college admissions

In! College Admissions and Beyond: The Expert's Strategy for Success

by Lillian Luterman and Jennifer Bloom CREATING YOUR SPIKE A spike is almost always based on a student’s interests. During our first meeting with a student, we try to determine what he or she is interested in—or better yet, passionate about. The problem is, very few students believe they have a passion. Sure, we’ve worked with Intel finalists who seem like they were born in a biogenetics lab. Or that gifted athlete who has excelled on the soccer field.

These lucky few have a readily identifiable passion, but for the remaining 99 percent, figuring out their passion is half the battle.

Many students believe that they don’t have any interests, never mind passions. When we first meet with a student, we’re afraid even to utter that dreaded “P” word. But every student—you included!—has interests, even if it takes some careful thinking to identify them. Many students also feel that they are just like everyone else. Wrong again: you are different from everyone else, even if it requires some time to think of how to explain why.

What do you like doing when you don’t have to do anything?

This is what you need to ask yourself first, although even that question is difficult for most students to answer. Below is a list of many activities and interests. It is not meant to be comprehensive but rather to give you an idea of the broad range of possibilities and to spark your imagination.

BRAINSTORMING Here are some questions you can ask yourself as you brainstorm spike ideas.

• What are you best at in school?

• What causes move/inspire you?

• What club or activity do you most look forward to attending?

• What magazines do you always look at or buy?

• What online sites are you drawn to?

• What do you want to be when you grow up?

• And most basic of all: What do you really enjoy doing?

Answer as many of these questions as possible. Which answers came to you quickly? Why? No one knows you better than you. Think about what makes 2 2 2 W E S T O N M A G A Z I N E G R O U P. C O M

you different from everyone else you know.

Keep in mind that interests can disguise themselves; sometimes you might not even think of them as interests. You might assume, for example, that interests have to be voluntary—but sometimes they’re imposed on you.

• Do you need to take care of a younger sibling? A grandparent? A handicapped sibling?

• Do you have an unusual medical condition?

• Do you support yourself and/or members of your family through your own income?

• Have you lived in other countries or immigrated to the U.S. or your current country of residence?

Many of our students have created passions out of these “obligations,” turning lemons into lemonade. After all, dealing with any one of these frequently stressful situations demands maturity, responsibility, and determination, particularly if you use your experiences to help others as well. Even if you didn’t actively “choose” these duties as passions, your creativity and investment of time and energy can reinvent them as such.

LAYERING YOUR PASSION After plenty of careful thought, you’ve pinpointed an interest, maybe even a passion—in other words, a potential spike. Now what?

The next step is to explore that area of interest. You can do this in many different ways: in school, out of school, through employment and summer programs. It really doesn’t matter how you start—just don’t be afraid to start small. (Putting too much pressure on yourself to create something “big” at the outset is a recipe for indefinite procrastination!) School is the first place most students look; if you’re interested in French, for example, joining the French club is a great start. But that’s just what it is—a start. We encourage our students to move beyond the limits of their high school to explore their interest through far more unconventional avenues.

Here are some questions to ask yourself as you begin exploring: • Is there a job, paid or unpaid, that would allow you to explore your area of interest more fully?

• Could you learn more about your interest as an employee or intern or volunteer in a company? A hospital? A day-care center? A vet’s office? A museum?

• Could you adapt your interest so that it’s accessible to children? Is there a local Big Brother, Big Sister, or Boy or Girl Scout organization, or a children’s community center through which you might be able to work?

• Could you create a program for senior citizens or geriatric residents around your area of interest? (Note: Teaching your passion to seniors or children may mean teaching the most basic version of a sport, craft, computer program, and so on. That’s okay. Showing others the fundamentals of something you’re advanced at has its own rewards.)

• Is there a summer program that could help you further develop your interest? A course taught at a university, near home or abroad? Could you explore your interest through local community colleges or summer

courses at other colleges?

• Could you sell your service to neighbors, family, or friends?

• Could you create a Web site or online video about your interest?

(Note that as college applications have become almost entirely electronic, having an online resource to which you can direct admissions officers is often an advantage.)

• Is there a need for an organization or Web site that centralizes information and resources about your interest?

Start with one opportunity and see where it leads, while keeping your eyes peeled for others. Don’t shy away from avenues that are creative and entrepreneurial; as you will see in our case studies, these often have the biggest impact and garner the most success.

Why are we asking you to consider all of these off-the-beaten-path ideas? Again, pretend for a moment that you’re an admissions officer.

You’re evaluating two students with similar backgrounds, test scores, and grades. One student loves French and is a member of her high school’s French club; the other loves French and has taught preliminary French to children at a local community center, created an online community for other high school Francophiles, spent summers in France living with a French family, and interned (for fun) in a bakery to learn how to bake French bread. Which student do you think is more interesting? Which do you imagine has stronger letters of recommendation? Which student would be more fun and compelling to present to other admissions officers as a potential candidate? Which do you envision making a more concrete impact on your college campus?

It is important not to concentrate all of your efforts on one activity, but to explore your interest through a variety of small activities— adding one activity, then another, and another, taking a slightly different approach each time. We call this process layering. Successful layering will ensure that by the time you are a high school senior, you will have created a record of achievement that shows real depth in one area—an area that has become your passion. This record will look like no one else’s and paint a picture of you that is both compelling and unique. ❉ Excerpts reprinted with permission of publisher, from In! College Admissions and Beyond: The Expert’s Strategy for Success,

by Lillian Luterman and Jennifer Bloom, published by Abbeville Press. A graduate of McGill University, Lillian Luterman has been advising students on college and boarding school admissions since 1989 and has expanded her practice globally. With a master’s degree in speech pathology and counseling, Lillian has worked with students of all levels and backgrounds, from those with learning disabilities to gifted students aiming for the top-tier colleges. She lives with her husband in Westport, Connecticut. A graduate of Harvard University, Cambridge University, and Harvard Business School, Jennifer Bloom began working with her mother in 2006. Prior to that, she spent more than ten years in marketing and advertising. She lives in New York City. Together, Luterman and Bloom founded Entryway, a provider of premier educational consulting services and specialized workshops. www.entrywayinc.com.