What to say to kid who lost election

[curmudgeon]

<p>

@soozie

One year in HS, my daughter was not elected as a Senator to the Student Senate. That year, she chose to attend every meeting anyway and in fact, she started a committee on an important issue she cared about and was trying to change a policy at her high school. She worked with one or two kids (though truly led this almost singlehandedly) to write a new policy for the school that eventually went before the faculty and she took it to the school board who finally approved the new policy for the school. It took two years from start to finish. During this time, a Senator in the Senate quit and the President appointed my D as a replacement because she was always at the meetings and she was someone who was actually initiating and accomplishing something. In fact, every teacher rec and GC rec my D got for college mentions what my D accomplished in making a change at her school on this policy and how it was very rare for students in the Senate to ever truly do something of significance that effected change in the school and she did and she wasn’t even elected! I think what she managed to initiate and getting new policy passed at her school (she started a second policy initiative after the first one was done) was more important than any elected title.

Outstanding example of what I “preach” to students. IMO there is way too much emphasis on titles and honors and awards. In life and in admissions. A history of “See a problem, fix a problem” action has always been the best life plan and resume + for college, med school, whatever. Although not discounting the value of awards, not everybody has the good fortune, connections, popularity, $, background, or mentors to rack up the supposedly career making “medals” in high school or college. But everybody can do something to fix a problem and portray that something , modestly and without hyperbole, in their essays.</p>

<p>(Since this is CC, afterall)…As I have discussed on this board many times before, most of the success my kid has had in admissions to UG (and now in racking up an unbelievable start to the med school admissions process) can be attributed to this simple idea. It’s what gets plucked from her application essays and activities sections, singled out for discussion in interviews while the awards and titles (which again, I am not discounting) are rarely/barely mentioned.</p>

<p>Whether it was working with my D, or while I was helping my niece last year, or again just last week when my niece sent a “floundering” friend to my office, it has became repeatedly clear that students almost completely discount what is truly memorable/compelling about themselves. Heck. My niece put on children’s plays and did deep independent research on the Holocaust (and other Genocides). Her friend brought singers to her grammy’s nursing home for entertainment night. There were no awards given and not a single reporter or school official in sight. All felt that without public approbation or the school’s “Seal of Excellence” these non-awards weren’t worth writing about. They were (and soon will be ) wrong (again). ;)</p>

<p>What a man does with what he’s got is more important than title, office, or award. And that goes double if the camera isn’t rolling. </p>

<p>Be a do-er. That’s what I’d tell him.</p>