Myths

Activities
Today on TikTok, I learned that if you're a senior and don't have ten activities to fill up the Common App activities section, "Go join clubs, go get a job, go do service hours... just join things and fill that thing UP!" Noooooo!

Where do I even begin here? First of all, extracurriculars are indeed important to colleges. Students should be trying different things - clubs, sports, jobs - freshman and into sophomore year. Then junior year, they should step away from the ones they're not so intererested in and put more time and energy into the things they really enjoy, pursuing leadership and achievement while doing so. Colleges are looking at depth of interest much more than breadth, so joining a lot of clubs or committing a few hours here and there to multiple different service organizations won't impress. Your application should be authentic; it should tell a story - the story of YOU! Leadership and achievement in even one or two extracurriculars is far more valuable then joining 10 clubs! You won't be fooling anyone if you're a joiner without true commitment and genuine interest in something. And the good news is that that "something" can be anything at all, as long as it's important to you! So when you apply to college, if you can only fill out 6 of the 10 activity slots on the Common App, but you have pursued those 6 things deeply, that's a win.

Interviews
Today on TikTok, I heard from an Ivy League freshman that she's confident she was admitted because of her interview. Wrong. Just wrong. College interviews serve multiple purposes, but nobody gets into college because of their interview. In fact, the most selective colleges and universities in the country only offer alumni interviews, and unfortunately, most of these carrry zero weight with admissions. These interviews are offered primarily to give students a chance to learn more about the university. But the ugly truth is that they're also offered because they give alumni a chance to stay active and feel like they're contributing to their alma mater. And this warm, fuzzy feeling tends to yield more $$donations$$ to the university by those alumni. The write-up submitted by the alumnus to admissions is, sadly, not likely to move the needle at these institutions.

When it comes to interviews offered by admissions officers at most other colleges in the country - those that are not insanely selective - an interview is a strong form of demonstrated interest. It shows that you are truly interested in the college and that can actually increase your likelihood of admission, as colleges don't like admitting students whom they know have no intention of enrolling - no matter how smart or accomplished they are. Interviews won't make up for poor grades, but a good interview is one of many factors that will be considered by moderately selective institutions in the holistic admisssions process

Supplemental Essays
Today on TikTok, I learned the formula for writing the supplemental essays for Yale.

What?? There is no formula for any essay prompts for any college. If there were a formula and everyone followed it, all the essays they receive would sound alike. What I love most about my job as a college counselor is brainstorming essay topics with my students – or even better, reading what they come up with on their own. Sometimes, we’re much more creative and interesting when there are no rules or guardrails. So, by all means, think outside the box a little bit when writing those supplementals. Be creative, have a little bit of fun with them, and show them what makes you YOU. You’re not like anybody else, and your essays will be the best they can be if they reflect who you are.

Posting to Social Media
Today on TikTok, I learned that it’s a great idea to videotape yourself opening the email from your first-choice college, then put it all over social media for everyone to see.

No. Just no. This is an exciting time for many, but many others were not accepted to Top Choice U. They are grieving. They do not need to scroll through Instagram or TikTok and see everyone else getting into their dream school. Humility is a virtue. Own it. The world does not need to hear about all of your successes all of the time. By all means, celebrate with your family and rejoice – but off of social media. Because, really, people who don’t know you don’t care, and people you do know you may be hurting right now. So be kind. Always be kind.

Internships
Today on TikTok I learned that internships are “like” the most important thing to help differentiate yourself from every other person in the application pool.

What?!! No! There are so many things that help students differentiate themselves on their college applications, and signing up for an internship definitely doesn’t make the top 10. The fact is that colleges have plenty of applications from students with great academics choices, grades, and maybe even test scores. Beyond that, they’re looking for interesting candidates, as they define “interesting.” And pursuing what you love outside the classroom with depth and achievement is what makes you interesting. There’s no magic formula; colleges are looking for students with all different kinds of interests and experiences. So if an internship with a tech company helps you explore your interest in engineering, go for it! If an internship with a bank helps you realize that you really do – or don’t – want to pursue a degree in finance, fantastic! But there are so many other great ways to spend your summers! You could give back to your community through volunteer work in your area of interest, get a job to save for college, do research, or even start your own business or non-profit. Exploring what you love outside the classroom is a recipe for success; doing so via an internship is only one of many options.

Applying to Top Schools
Today on TikTok, I learned that if you’re applying to all the ivies and other colleges at the top of the rankings, it’s like shotgunning or throwing darts. You can just copy and paste your supplemental essay prompts from one into another.

This is not true. Each of these highly ranked institutions has a unique culture. As such, students would do well to research each one thoroughly, visit them if at all possible, and then think about how your strengths and interests dovetail with the college. That means that your essays are likely going to be very different from one to another institution. It also means that no student is a good fit for all of the most highly ranked universities. Do your research on the academics, student life, and general culture of the colleges you’re interested in, and then choose ones that are right for you. Shotgunning your applications and essays based on rankings alone makes zero sense. No one is a good fit for both Columbia and Dartmouth, or Notre Dame and Chicago. Nor do the essays intersect. Ever.

GPA
This week on TikTok, I learned that the easiest way to boost GPA is to take as many dual enrollment courses as possible and avoid all those “stupid” AP classes.

Here are the facts: colleges aren’t going to be interested in your GPA as it’s reported on your high school transcript. They are going to recalculate it based on their own formula: usually calculating an unweighted GPA using academic classes only. So don’t bother trying to artificially inflate your GPA - boosting it is not the goal. The goal, if you’re applying to selective colleges and universities, is to take the most rigorous classes offered to you and do well in those classes. If those are dual enrollment, go for it! But IB and AP classes, if available, are considered more rigorous. Why? Because the curriculum is understood by the colleges. There are thousands of community colleges that offer dual enrollment courses, and the rigor varies enormously. There is no standard. So colleges won’t know how hard yours really are. Therefore, IB and AP classes are often preferred by the most selective institutions in the country. But if those classes are not available to you, or if you’ve maxed out those classes at your high school, then dual enrollment classes are a great choice, and are considered rigorous. And all of this matters because the rigor of the classes you take in high school matters most in selective college admissions. You’ll fool nobody by taking the easier classes and ending up with a great GPA.

Demonstrated Interest
It’s amazing what you can learn on Tiktok! I found out that demonstrated interest can help you get into your “top schools.” If you email the admissions officer that is going to read your application often, and develop a relationship, you can increase your chance of admission. In fact, they want to build relationships with students early. And the “top” kids are doing this as early as eighth grade. They will keep track of how many times each student reaches out to them or answers their emails. If you’re thinking about applying to a “top” school, they want to know that you’ll attend if admitted. You can get almost a full ride just by doing this.

Here are the facts: demonstrated interest is real and can increase your likelihood of admission at the vast majority of institutions in the US. However, it will not help you at most highly selective institutions, as they do not consider demonstrated interest as part of the admissions process. They know that a large percentage of their admitted students will choose to attend – a number called yield – and do not cherry-pick the ones most likely to do so. Showing interest at most colleges, however, is a great idea when applying to colleges. This can be done by attending an information session and tour on campus or virtually, meeting with a college rep during a visit at your school or a college fair, emailing the college rep for your area with an intelligent question, or even just opening emails you receive from that institution and clicking on the hyperlinks to their website. But they don’t “count” the points of contact, and they do not want to be assaulted with multiple emails from a student. And please don’t think of starting the “relationship” in eighth grade – that is utterly unnecessary and potentially annoying to the admissions officer. While it is true that students’ visits, emails, and more become part of their admissions file, most institutions would agree that two points of contact is sufficient and more won’t help. Lastly, it is true that this kind of demonstrated interest can increase the likelihood and amount of a merit scholarship because the institution may think that the student is likely to yield. However, the idea that demonstrated interest alone could cause an institution to offer a full ride is silly. Stay posted; I look forward to de-bunking more TikTok myths!