What Do Selective Colleges Look for in an Applicant? Engagement Beyond the Classroom: The Extracurricular Record

What Do Selective Colleges Look for in an Applicant? Engagement Beyond the Classroom: The Extracurricular Record
By Sally P. Springer|Marion R. Franck|Jon Reider
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Selective colleges expect students not only to be strong academically but also to be interesting, contributing members of the campus community and the community at large. Colleges used to talk about the importance of being well-rounded and showing evidence of leadership in extracurricular activities. Now admissions officers talk about having a well-rounded class composed of students who each have exceptional talent or commitment in one or two areas. The shift reflects the reality that there are just so many hours in the day and that achieving excellence in a given area can take up most of those hours. Or as David Gould, former dean of admissions at Brandeis, has said, “The embodiment at age seventeen of a Renaissance person is difficult to find. We realized we could accomplish the same thing [for our freshman class] with lots of different people.” Colleges look to see whether a student has made a sustained commitment to an activity over a number of years; involvement in one long-term activity can be more impressive than involvement in several short-term ones. Sometimes admissions officers speak about students having “passions.” We think “commitment” is a better term, and it is the one we choose to use.

View Full Article

Add your own comment

Ask a Question

Have questions about this article or topic? Ask
Ask
150 Characters allowed

Related Questions

Q:

Community Service (1 answer)

Q:

Community Service (no answers)
See More Questions

Today on Education.com