@goldbug’s post in the Class of 2025 Parents thread struck a chord for me which mentioned the occasionally fatal effects of the pressure of college admissions on students.
Although things like unweighted GPA and test scores are pivotal components in a Chance Me/Match Me thread, and the first questions are about demographics and the intended major(s), I am wondering if we can do a bit more to emphasize an applicant’s personality and keep the “academic stats” further down.
For instance, maybe we have an About Me as the first part where students can share in 1 paragraph/140 characters or less/50 words or less/briefly more about who they are and what makes them tick.
Perhaps something like:
I’m not much of a joiner at school, but I do play on our badminton team. I like to ride my bike around town and check out the katanas in the stores. My friends and I like to talk about music, and I play jazz in a garage band. I don’t know what my future will look like, but I enjoyed my summer engineering camp but also love history and English lit. My executive functioning skills still need some improvement. Although I’m uncomfortable in new situations, I tend to make friends easily.
(@Goldbug’s descriptions of her son (here and here) were the basis for my first description.)
OR
I’ve been raised on a ranch and know my way around a barn and animals, but when I see videos of women rushing and enjoying sorority life, I SO want to experience that. I want the camaraderie of a lot of female friends who will enjoy getting dressed up and just want to experience something totally different from where I come from.
OR (insert your great ideas in a reply!)
Anyway, I’m just wondering if there’s something we can do to decrease the focus on academic stats and to get more into the vibe/personality of students to help the find a good college fit, in the hopes of decreasing the pressure that many of them are feeling.