BECOME THE POWERHOUSE COLLEGES LOVE by Dodge Johnson, Educational Consultant
from his Philadelphia Inquirer Column "Countdown to College"
"What do you do besides schoolwork?" Your answer to this question can make the difference between whether college admissions officers will love you or pass you by.
They look first for great grades in challenging courses, of course - studies are your main job in college as well as high school. But campus life is powered by students, so they also look for dynamos - people whose energy makes things go. That's why they'll want to know how you use time, what you contribute, and how out-of-class pursuits have helped you grow.
Despite the grindings of rumor mills and the idiocies of any system where decisions about people rest largely on paper in file folders, the admissions process mostly makes sense - once you understand it.
Colleges need people who will set an academic pace and who will contribute in other ways. Those with a track record of doing both go to the top of the list. Those who can do the work and merely "won't do any harm," as an admissions director friend puts it, go to the bottom. And how deep a college will dip will depend on that year's competition for places.
Geniuses and prodigies can come closest to writing their own tickets. If you're a Westinghouse Fellow, you splice genes in your basement, your second novel sold at auction, or Donovan McNabb worries when you come through the line, your problem will be sorting through sales pitches.
Who else has an edge? Top students will be most sought after. Students with special talents will interest colleges needing them. If you're male, your pas de deux will mean something at a school with a dance major. If the orchestra is short on oboes and you play pretty well, your chances will go up.
Beyond that, colleges want people who will add sugar to the tea. Some will be a catch because they're from faraway places or unusual backgrounds. But most will show promise for the future because they fulfilled promise in the past. They reached out, stretched, contributed, made things happen.
Colleges respect willing hands. They know school newspapers need people to type copy as well as write it, that football teams need managers as well as place-kickers. And references will often hike the extra mile for someone steady but unspectacular, where they wouldn't cross the street for someone flashy who never meets deadlines.
Colleges swamped with applicants try to admit a well-rounded class, but they don't necessarily look for well-rounded people. So take on one or two things that matter and do them well rather pad a rŽsumŽ of 'activities' where nobody does much of anything.
Whom would you choose, the football fan who warms a chair on the Spirit Committee or the one who drums up ads for the program? the caroler who sings in nursing homes once a year or the hospital volunteer who works with autistic kids once a week?
Catching an admissions officer's eye means nothing more than doing yourself a few favors - following simple principles, which, although they may take a little courage at first, can actually transform your life. Mostly, they boil down to what my grandmother called 'gumption.'
Get involved. Some people do it naturally, like kids following a parade. They see something going on, so they stick their noses in. A job begs to be done, so they take it on. The circle widens to welcome them, and people begin to count on them. All of a sudden they're needed, they matter. So, go find yourself a parade - then grab a flag.
Branch out. Put old skills to work in new places. If you're a seasoned babysitter, see if a day-care center can use your help part-time. You'll learn more about children and maybe something about business, nutrition, government regulation and adult relationships in the workplace. And you'll look good to employers as well as colleges.
Stretch your effectiveness. Discover things that need doing and do them. If on her own between customers, a salesperson reorganized stock, would you give her a hard time - or a raise?
Be there. Show up when you're expected and stay till the job's done. If you're unprepared or make a mistake, admit it rather than let people find out for themselves - and draw conclusions. Absolutely anyone can star at dependability.
Want to be a leader? Much of leadership is embarrassingly simple:
Find out what needs doing, and you're 'enterprising.'
Get stuff done and you're 'effective.'
Recruit friends to help and you're a 'manager.'
Stand up for common sense and you're 'tough minded.'
Force things to start on time, and you're an 'expediter.'
Give away credit and shoulder blame and you're a 'motivator.'
Becoming a powerhouse person that colleges will love isn't rocket science. Most of it boils down to venturing from your tide pool and getting in the swim. And this instinct will propel you forward again and again - in college, in a first job, in a career
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