Jaime We all have different definitions of success. It is important that students define their idea of success before attempting to achieve it! How do our students define success? Does their definition of success differ from that of their parents/teachers/friends/society/culture?
In the college admission counseling office, a successful student is a student who reflects on themselves, understands who they are and who they want to become, knows the motivations behind their choices and actions, and expresses this knowing and understanding with concision through both written (essays) and spoken words (interviews).
What about grades? Don’t they factor into the college admission officers' definition of success? Of course, they do, but that is a given. What remains after the cumulative GPA and external test scores are presented is where many students and parents (and sometimes educators!) fall short in their understanding of the college application process.
Typically, students think success means a high GPA. While academic success is a fundamental component of achieving higher education goals (especially when considering highly competitive universities), college admissions counselors and university admissions officers place equal weight on the development of the whole self. Many students fail to understand that a successful university application demands a student's ability to reflect on who they are and what they want out of life; to share who they are beyond the brilliant academic. It is crucial that our students develop the skill of self-reflection now, instead of, like many of our students, only finding out in their senior year, that what is being asked of them through the writing components of the applications is much more than a list of numbers.
It is of the utmost importance that students and the adults in his/her orbit recognize the importance of self-reflection throughout the application process; the importance of being able to demonstrate their unique characteristics and authentic personality. This isn’t done with numbers alone!
As counselors, we advocate for our students and parents to go beyond numbers and grades, and to venture into the areas of the self that make each of us unique.
I have chosen to highlight some keys to ‘whole person success’, which again, in college counseling perspective, is not limited to numbers, but includes the entire person and fosters all aspects of our student's growth and development; social, emotional and academic success.
Tips to share with your sons and daughters:
#1 Know Yourself; reflect on your values and goals. Remember that who you are today may be different than who you become two years from now. If you don’t know what you value, have a look at the pdf.
#2 Be Proactive (Be a self-advocate!) Know your available resources and sources of support (Teachers -office hours, Deans, College Counselors, School Counselors) and learn how to ask for help when you need it! Success doesn’t happen in a vacuum.
#3 Be Purposeful – Reflect on the purpose of High School, define your goals & create an overview of their 4-year high school plan (communicate with your counselor!).
#4 Be Organized – Develop and implement strategies for success (time management, organization & study skills).
#5 Be Strategic –Plan for beyond high school. Plan to grow/develop/expand in each year both personally, and academically. Even in senior year – balance your APs across all years in high school!!
#6 Engage in what you love! Do things you truly enjoy and remember – life is change – change is growth – growth is development. Allow for opportunities to expand, change, and develop while doing the things that make you unique.
#7 Be Well Balanced- It’s great for you to take challenging classes, but not so many APs each year that you don’t allow yourself to be a person, a unique individual with preferences! Allow yourself room to grow/develop and thrive personally, to contribute to your community or engage in activities that make you happy.
#8 Be Communicative – communicate with your teachers, parents, and counselors. Communication helps us understand ourselves and others better. To know what you really want out of your higher education, you need to understand who you are and what you want. But that can’t happen in a vacuum. Talk to people!
#9 Be Curious – ask questions, of yourself, of life, of things you find interesting, of friends, of teachers....
#10 Pay attention to teams counseling posts. Pay attention to counselor advice.
#11 Do things beyond what is being asked of you.
#12 Reflect on who you are, and what you want, and learn how to articulate these aspects of yourself that often go unnoticed throughout a school day.
#13 Keep a journal of your activities – document what you do and feel while observing and or engaging in your ECA’s and describe why you are participating. Be sure to get videos and photos of your participation to share with admissions officers in your future applications.
#14 If you have decided to focus on a particular major, be prepared to answer why. Why do you want to study ‘x’ major? NOTE: “Because it’s interesting” is not enough. WHY do you find it interesting? If you don’t know why, discover why. Look at the major online, research, watch, ask, explore. FIND out WHY. Create your WHY.
#15 Record yourself responding to some questions that surround self-reflection. Watch yourself to see how others might see you. Examples: Who are you? Why do you want to study x? What do you do when you are not being told what to do? (hint: binge watching Netflix or playing computer games, while sometimes necessary, should not be the only thing you do!)
#16 Think you like a major? Do a google search to find materials of interest. For example: ‘suggested reading list for ‘x’ major oxford university. See what amazing things you can find! Podcasts are wonderful to listen to. Watch some uni lectures, expand your mind and your awareness of life (or specific topics). Learning is not only the domain of the classroom!