By Anne McGrath, USNews.com
PAINT A PICTURE OF AN INTERESTING PERSON
Your personal statement ought to demonstrate that you do have intellectual prowess, right? That's what too many applicants think--thus the surfeit of dronings-on about global warming and the war in Iraq.
Actually, your best shot is to show admissions that you've got something special to contribute to life on campus. A far better tactic than grappling with a Big Idea is to zoom in on your small world and describe an experience that has formed you or illustrates your creativity, say, or a quality that makes you unique.
Staffers at the College of Wooster recall one essay by a boy who likened his exploration of the streets of his city to Huckleberry Finn's travels. Hannah McLafferty, an Allegheny sophomore, wrote about her struggle with dyslexia, theorizing that the skills she had developed to master reading English helped her learn Spanish with relatively little trouble, contributing to an "amazing" seven months as an exchange student in Chile. Marianne Strelecky, long a member of an outdoor program, described a "life changing" expedition that she participated in for a deaf and hard-of-hearing group; she taught survival skills--and learned the art of communicating without words.
The most effective letters of recommendation, too, will convey your spirit and gumption if they can't wax poetic about your grades. It may seem logical to seek a letter from the geometry teacher who gave you an A in ninth grade, since your math grades have never been as good since. But you might be much better served by the calculus teacher who watched you wrestle a D up to a B. "Instead of going for the easy rec, go to the teacher who has really seen you sweat," suggests Tree.
While you might be tempted to define yourself by the sheer number of your extracurricular activities, most colleges now want well-rounded classes of well-focused people. "Go for quality," advises Jim Bekkering, vice president for admissions at Hope College in Michigan, another Pope favorite. "A two-page list of memberships is not as significant as two activities that make a difference in people's lives." One thing that grabbed Elon staffers about Katie Pesce's application was the convincing portrait it painted of a committed citizen leader: She had founded and led a chapter of an antismoking organization at her school, served in student government, and spent every Christmas Eve from middle school forward soliciting poinsettias from a local greenhouse and taking them to people stuck in the hospital. Ron Moss, SMU's admissions dean, purposefully looks for people who are following their
passions to become their "best self." He recalls admitting one young man, for example, "whose seven lines of extracurriculars all had the word 'math' in them" and whose essay evoked the thrill of math competitions.
SHOW YOU CARE
Colleges prefer to invite people they think will actually come; they'll increase their yield (the proportion of admitted students who end up enrolling), which makes them appear more attractive and keeps the costs of recruiting down. But now that so many kids send out 10 or 12 applications, admissions staffers often find it tough to identify the sure bets. A growing number of colleges are apt to count your every phone call and visit. At Gustavus Adolphus, a printout sits at the front of each applicant's file showing each returned postcard, E-mail or phone query, college-fair chat, talk with a high school rep, and campus visit. "If there's nothing," says Anderson, "that says this person's just sending out another electronic application." A recent survey by the National Association for College Admission Counseling found that nearly 55 percent of colleges and universities now consider
"demonstrated interest" when making admissions decisions.
The nonserious applicant won't ask for an interview--so ask. "If an average student can look a counselor in the eye and say, 'This is the college for me, and here's why, and here's how I can contribute'--that sends a powerful message," says Friedhoff.
Finally, keep in mind that every college you apply to will expect your most careful effort. Tree remembers one student who was so confident of being accepted by a small college in Maryland that the family didn't make the trip there for an interview, nor did the student stop in to see the college rep who visited school. Admissions called, wondering about seriousness of purpose, and the family headed for campus pronto. Even at schools that seem like safe bets, you've got to work hard to get in.
