Debbie's Commentary

By Debbie Henderson

By midnight on Friday, Nov. 30, thousands of high school seniors finished carefully combing over personal essays and lists of activities and submitted their applications to the UC and CSU systems. In the coming months, thousands more students will send applications to various other public and private universities.

The information students include in their applications becomes their sole ambassador to admissions officers, who wield the power to label each student as either acceptable or not good enough for their schools. To admissions officers, these marks on the page simply represent an applicant’s successes and failures, but to students their thoughtfully composed essays and lists mean much more. For many, this information represents years of stress, worry and sleepless nights. They are the result of meticulous planning and activity choice that often begins at the outset of high school.

During my freshman year, I became sick of lectures about college by the end of the first school week. It seemed every teacher had something to say about why excelling in their class was crucial to college admittance, and many instructors advised us to “start now” to build an impressive resume. Many other students shared my confusion about what activities were most impressive and my fear that I would never be able to compare to thousands of highly qualified students.

After three and a half years of high school, I still don’t know how to answer those who ask what activities would look best on college applications. Frankly, I don’t believe there is an answer to this question. I don’t think admissions officers have a list of magical activities or test scores that automatically qualify applicants for admittance. It seems almost everyone who applies to colleges plays a sport, is active in school clubs and participates in community service. Many applicants also have decent test scores and solid grades in advanced classes. So what is it that sets one student apart from the rest?

What I believe—or perhaps only wish to believe—is that what’s most important to admissions officers is what is written between the lines of application responses. What admissions officers can infer about an applicant’s character based on these activities that makes the student represented on the page come alive and stand apart from the rest. A week spent at a summer tennis camp reveals one applicant’s dedication to the game, inspiring her to take her training a step beyond what the local league provides. Another applicant’s summer job in a court of law and her leadership of a mock trial club at school demonstrate her compelling desire to work with the law and her drive to learn about a potential future career while still in high school. These are just two cases in which dedication to one particular activity speaks volumes about a student’s passions and character.

So what does this mean for students? Good news: if dedication and individuality are the attributes admissions officers want to see, the only task for college-bound students is to do what they love—a lot of it. By spending time engaging in activities they truly value, students are not only rewarded with immediate enjoyment but also with opportunities to earn awards and accolades. Nearly any venture, whether it involves sports, music or community service, provides participants with legitimate honors that represent who they really are on college applications.

While there is no guaranteed route to college acceptance, those who are truly moved by the pursuits to which they devote their time stand out to college admissions officers as dedicated, serious students. Perhaps more importantly, they are also free to enjoy their high school experience. When high school is filled with endeavors that reflect students’ true selves, four years of frustrating drudgery can be transformed into a fulfilling adventure.