High-achieving students often think they need to "one-up" the next kid and do something super dramatic or flashy to get into an elite college. Like, “Climb Mount Kilimanjaro, write about it, and boom...Yale!” But according to admissions experts, that’s the wrong mindset, and the biggest mistake top students make is trying to copy someone else’s “Kilimanjaro” instead of showing who they really are. Since your college choices can really impact your future paychecks, let's dig into this!
Here are Five Fast Facts on finding your own Kilimanjaro:
- 🤏 Narrow Odds - Getting into elite schools is tough! Harvard and Yale both accepted only about 4% of around 50k applicants for the class of 2029 or 2030. Use the essay in particular to show who you really are in a unique way (not the same-ol' sports injury overcome or mission trip story as everyone else).
- 👋 You Do You - The biggest pitfall is comparing yourself to what other students are doing because colleges want to see who YOU are, not how well you copy/paste.
- 👶 Start Early - Thinking about college too late can hurt your options. If an elite school is your target, families should start thinking about it and making choices toward the end of middle school or the beginning of high school. Go get that worm!
- 💪 Go Deep - Depth beats breadth for extracurriculars: the Common App lets students easily apply to multiple schools, but it lists a maximum of only 10 activities. Admissions officers want a focus on meaningful involvement and a cohesive story, not a long list of merit badges.
- 🏃 Run A Marathon - Treat testing like a marathon instead of a sprint. Take a PSAT/PreACT in sophomore or early junior year to see where you stand, and then take the SAT/ACT three times across junior and senior year. Don't panic...pace yourself.
🔥Bottom line: Don’t try to hack admissions by copying someone else’s epic quest. Instead, build your own story, and start early enough to keep all the options on the table. In the end, there is no such thing as the perfect college applicant, so the key is to let your personality shine through. The real question: what is YOUR Kilimanjaro...and can you tell that story well?
Got any tips for college applications?
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