you
could synthesize all the components that make up you into a narrative that is
truly unique to yourself. In fact, the above examples almost resemble the
traditional concepts of well-rounded and well-angular students, but it is no longer
contradictory.
On the other end of this whole college admissions process,
admission officers also look for a cohesive narrative within applicants. In one
of my past interviews with an admission officer, he admitted that his job
involved a lot of synthesizing and fitting together parts of an application. This
includes things like family background and ethnicity, he explained, but also
the content of an application.
So for any underclassmen reading this (or any seniors still
writing their apps for those January and February deadlines): when you find
yourself with some free time, think about your story. I promise you it’s not as
boring as you think.
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