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From an admissions perspective, your student is better off making a meaningful contribution in 3 activities than surface-level involvement in ten.<h3>What do you mean by “meaningful contribution”?</h3>I’ll share an example. A past student of mine wrote in his college admissions essays that, as captain of the badminton team, he stayed after practice to coach younger students individually on their technique. When he was a freshman on the team, he’d had to learn these things on his own, so he wanted to help those who came after him.In this story, the student identified a part of the experience of being on his school’s badminton team that could be improved, so he went ahead and improved it. He identified a need and then did something about it.Most students attend club meetings and practices and then move on to the next thing. This student, however, decided to go above and beyond by bringing value to his team in a way that no one asked him to do.This is an example of initiative. In college admissions, we sometimes see more extreme examples of initiative, such as students founding nonprofit organizations. However, students can show initiative in much smaller, more attainable ways, and they can do this in the activities they already have:<ul><li>A student who participates in Debate Team notices there is unsold merchandise from last year’s fundraiser, so she arranges a tabling event during her free period to sell the leftover merchandise and raises $200 for the club.</li><li>A volunteer at a nursing home starts bringing his violin and playing for the elderly residents after learning they love classical music.</li><li>A part-time worker at an ice cream shop suggests to his manager that the shop begin recycling materials, then personally collects those materials to recycle after his shifts.</li></ul>Often, students are intimidated by the impressive ways other students have shown initiative, but any student can start by identifying a problem and coming up with their own solution. Colleges (and, as it turns out, employers) value a student who notices opportunities to bring value to those around them.More importantly, this is a habit your student can bring with them into college and the workplace: instead of waiting to be told what to do, they learn to notice where they can contribute.

How Do Colleges View Extracurricular Activities?

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Here are three traits I frequently see in successful applicants to highly selective universities: Curiosity These students show true interest inside and outside the classroom. Often, we hear that these students have top grades in the toughest courses offered at their high school. However, many parents and students mistake this idea for taking all the AP classes their high school has to offer. If your student has a free period and wants to take Latin over AP Statistics, they would be better off taking Latin and excelling in the class. These students go above and beyond what is required by spending time outside of school pursuing questions they want to answer, as evidenced by their activities. Often, these students can draw connections between seemingly unrelated subjects. They have deep capacity for self-reflection, and their personal statements show this.<h3>Depth</h3> Rather than having many low-commitment activities, these students have meaningful depth in a few: spending many hours per week serving as part of their religious community, taking on increasing responsibility within a club or team, and pursuing an independent research question because they genuinely want to understand it better. They do not sign up for an activity to “check a box,” but rather get deeply involved in their activities and show continuity and increasing responsibility over time.<h3> Prosocialness (demonstrating care about the people around them)</h3> Universities are trying to build intentional communities of students; as such, they often notice students who show they care for those around them. This can be demonstrated through volunteering, but it can also be shown in other ways: a student spends class time helping her friends with new math concepts, lobbies the school administration to change a rule to better reflect the needs of the student body, or organizes friends to deliver meals to a sick neighbor. Remember: having these qualities is only part of the equation. Your student’s application needs to make these qualities visible. While the essays get a lot of attention, other parts of the application, like the descriptions of the student’s activities and teacher letters of recommendation, also help admissions officers understand who your student is.

Who actually gets into the top universities?

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Imagine your student earns a $30,000-per-year scholarship to a university you hadn't previously considered. They graduate with a 4.0, with little or no debt, and are admitted to their top-choice graduate program.This is a very real college outcome, and one that families sometimes overlook when they focus only on the most prestigious universities.__When deciding upon which colleges to apply to, I’ve noticed many students initially choose to apply only to highly selective universities as their reaches and an in-state public as their likely option.This thinking makes total sense. The sticker cost of college has skyrocketed to more than $90,000 (including tuition, room, board, fees, and travel expenses) for the most expensive private universities. However, what if I were to tell you that many colleges would award your student merit scholarships?Arizona State University, which has one of the nation’s top honors colleges, has a <a data-mce-href="https://financialaid.asu.edu/estimator" href="https://financialaid.asu.edu/estimator">scholarship estimator on its website</a>. You enter your student’s GPA, test scores, how many years of core subjects (math, English, etc.), and state of residence, and it will estimate your student’s cost of attendance for the first year.The University of Alabama automatically awards out-of-state freshmen scholarships between $6,000 and full tuition based on GPA and test scores alone; they <a data-mce-href="https://afford.ua.edu/scholarships/oos-international-freshman/" href="https://afford.ua.edu/scholarships/oos-international-freshman/">publish a table</a> outlining how much by GPA and test scores on their website. These scholarships are renewable over 4 years.Private universities can also award generous scholarships. I’ve seen students win $40,000 per year from the University of San Diego, for example, or $20,000 per year from Lafayette College. That’s $80,000 to $160,000 over four years – money that could instead go towards the student’s graduate education, a home, helping them start their post-college lives, or other goals instead.Why do these universities offer merit scholarships? One reason is to attract and enroll strong students who may also have attractive offers from more selective universities.Your student can also apply to outside scholarships (e.g. scholarships awarded by organizations aside from the university). Generally speaking, these scholarships range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand, so these applications can require a fair amount of effort for uncertain payoff.<h3>What does this mean for my student?</h3> 1. Your student should cast a wide net when applying to universities. Their college list should include reaches, targets, and safeties, or schools that range from least likely to admit your student to most likely to admit your student. Choose a list of colleges that includes institutions that might award merit scholarships to your student. 2. Every college is required to include a Net Price Calculator on its website. This allows you to input financial information about your family, such as income and assets, to estimate your student’s cost of attendance at that university. To find this, Google search “Net Price Calculator” and the university’s name. Note that this is different from a merit scholarship estimator: the Net Price Calculator focuses on your family's financial circumstances, while merit scholarships are generally based on the student's qualifications.

How to Find $30K/year in Scholarships

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I’ve noticed that, among many families, there exists the assumption that top university = endless job opportunities. We see plenty of anecdotal evidence of graduates from these universities working in coveted fields, but we don’t often talk about the actual process of getting one’s first job as a college student, top university or not. <h3>Where a top university is definitely helpful</h3>The benefit of attending an Ivy or similar university when entering fields like management consulting, top technology companies, or specific areas of financial services is undeniable. Firms like McKinsey focus their recruiting at the best-known universities. For students at these universities, the college they attend might get them in the door, but they still need to interview well in order to land the job. This includes having strong experiences to share during the interview, and that, in turn, requires club involvement and/or past internship experiences. &nbsp; Outside of the most selective companies, having a prestigious university on a student’s resume is certainly helpful in getting a recruiter or hiring manager’s attention, but companies still value having relevant experience. Some interview processes may include a skills-based component (such as a take-home coding assignment, or a written case study); the outcomes of these depend more on the individual than the university they attend.<h3>So, what’s the problem with aiming high?</h3>There isn’t a problem, per se. Prestige is certainly helpful in many ways. At the same time, many students enter college unaware of the importance of building experience early. They realize in their 2nd and 3rd years that they need an internship, and that they lack the relevant experience to be able to land one successfully. Prestige is helpful, but it isn’t everything.&nbsp;<h3>What does “get experience” even mean for a first-year college student? </h3>For many students, “experience” begins with academic or club activities, not internships. Let’s leave you with some concrete examples: &nbsp; <ul><li>A first-year student routinely attends her biology professor’s office hours, builds a relationship with that professor, and he eventually offers her a position in his research lab. She learns laboratory techniques that make her more competitive for a hospital research position the following year.</li><li>Another signs up as Fundraising Chair for her frisbee team her sophomore year and raises $1,000, more than the club has ever raised in a year. Along the way, she learns to recruit volunteers to help her with tabling events, organize fundraising events, write marketing copy, and persuade others to support her ideas. She uses these experiences in an interview for a marketing role.</li><li>Another joins an a cappella group her first year. During a meeting, the club president mentions she needs help rebuilding the website. The first-year volunteers to use her coding skills to help. This leads to a stronger portfolio, which helps her land an internship the following summer. &nbsp; Contrast this with a student who attends a top university but spent the first two years overwhelmed by the transition and focusing entirely on coursework. She joins a few clubs, but never takes on responsibilities that help her develop new skills. By junior year, she sees the students around her completing internships and feels behind because she does not have one herself. &nbsp; What’s the takeaway? Your student needs to enter college eager to explore and contribute, regardless of their major, and regardless of which school they attend. A prestigious university provides opportunities, but your student still needs to pursue those opportunities in order to receive the full benefit of their college experience. &nbsp; Prestige opens doors, but initiative determines whether your student walks through those doors.</li></ul>

Does College Prestige Matter for Jobs?

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In some countries, there is no question about which schools are better than others. In the U.S., rankings are published by private media companies; each ranking uses different criteria. This is why you may see a university ranked differently between different publications.<h3> There is no official ranking of U.S. universities; instead, each ranking is published by a different media company, with differing methodologies.</h3> The most popular ranking is released by <a data-mce-href="https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges" href="https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges">U.S. News &amp; World Report.</a> Here are the criteria it uses:<figure id="figure-y2z9v3i7bms6lhr3v"><img id="y2z9v3i7bms6lhr3v" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/19YEyPjT0COqUiSbmApMmOagxT6N7IAEqtv269Wmu8b9jSyTFjcwuC7NIQIjwmyr.png" alt="" title="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 rounded-sm md:rounded-md lg:rounded-lg" style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/19YEyPjT0COqUiSbmApMmOagxT6N7IAEqtv269Wmu8b9jSyTFjcwuC7NIQIjwmyr.png" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;"></figure><a data-mce-href="https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings" href="https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings">Source</a> Now consider the criteria for another popular ranking, from <a data-mce-href="https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/best-colleges/" href="https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/best-colleges/">Niche</a>:<figure id="figure-9066ogqoshms6ljr5d"><img id="9066ogqoshms6ljr5d" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/25L3IAVqY9hsOGEVtBieUsifgvF1SapwD4N6oooafFiOtWUzGmVinroeBmplPHB5.png" alt="" title="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 rounded-sm md:rounded-md lg:rounded-lg" style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/25L3IAVqY9hsOGEVtBieUsifgvF1SapwD4N6oooafFiOtWUzGmVinroeBmplPHB5.png" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;"></figure><a data-mce-href="https://www.niche.com/colleges/rankings/methodology/best-colleges/" href="https://www.niche.com/colleges/rankings/methodology/best-colleges/">Source</a> Notice that these publications are measuring different things. Niche includes campus quality, ratings on the surrounding area, and student surveys on overall experience in its rankings; U.S. News weighs peer assessment, standardized tests, and several measures of research impact. The point here is that different publications have different criteria for excellence. Consider the rankings criteria when reading these publications with your child. Across rankings, broad tiers of universities will remain fairly consistent. In other words, the likes of Harvard and Johns Hopkins will generally be ranked above Temple University or Fordham University. Therefore, the rankings become less helpful in evaluating universities that are academically similar.<h3> What does this mean for my student?</h3> 1. Rankings are a useful starting point for researching universities because they summarize many factors. In choosing which schools to apply to, your student should consider rankings as well as other factors that would best set him or her up for success: average class size, undergraduate research opportunities, internship placement, and others.2. The role that rankings play in future employment are more indirect than direct. Rankings measure universities; employers hire people.

College Rankings, Explained

Most of my families are from other countries, with their children born and educated in the US. The term "holistic admissions" may sound totally foreign to these parents (and, candidly, many who were born and raised in the US as well). "Holistic admissions" refers to a practice where a university admissions office considers not only a student's grades and course difficulty, but also their extracurriculars and personal qualities. Why would a university want to know all this information?American universities are trying to do more than admit the students with the best grades. They are trying to build a class. In other countries, resources are allocated to the top universities, and only students with the highest test scores go to top universities. In the US, universities have their own philosophies and institutional priorities. After screening for a baseline of academic ability, they are looking to admit first-year classes that fit these priorities. If they want a geographically diverse first year class, they may prioritize admitting students from certain parts of the country or world that are under-represented in their populations. Or, they may have a particular need to fill seats in specific majors (often, these are in the humanities, like Classics or Philosophy). They may look for specific character traits. Religious universities, such as Boston College or Santa Clara University, may select students who embody faith-inspired values. Women’s colleges, like Wellesley or Smith College, may pay more attention to applicants interested in gender equity. In other words, the university's mission shapes the students it may choose to admit. This is why the application consists not only of the student’s grades, but also essays, activities, and sometimes teacher letters of recommendation: to allow admissions to understand the student's academic qualifications as well as personal traits.To be clear, this does not mean that admissions officers are looking for perfect students. They are looking to build a class of students from different backgrounds, perspectives, and talents. That means that two equally qualified students can have different admissions decisions from the same university because they bring different strengths and experiences to the incoming class.<h3> What does all of this mean for my student?</h3> 1. Encourage your student to join activities they genuinely enjoy. Admissions rewards those who show growth, sustained contribution over time, and impact. Students who enjoy an activity (rather than participating for admissions' sake) are more likely to remain involved over multiple years, develop expertise, take initiative, and mentor others. They are also more likely to write sincere essays about activities that were meaningful to them. 2. Admissions decisions are not always a reflection of your student's ability. If your student is not admitted to some of his or her top choices, it will be helpful to know that these decisions are often due to factors that were outside the student’s control. Oftentimes, colleges admit applicants who fulfill a specific need that has nothing to do with your student's qualifications. This is why it is important to apply to a range of universities: reach schools, target schools, and likely (or safety) schools. Your child's list of colleges should range in selectivity.

What is "holistic admissions"?

Prospera Education Consulting

Boutique college admissions consulting firm offering comprehensive services to students from immigrant backgrounds: activity planning, suggesting a list of colleges, essay brainstorming and editing, and more.