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Ask the College Counselor: How can my application stand out? |
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Q: How can I possibly make my application special when colleges are getting thousands of them? How can mine be different and get their attention?
A: How can you make your application stand out? It’s a challenge, especially when you are using the Common Application, which makes every application look the same — neat, yes, but also visually uniform and therefore potentially boring for admissions officers facing stacks of identical applications.
Of course, the contents of your application, rather than its appearance, ought to be its most outstanding aspect. Still, adding some visual spice can have the effect of making the people reading your application slow down a bit and really notice the contents.
But be careful.
You don’t want to be too gimmicky. Quirky, maybe, but not odd, and never should you seem immature or inappropriate. In my years of reading applications, I was amazed by what some students sent: framed paintings, their family coat of arms, an essay mounted on a huge laminated plaque, modeling portfolios, or home-baked treats (which we never ate!). One student sent photocopies of every award certificate he had ever received, beginning with a coloring contest in 1st grade. Another sent a sheaf of a dozen recommendations from family friends; this looked like a “campaign” on the student’s behalf, and was a turn-off.
Then there were the inappropriate photographs, showing applicants in suggestive poses or simply looking very foolish. All of these got the attention of the admissions staff — negative attention. You don’t want the people looking through your application folder laughing at you, thinking you cannot tell the difference between the important and the trivial, or suspecting that you are trying to substitute quantity of materials for quality of credentials.
The “extras” that you include have to be serious, appropriate, and must call attention to significant things about you that might otherwise be overlooked. You want admissions officers to slow down, pause, and take notice.
Consider sending:
- a photo — some schools make this optional, and public institutions are not even supposed to ask; but I always enjoyed connecting a face to a name. It’s not a beauty contest, so head shots don’t make much of an impact. I used to like seeing pictures that showed students in their lives: in a school play, in a musical group, helping with a Habitat for Humanity project, or crossing a finish line
- a resume — yes, there is a place for activities on the Common Application, but you can highlight more of these and tell about other special skills you have on a one-page resume (just one page!); for visual variety, print it on a pastel-color piece of paper (not screaming orange)
- if you are a poet or creative writer, add one piece of your work (if you applying to a creative writing program specifically, you will be asked for a writing portfolio)
- if there been an article about you in a local newspaper, send a photocopy
- if you are a student journalist, send a photocopy of an article with your byline
- if photography is your passion, include one or two of your best pictures and tell something about where you took the photo and what you found compelling about the subject
These are just a few examples of “extras” that are perfectly appropriate. Do not send more than two extra items. Anything you mail needs to be flat and no larger than 8.5 x 11″ so it fits into your folder and can be passed from reader to reader. (They can’t pass around your original pottery, so don’t even think of sending it!) One or two extra pieces of paper will be fine, and if they make an admissions reader sit up and really notice something special about you, it will be worth the effort.
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If you send the common application electronically, do you mail the resume and other materials you suggest separately by regular mail?
Comment by mary — November 18, 2009 @ 11:57 am
In many colleges any material which provides information beyond that related to the application can be considered prejuicial and will not be attached to the application for review - such as a photopgraph which could be construed by other applicants as being prejudicial. Your resume and applicaiton tell us about you, period. Pictures tell us things we should not be aware of - beauty, height, weight, suggestions of demeanor or skills.
With the thousands of applicants we get any extraneous material is not only pointedly excluded but is a total waste of time. We do not have time to read it or look at it. Your application tells us your grades and resume lists activities and awards and grades or accomplishments tell us level, the admissions committee is not prepared to judge that. And, to be honest, we do not know if it is really your work.
If we said not to send it and you do, your application is excluded automatically. If you cannot follow directions to get in, you will not follow directions once you are here. Not what we need. You just made our lives easier by excluding yourself.
Comment by Susan Stanton — November 18, 2009 @ 1:31 pm
@ poster #2 (Susan Stanton): Just curious, do you work in college admissions? In my experience admissions personnel have been very receptive to (relevant) extra materials sent.
Comment by Stuygrad — November 18, 2009 @ 1:39 pm
Jane writes: “Extras” will have to be sent by mail to meet up with any application materials sent electronically. It is very important that all materials have the applicant’s name and address on them, as well as any applicant ID number that the college may have assigned. It is also important that on the lower-left corner of the envelope write: “Please add to the application folder of ________” — This will assist the people in the college’s mailroom and will expedite getting the “extras” to the correct folder quickly!
Comment by Jane — November 19, 2009 @ 10:33 am