<p>I have to say that I’d never seen a student resume like the ones in her samples. They’re not the standard list of facts, honors, accomplishments and ECs. Instead they start with a descriptive paragraph on the student’s background–where they were born & have lived, what their parents do, who are their family members. There are paragraphs describing the students’ 3 main strengths, and a final paragraph about the student’s goals. They’re 2 pages long.</p>
<p>Ross says that the students she’s worked with have gotten college aceptances and scholarships based on resumes they’ve given to adcoms at college fairs.</p>
<p>My D (class of 2015) has a resume that’s a 1 page factual list which I put together, based on what she’s done and on my experience of writing my own professional resume. When I was in grad school I remember being told to keep it purely factual, not to put in anything “soft” like “career objective” or “personal strengths”. So the resumes in this book are the opposite of what I was taught. But do they work? Have things changed from 25 years ago when I first put together my own resume?</p>
<p>I don’t like it. Both my daughter’s High School resume (or brag sheet) was in classic resume format - no paragraphs, bulleted lists, etc. and the resume she used as a sophomore to get a co-op was the same. Things have not changed as far as I am concerned - nobody wants to struggle through paragraphs of text and more than a page (especially for a student). </p>
<p>Exactly, Mathmom. That would be the type of resume you would give to your GC or to teachers whom you’ve asked to write letters on your behalf. My kids gave a copy of their brag sheet to the GC and other letter writers, PLUS a “cheat sheet,” really just a brief comment on what made each school attractive and a good “fit.” That way the letter-writers could, if they chose to, say just a bit about how right this student was for each college. The cheat sheet had nothing about family background, but instead something about how the particular college fit into their educational or career objectives or was special to the student for some other reason (relatives attended, etc.).</p>
<p>My kids each did append brag sheets to their college applications, listing their major awards and accomplishments inside and outside of school: awards and prizes; championships; and other special recognition or achievements (in art, journalism, athletics, debate). One page, with clear, bold subheadings for the areas of achievement or recognition. Nothing about their family history or educational/career objectives, since this could usually be handled within the main application or the “why this college” essay if this is part of the application. (My college has long had a required “Why Reed” essay.)</p>
<p>Personally, I often feel these professional advisors are as much seeking to make themselves sound authoritative. There is room in the CA for plenty of detail. Part of the challenge is to boil it down to the more important points- more important to adcoms, for their decisions. If you must use more space, go with very short (Addl Info) and be sure your most important bullets are also already under ECs, that you’re not assuming the adcoms will be happy to have to dig through to find them. </p>
<p>Btw who cares where you were born, what hospital, what birth order, siblings? Adcoms aren’t just looking for a tale. They’re also looking for your judgment- how you see what is relevant to your college app. </p>
<p>God, no!
My kids’ prep schools bring admissions officers from top colleges to talk to parents and hold small group discussions about mock candidates. From all I’ve heard in these sessions a resume like those in this book would only serve to annoy the admissions committee. No one wants to have to wade through a paragraph about where some kid was born or where they went to elementary school. What they do want is insight into what makes a student tick. Information overload would simply make it hard for an AO to hone in on what make the student unique or interesting.</p>
<p>^ Agree. Adcoms, especially those at large schools read 100s of applications. I can’t imagine they want a tome on the first 18 years. Sounds like very bad advice from someone who either isn’t clear on the process or is trying to stand out themselves.</p>