Admissions Process

Admissions Process July 10, 2013 You dont have to be a super-kid to succeed in the college admissions process. Theres an article in Parade by Nancy Berk in which the screenwriter for the Tina Fey and Paul Rudd-starrer Admission, Karen Croner, is interviewed. In the interview, Croner basically says that high school kids should be who they are and not let the college admissions process define who they are or change who they are. We at Ivy Coach couldnt agree more. While the college admissions process may seem all-consuming in the last couple years of high school, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you dont have to change who you are to succeed. But you do indeed have to highlight certain parts about yourself to find success in the process. Says Croner in the interview on the admissions process, Don’t let the admissions process define you in any way. It is not a science. Admissions officers are overwhelmed, facing record numbers of applications. It’s absurd that the system encourages students to try to become super-kids instead of plain old fallible teenagers. Being a lifeguard at your local pool and enjoying being 17 should be just as important as going off to molecular biology camp. We couldnt agree more. In fact, we encourage our students to get real jobs over the summer months. And lifeguarding certainly is one of them. Working a real job is a genuine life experience that admissions officers at highly selective colleges value. You think they want kids whose mommies and daddies pay for them to go to fancy summer programs every high school summer? No. They want real, genuine kids who they can have respect and admiration for. Also, it may seem like only super-kids get admitted to the top colleges in America but we can assure you that these super-kids are really just plain old fallible teenagers, too.