CameronAs applicants are well aware of asking for recommendation letters from their subject teachers, only a very small number of students know that parents and/or peers can also be recommenders. University of Rochester, for instance, is one of the institutes that offers this opportunity for applicants’ friends and family to provide such supplement information as listed above (Family/Peer Recommendation Form (rochester.edu)). However, to best amplify the applicant’s strengths, couple of strategies could be implemented.
While parents have witnessed their children’s growth and development over the years and are extensively familiar with the applicant’s impressive achievements, it is quite common that instead of backing up the applicant’s depicted personal image with evidences already stated, parents tend to accentuate the qualities that they believe are the cores in their parent brag sheet. The intention of doing so is indeed of good will, yet the outcome may seem to create a disparity due to inconsistency.
Let’s say a student is a tennis enthusiast and he has passionately shared his experiences about this sport, delineating the lessons he learned from the practices, the bond he established with his coach, and the inspirations and motivation he drew from playing, as well as how he reflected these characteristics on other performances. Nonetheless, parents wish to highlight the student’s gift in music, thus the majority of the parent brag sheet contents talk about how this student practices the instrument hours after hours and how he seeks instructions from all resources applicable.
An athlete and a musician, although the two identities may sound appealing; however, admission officers raise the question that if the applicant is so into tennis that he shared so many stories about it, how come his parents didn’t say a word pertaining to tennis at all? Do they really know their son well? The completely two different stories don’t necessarily contradict nor do they work out the way as parents had wished for, instead, they create confusion.
A parent brag sheet always supplements the student’s ideas and image. Rather than heavily demonstrates the other aspect of the student, parents should provide additional information that further polishes the ideas of the applicant and better refines his image.
Applying the same example above, when parents have read the applicant’s writings, some of the information they can help add on to the stories include but not limited to:
- Explain the student’s development of interest in tennis (e.g.: background story, student was relatively weak during his childhood compared to his peers, parents wished that tennis practices could facilitate his health).
- How does the family support this student’s interest (e.g.: parents selecting and providing necessary equipment needed, driving the student to tennis practices, and accompanying the student by the court the whole time, cheering and motivating student).
- What are some of the things that this student does that reflect his true passion in the eyes of his parents (e.g.: maintaining his tennis rackets carefully at home, insisting practicing despite adverse conditions such as bad weather, giving up his favorite deserts and sweets to keep fit).
- How does this student apply his tennis skills elsewhere to attract more people to be involved in this sport (e.g.: teaching family and/or friends tennis, promoting the rules, history, and development of tennis and its culture, organizing and hosting tennis trivia events to introduce the fun facts of this sport).
In this way, admission officers are able to put the pieces together thus forming a more complete picture of this applicant from different perspectives. Though parents can illustrate the student’s music accomplishments, his volunteer experience and etc., the priority is to add details to his best featured story.
In conclusion, before eager parents get started on the brag sheet, they are suggested to first learn what is written in the applicant’s essay to come up with evidence-based auxiliary information that augments the applicant’s story and make his/her image more vivid.