Who actually gets into the top universities?

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.

Depth

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.

Prosocialness (demonstrating care about the people around them)

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.