how it’s almost impossible to consistently get students into school when you get them at the end of the process — why it’s imperative to get people early

       A little while ago I was speaking to an admissions officer at an Ivy League school who expressed his surprise at how few applicants seem to understand how to gain admission to the most competitive colleges. He told me how many applicants were achieving top marks in their high school classes and near, if not, perfect scores on their standardized tests. And then he smiled, while he recounted just how many of the same applicants were what he called “jack of all of trades, master of none.” He went on, telling me how presumably intent these would-be Ivy Leaguers were on filling up their activity lists with 1,001 things, not realizing of course that colleges aren’t in the business of filling their freshman classes with students who are merely good at several, or even many, things. As he put it, “the most competitive schools in the United States are not looking for well-rounded applicants, they are looking for a well-rounded freshman class.” What he of course meant was that they want the top applicants in various domains, whether it be athletics, debate, music, the list goes on. These types of applicants almost invariably have short activity lists. After all, outside of school, they spend almost all of their time becoming accomplished in their chosen sphere of excellence. When I left the admissions officer later that day, it was not without sharing with him my own experiences on the other side of the college admissions coin. I spoke about what I called the 80 / 20 dilemma. Quite simply, if students come to me in the beginning of their junior year, my value added is roughly 20% — I can help students achieve those near, if not perfect, standardized test scores; I can help them write winning college essays and prepare them to ace their alumni interviews. Don’t get me wrong: these all make a difference. But here’s where the difficulty comes in. When it comes time to “frame” the application, in short when we’re making our case to the colleges why this applicant is unique and deserving of a spot in next year’s freshman class, unfortunately we’re forced to cultivate a “narrative” that too often isn’t backed up by that student’s previous three years. The alternative, of course, are those students who come to my office at the beginning of their high school careers. It is for these future applicants that I’m able to basically quadruple my value as a college consultant. I help these future applicants turn their interests into passions; and their passions eventually become acceptances to their dream schools. Right before I said goodbye to the admissions officer that day, he quipped, “ironically enough, the formula for success in the college application process is also the formula for self-growth and self-realization.” I thought that wasn’t such a bad way to put it.