Can’t emphasize enough using limited space wisely. Colleges want to see depth as that speaks to core interests, leadership, impact, etc. I remember my son’s first run at the Common App. He was excited for me to read it thinking he was “done”. It captured many of the things he did, but didn’t convey why he did them. I explained to him that he had done a great listing of achievements but he needed to discuss impact to become memorable. Of course his push back was centered on “there’s no space to explain anything” and “it’s just asking for a list of ECs”. I asked him why he participated in certain groups, what he gained from them, how he impacted them, etc. He then rewrote the descriptions to show impact, emphasizing his leadership. It was as or more challenging than writing some of his essays. But it painted a picture of who he actually is vs. just bouncing around from one group to another.
@twogirls – Exactly! D18 had her AP Lit teacher review her Common App essay, the topic of which might be considered a bit risky according to CC wisdom. Her teacher loved it and said that the people who read it will “know you”. D18 has the hard stats to get into any school. I want the AOs reading D18’s application to know her so that they can determine if she’ll fit in at their school.
BTW, I had to laugh yesterday when I saw WashU’s profile for 2022 admissions. I had the dreaded “beekeeper” as one of the students you’ll meet there next year!
I can tell you the college or guidance counselor who writes the letter has to be in on the story. All documents have to promote a compelling story or paint a picture.
It’s tough to package an applicant junior year, agree with you. Consultants that talk about packaging typically start freshman year in terms of course selection, EC advice etc and potential college fits. Packaging is actually pretty important as you get older - a resume is basically packaging yourself, but for kids in hs - let them be who they are and follow the suggestions on the thread.
Packaging, to me, is about finding the common links across a student’s high school record/activities, to tell a coherent story about who they are and what do they bring to a campus. For my LAC kid, we knew that many schools he was interested in valued diversity. Well, as another upper middle class white male, he was not adding a lot there. BUT – he could tell a story, in his essay and in the way he framed his experiences for his recommenders - about how he could contribute in a positive way to a campus which valued diversity. So, we reverse engineered his essay – what did he want to convey about himself, and what he would contribute to campus – and then brainstormed how he could tell that story in a funny, engaging way. Similarly, he emphasized to his teachers and guidance counselors, in his “brag sheets” what he could contribute. We didn’t impose a false narrative – we looked at what his actual strengths were, and talked about how to communicate that, consistently.
I suggest being thoughtful about what the schools’ identified themes/priorities – what do they emphasize in their mailings, website etc? And think about how your student could contribute to that community.
We talked with DS and came up with a list of 3 things he wanted to convey in all his applications. They were part of him being a very pointy STEM kid. Since there were a lot of STEM activities, we narrowed it down to 3 he wanted colleges to know more about. Other things were on the EC and honors lists, of course.
something pointy or spikey in addition to “sticky” all around good mastery but unique is the way to go
that seems hard to package, but the whole app must convey all or pieces of it
I’m a private admissions coach and this subject has become very important and very advanced. Without giving away my secrets I can tell you what ‘packaging’ means to me.
When I get a student early (I prefer very early 2nd semester freshmen year) I can build a strategic plan that will result in a final group of applications for the desired schools without any ‘packaging’. It’s already baked into the application because the student has completed everything according to plan and that’s our ‘package’. When I get a student late, say 1st semester of junior year, I have to analyze where we are and where we want to end up. Most often this results in changes - deemphasizing somethings and underscoring other things on the students resume. At no time do we lie or exaggerate. There’s no need. In fact a lot of my work is deleting things to allow more space for the applicant’s significant points.
So for me packaging ends up being a restatement of the ‘student brochure’ with the goal of telling the most memorable and real version of the student. If we can hold a bleary-eyed admissions officer’s attention for a few extra minutes we increase our odds tremendously. And ideally, if you start early enough and run a solid strategy you won’t need packaging.
BTW, the beekeeper story in this thread was almost certainly the result of an admissions coach.
As someone who is used to persuading other parties to render decisions favorable to me or my clients, I discussed with my kid how he can craft a college application that will “stick” in adcom’s memory and heart and persuade that adcom to fight for him before other adcoms. My kid used the same tactic that makes the audience “care” for a character in a movie. It’s not because the character is good looking, rich, smart, funny or in a terrible situation that make the audience fall in love with the character; it’s because a great movie will manage to reveal or capture the character’s foibles, strengths, struggles and integrity in a very honest and genuine way that is relatable by a sympathetic and perceptive audience. The application which impresses will stick in the adcom’s brain, but the application which paints a likable applicant will stick in the adcom’s heart. I don’t want to go into details but I felt that this method or tactic could be repeated by most applicants to increase their chances of success. Anyway, it was not until my kid completed the application and polished it through numerous discussions over restaurant food and boba tea that I felt my kid had a real chance of getting into Stanford REA. It was not, I repeat, it was not because I thought the essays were beautifully written (he is not a great writer of long essays but a capable writer of short newspaper articles with good hook sentences) but because I thought the application captured very, very accurately who my kid really was. That to me is a good packaging. A bad packaging is trying to paint someone you are not. Most times, it will ring hollow. Every word was not wasted and connected with other parts to paint a clear picture of our kid.
He had no incredible or unique struggle or accomplishments, but the reviewer and/or associate dean mentioned how our kid managed to present the ordinary events in his life in a moving manner.
What happens to the ability of young teenager to grow and explore during their high school years? To try something new because is is intriguing? To take a detour to follow a passion? To change and move away from something that seemed like a passion at age 14 but is no longer appealing? To have a chance to be a different person at age 17 than one was at age 14?
I have to say I’m very glad that my daughter didn’t have a strategic plan in place during her freshman year. I have no clue what such a plan might have been but it couldn’t possibly have anticipated the choices my daughter made as a high school sophomore and junior that ended up being key to her success in college admissions.
And a good freshmen plan includes the flexibility that you describe in your first paragraph. But freshmen strategy also includes getting them to understand how important their free time becomes when viewed from an application perspective.
@wheaty I am not trying to criticize you and I really appreciate your honesty in sharing these techniques. But this makes me sad. You are right that this is what colleges are looking for. We sat in an information session today (from a placed my daughter loved) and the counselor emphasized the “passion” and “dedication” and “depth” of participation they are seeking. I know that you didn’t create the problem. You are just helping others, like me, understand and navigate it. BUT, if even a kid’s free time is fraught with such import, when can they ever relax? When is it truly free time? I guess the answer is, that is the choice you make if you really want to reach for the tippy top. Some kids must fall into it naturally. D1 naturally showed a passion and leadership in a couple of areas. But for those who are squeezed into that mold, the kids who would otherwise naturally have tried lots of different things, treating life like a delicious buffet, I feel they may lose something of themselves.
@123Mom456 Ugh. This is the first I’m learning of ZEEMEE. Now, on top of grades, APs, showing leadership, SATS, ACTs, Community service, supplemental essays and the rest, kids have to put together a multi media presentation? How soon before production companies start charging desperate and exhausted families thousands of dollars to produce these things. I hope I don’t sound like I’m trying to shoot the messenger. This is good advice and I’m grateful to learn about it. Sorry if I seem a little frazzled tonight. A long day of driving and touring!!
I just don’t think the choices a kid make from age 14-16 should necessarily be guided by a college application perspective. Of course it makes sense for all kids to try to keep up their grades, to enroll in challenging courses, and to participate in EC’s that are meaningful to them – but that’s not really packaging. And sometimes kids want or need to make choices that aren’t necessarily what anyone thinks will look good on a college app.
My daughter made a choice during high school that could have been disastrous for college apps. It meant foregoing AP courses and thus reducing her potential weighted GPA; and leaving her with only minimal coursework in math & sciences. She had only 2 years of lab science in high school, no math beyond algebra II. And yet that choice became the story that she had to tell, and it led to her acceptance at schools like Barnard & Chicago despite test scores that put her in the bottom quartile for those schools. But did we know that would be the outcome? Not at all.
The task wasn’t “packaging” for colleges, it was figuring out which colleges wanted and needed the qualities my DD had to offer. Fortunately it all worked out well for us – but part of the process of getting there was in NOT letting worries about potential college admissions guide the decision. Somehow I doubt that a private admissions coach would have encouraged or approved of my daughter’s detour.
@gallentjill
Let’s back up a second. The service I provide is only for a very small group of students. Way less than one tenth of 1%. I work with kids and families that have huge goals and are highly motivated to reach those goals. I provide a service that increases the odds of them achieving some of those goals. But sure, for most people this is crazy stuff. I get that. In fact my own summers were spent playing basketball and picking wild raspberries by a creek not far from our house in Wisconsin. Memories I would never trade. But we are all different.
