“hanging out your “counselor” shingle is a lot work more than waiting by the phone.”
True, though the marketplace isn’t perfect. There are incompetent and dishonest people in this profession as in all others.
@gallentjill What my helped my D focus her applications was to pick 3 words that described her in 3 ways:
Academically - Science/researcher
Extra Curricular - Global Citizen, Language, Culture
Personality - Collaborator/Problem Solver
This really helped her write her essays or pick the topic to write about, choose which ECs and awards to highlight, etc.
My D is an artist too. She wasn’t applying to art school, or even to be a studio art major, but she wanted to highlight this talent on her applications. One thing she did was create an online portfolio of her work (a dozen or so pieces). There are several sites where one can do this for free – just upload photos of the work. D wrote her common app essay about being an artist and included a link to the online portfolio in her application (IIRC for schools on the common app she included the link in the additional information section). The idea was that the essay was memorable and would make the AOs curious enough about her work to click on the link and take a minute to look through the photos – very quick and easy for them to do. Then the artwork spoke for itself. I don’t know how many AOs actually clicked on the link, but D did have success with her applications and I suspect this helped. I consider this a type of “packaging” – taking who she was and presenting it to colleges in the best way possible to have the most impact. Simply stating in an application that a student has studied art for many years and perhaps even won a prize or two certainly helps. But actually showing the AOs just how talented the student really is hopefully takes it to the next level.
@RJCL1514 thanks. S19 is planning on sending a portfolio with his apps. All of the schools on his list will accept one. He also will not be an art major but would maybe like to take some art classes depending on the school. 
@gallentjill. Example #1: DD2016 - marching band pitt leader (but an oboe player not a percussionist) who failed to make it as drum major, LAX defensive captain (not the captain because the girl who was captain wanted to play in college, it was more important for her to be captain than DD), and a state finalist for BPA (but had no intention of pursuing business as a career and joined BPA because a friend didn’t want to do it alone). We used the fact that she was a leader, willing to help and not afraid of failure to tie her rather diverse set of EC’s and accomplishments together with her B+/A- GPA and test scores. It made a cohesive picture. She did not have to/want to demonstrate that she was the “best”. She did want to convey that she was willing to work, was capable of learning from her mistakes/failures and determined to succeed. We then looked for schools that seemed to value that type of student. She applied to 12 schools and was accepted to 12 schools. I would say it was an effective “package”!
Example #2: DD2018 has a single minded dedication to one EC - cheerleading. She has done it since she was five, participated in all-star, recreational and school cheer (varsity captain). She was usually on 2-3 teams simultaneously. It is a year round sport, so not a lot of time for her to pursue other activities. She gave up playing flute and being in theater productions early in HS because of time conflicts; despite being selected for region band and being the only freshman to be placed in an advanced upperclassmen theater class (after audition). Most of her volunteer time was teaching/coaching cheer. So we focused on her dedication, leadership and drive (willingness to sacrifice to attain a goal) and tied it to her B+/A- GPA and test scores. Her personality was very evident in her applications. Again, we looked for schools that seemed to value her skill set. She applied to 17 schools with 1 denial (UW), 1 waitlist (Clemson), 1 alternative admission option (UT) and 14 acceptances.
We used an active verb/adjective list to start from and narrowed down from there using those few selected words or synonyms over and over again throughout the applications and essays. DDs’ elected teachers who valued them for those attributes to write recommemdations; even choosing a teacher from a class where one DD earned a solid B because we knew that teacher could/would write a glowing recommendation that demonstrated that DD embodied her selected descriptors. Of course, we were not targeting top #1- #50 elite universities and LACs; but DDs were accepted at top #50 - # 110-ish schools. I am assuming that “packaging” works the same for kids looking for elite school admissions. You just need to choose the most accurate and compelling descriptors and find the schools that value that particular type of student.
Overall, I’d say we were very successful in our family’s college admissions quest.
@gallentjill - things like “…as Captain, led the smallest school in the district to it’s best record and District finals…” as opposed to Captain, Varsity Baseball or “…Shared the joy of acting with 15 members of the drama club…” as opposed to VP of Drama Club, we meet monthly to discuss acting.
Have an active, impactful voice that shows passion (if that was the circumstance - don’t make something out of nothing)
@RJCL1514 @homerdog Especially if your music or art student is not applying for those specific majors, I think it’s important to let adcoms see more than just their talent, but how they would USE their talent in college. My older D, who ended up at NYU for a music degree (vocal performance) also applied to other schools (Barnard, Brandeis, American, Muhlenberg, GW) where she wouldn’t have necessarily majored in music performance. Through her essays and EC’s, she showed that she would most likely continue doing MT and acappella music in college, regardless of her major. So her musician label would position her as an proactive student as they built their class. In HS, both my music and art D’s used their art and music to do community service and fund raise for their high school and community. (Art shows/ acappella concerts in nursing homes, etc.) So when they wrote essays or interviewed, they highlighted that they were more than just talented, but how they used this talent to add to the community as leaders.
Older D got accepted everywhere she applied and got lots of merit aid (no need) from schools that offered it (Barnard being the only exception as they offer no merit $.)
@Hanna @blossom Reading this thread with interest, I have a question. Daughter is a math, science geek as she has major ECs accomplishments in those subjects including paid internships in artificial Intellegence labs. But she loves writing, politics, community service, music and mentoring other girls. She has done extremely well in those areas too. She has her own way to do things as she explores her unique varied interest. She has travelled the world by winning scholarships. In this case she has accomplishments to prove her case which are on national level. So what she should emphasise in application. Should she focus on non Stem or Stem qualifications? Any other parents, input appreciated as I am puzzled and do not know how to advice my kid.
“It would be great if people could list some actual examples. How do you describe participating in the literary magazine or being part of the schools drama club or being part of a team, for example.”
Imho, any parent that can answer this with a lot of detail probably was too involved in the college app process, and helped in packaging the app. You can’t really describe all of them in detail in a 750 word essay so just pick one that the applicant felt made the most impact and showed who they are. BTW, listing activities like those is to show colleges that you’ll engage in the community and not go from class to dorm or library and back to class!
“So not “packaging” him by choosing activities to create a plastic image, but rather doing what he does and presenting with more impact.”
That is not what packaging is, maybe the best example to show packaging is Steve Jobs at Apple, who used packaging and spent more time on it than his competitors, to bring out the capabilities of the product so users had a better experience.
@uskoolfish I totally agree with that. Thanks for reminding me. S19 would like to continue art in some capacity in college and should look at each college and see how that could work. And he should let them know how he sees that panning out if he matriculated there.
We will have the same issue with our D21 who is a ballerina but doesn’t want to pursue ballet in college. She will have to make it clear that she loves contemporary dance as well and plans to dance in college although not major in dance.
If a student has some awesome talent but it can’t be used at the school, they aren’t really contributing to the school’s community.
We all know what packaging REALLY means… gift of BS’ing but not too slick to the point of looking artificial like it was written by a sociopath pathological liar teen, tiger mom or $10,000 consultant.
@ultapradesh If she wants to major in a STEM subject, I would focus on those accomplishments, but I would certainly bring in her other interests and talents and blend them together.
Ie, can she put together a club that mentors younger girls in STEM competitions/ internship placement?
Form a club that brings successful women in STEM positions to speak to or mentor female HS students?
Can she use her writing skills to write articles about her STEM related experiences? Do a column in the HS paper on interesting math, science, or AI topics?
Use her involement and talent in music to help organize a student run talent show to raise money for lab equipment and music stands in her HS?
She should incorporate her interests and talents to move beyond her personal achievement so that she adds to her community.
My two daughters (now in their professional careers) never did anything “to get into college.” That was never the impetus of their choices. They were internally motivated. They were passionate about their activities which were life long activities. I feel certain that they would have done the very same activities, as well as chosen the same classes and done well in them, had they never gone to college. They simply were driven and wanted to do these things out of pure interest. We never pushed them and I’d say they pushed us. They spent their summers pursuing the activities they enjoyed. They also were leaders. In terms of academics, they craved challenge. When they applied to college, they showed who they were as people. It was also pretty clear that they would continue their passionate interests in college and contribute to these college communities. Older D landed at Brown, and got into other Ivies and very selective colleges. Younger D applied only to BFA degree programs in musical theater, which all have single digit acceptance rates (and the applicant also must audition to be accepted). She also got into a majority, but not all, of her schools, and landed at her first choice, NYU/Tisch. They were not packaged in terms of planning ahead of time as to what they should do to get into a good college. They did the things they truly wanted to do. Then, they showed who they were on their applications. I also will add that my kids did not attend a high school with a competitive environment, and for that, I am grateful.
I am also an independent college counselor (consultant). I don’t truly package my clients. I help guide them to be their best selves in and out of school, and then advise them on an appropriate college list (which many do not create on their own), and help them show themselves in the best possible light on their applications. But they do things they want to do, and not just to “look good for college.” Their applications are genuine and not trying to game anything to look good, but to simply show themselves as they are. I think college counselors add value in the college selection and admissions process, but the point is not that they can get someone into college who might not otherwise be admitted. A big part is also helping families navigate what can be an overwhelming and stressful process and have the expertise to answer questions and to guide a student on every step of the process. People can do this on their own of course.
Maybe I’m being naive about this or misunderstanding, but I view “packaging” as similar to how I’d view grooming. Brushing your hair, washing your face and wearing clean clothes that fit you don’t change who you are. Packaging, like grooming, is simply doing some basic things to show who you are in the best possible light. You are still you… your hair is just not a tangled mess.
We didn’t use a college consultant, but I do think they could be very helpful for some kids. Not necessarily the types of consultants who urge a 9th grader to take up beekeeping to be unique, but the types of consultants who go through the kid’s first draft of the application and help arrange it in a way that is most appealing. So many kids don’t think about how simple things like word choice and order of presentation makes a difference, yet those are simple things that help to polish an app and make it appealing.
I see it all the time in the “chance me” threads. It’s obvious that when kids list their ECs, they’re just doing a brain dump of anything they did other than school and usually listing it in chronological order. Many of them have some very interesting and compelling activities in there, but they’re buried under meaningless fluff that a reader has to wade through. It would be the exact same kid who did the exact same things, but simply putting the activities into an order with the meaningful or most valuable ones first, doing a good job of describing why the activity was meaningful and even omitting some of the non-value added fluff would make for a much more appealing “package”.
This is one of the most interesting EC someone did and just got lucky. I heard this from my kid’s private consultant. One applicant he was working with was looking for an EC that would help him get into a business school. The PC suggested for him to raise some money to fund some start-ups for high school kids. I think he only raised few thousand $$, probably from parents/friends/car wash/baking sale. The idea was if someone wanted $500 to start a new business, they would write up a business plan and apply for fund. The counselor helped this kid with the website and the operating model. A month or so after the website was up, the President was touring the country and his PR (or speech writer) searched the internet to find out what local people/students were doing that were innovative and interesting. They found this kid’s website, they vetted him out, and his EC was mentioned in the speech. I am sure this ended up on this kid’s application.
@ultapradesh your daughter sounds like a great kid. I think she needs to talk about both things. There’s more than one essay. My younger son wrote his main Common Application essay about origami. He talked about the excitement of teaching himself a skill. (He mostly learned from youtube videos) and about what he ended up doing with it. Learning to make earrings - giving and then selling them. Teaching others origami etc. His “what’s your favorite EC” essay, was totally different. He talked about how a project helping organize neighborhood association papers (newsletters and correspondence) made him feel like a real historian as we learned about the limitations of first-hand sources that only tell part of the picture. This essay was quite funny as he gave a little overview of the attempt to keep open classrooms in his school and the burning question of whether the playground should be open to the neighborhood after hours.
This was a kid who was all over the map - he did Science Olympiad, literary magazine and was in two orchestras. His favorite subject was history. His applications emphasized that he was creative, funny and potentially a deep thinker. In college interestly he discovered he had a real talent for logistics - organizing conferences, keeping people on schedule and on budget. In fact being pretty good at a lot of different things has been very useful to him both in college and in his current career.
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It seems to me that the key to what the professional college counselors do vs. the average applicant is they are focused on creating a compelling application that will “hold a bleary-eyed admissions officer’s attention.”
A lot of it is common sense. Do the courses taken, grades, test scores all align with the picture that is painted in the essays and EC’s? The essays have to “show don’t tell”, be believable and hopefully a bit original. It helps to have a major in mind in many cases. The extra-curricular activities should primarily demonstrate a level of interest, and achievement that demonstrates the traits of a successful student and will ideally have some connection to the planned major. Showing that this student can achieve something significant when they put their mind to it is critical. What makes this student worth fighting for to the bleary-eyed admissions officer?
These are the things that cc parent do all the time. Still, a professional who has more experience accumulates a deeper level of knowledge on each aspect. They probably have also been to the entire top 100 school list and know more about the nuances of what each one is looking for.
However, there are also some minuses to certain college consultants. Some of them make claims about outcomes, such as that x% of applicants were admitted to one of their top 3 choices. That sounds appealing, but I think it is a bad thing. The problem is that they often achieve these percentages by convincing students that their top 3 choices are too aggressive, even for students whose goals are realistic. The lower each student aims, the better the counselor’s success rates get.That is a bad thing.
This thread has certainly been eye opening. I really like the suggestions about application wording to show the importance and impact of an activity. I imagine that even a kid who was not always a leader could use this to his or her advantage by showing what a great team player they are. Surely some colleges out there value cooperation in addition to leadership.
I have been thinking a lot about the value of a consultant as expressed here on CC. Its not something we could use now. D1 is a happy college sophmore and d2 is really only applying to matches and safeties. Possibly, a more polished application could draw some extra merit aid or honors offers, but its not worth it. On the other hand, if she continues her passion for medicine and finds herself applying to med schools in a few years, I could see finding the funds for help with those applications. In that world there are no matches or safeties - only reaches. Assuming she has the grades and experience to make herself competitive, that extra nudge to make her applications stand out could be the thing that pushes her over the top. When your kid’s life dream is on the line, I can easily see doing everything you can to make it happen.
Exactly