Admissions Blog

Undergraduate Admissions Uncensored

When to Start Working with Your College Counselor

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Many high schools don’t provide proactive college counseling to students until the end of eleventh grade. Don’t wait until your school gets around to it. Find out when to assertively approach your counselor.

Your College Application Must Demonstrate Addiction

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The most successful college applicants (the ones who get into America’s top colleges) demonstrate interest AND demonstrate addictions. Yes, you read that right. Watch the video to learn more.

When should I start working with my college counselor?

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Many high schools don’t provide proactive college counseling to students until the end of eleventh grade. That’s not going to work for you!

Don’t wait until your school gets around to it. Find out when to assertively approach your college counselor by watching this Thorwback Thursday (TBT) classic.

Best Summer Programs in Europe for High School Students

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High school students in Barcelona with Columbia University

For many high school students, summer is a time to disconnect from school year stress. For many parents of high school students, summer is a time fraught with anxiety over whether their teens are “making the most” of their time away from school. How sad! Whether your are a student or a parent, please don’t sweat summer.

Even if you are a student or parent who has no money to your name, there are plenty of ways high school students can stay active and engaged over the summer while developing their interests and building important life skills.

Yet, if you do have some dollars to spare, there are some wonderfully enriching summer programs for high school students out there – and I mean way out there – in Europe. My five favorites are detailed below.

These programs will give curious, adventurous, intellectual, and inquisitive high school students the chance to burst out of the often-banal high school classroom and into the “old world” in order to engage in an amazing experiential learning opportunity that will be both perspective-expanding and a chance to take a deep dive into preexisting interests. This is so important because no matter what a student does over the summer, it should present value added to both the student and to colleges the student may want to apply to later.

Before we start the countdown, an important disclaimer: exploring pre-existing interests deeply over the summer in Europe seems like a win-win to me; however, the following list won’t be for everyone, and it shouldn’t be. The most important thing for students and parents to remember is that students should pursue their passions deeply over the summer. If they can’t afford to take part in the programs below, that’s fine! They still should develop skills and knowledge over the summer that can only come through some sort of immersive summer experience. Again, I detail some closer to home and dirt-cheap options here.

But, without further ado, for the purposes of why we are here today, let’s hop on the plane to Europe!

#5. TASIS: The American School in Switzerland Summer Programs

Student taking part in TASIS summer program in Lugano, Switzerland

In 1956, M. Crist Fleming founded The American School in Switzerland, the first American boarding school in Europe, in order to apply the American independent school tradition to Europe. All these years later, the school has grown leaps and bounds, and other TASIS schools operate in England and Puerto Rico. TASIS’ summer course options in Switzerland really wow me.

Students pick one class from a diversity of options, which means that a diversity of students will be intermingling on this lovely southern Swiss campus for the duration of your stay. Class options offered in 2019 include English as an Additional Language (EAL), EAL Academic Writing (1st session only), Intensive Italian (1st session only), Intensive French, International Baccalaureate Preparation Course (2nd session only), Fine Art Portfolio (new for 2019, 1st session only), Lean Startup Masterclass (1st session only), Musical Theater, Digital Photography, Architecture & Design (1st session only), and Fashion & Textile Design (2nd session only). My favorite option, however, is La Cucina Italiana: Italian Cooking (2nd session only), in which students learn to cook authentic Italian food after choosing ingredients at local Italian markets, touring Italian cheese and meat factories, practicing knife skills, and learning how to perfectly balance spices.

Why I love this program: As a former “undecided” student as I began my college career, TASIS’ diverse offerings speak to the undecided teen in all of us, and the overall program certainlys attract a diverse mix of summer students from all over the world. Students need more opportunities to simply try something new and meet peers with diverse interests, and TASIS’ Switzerland summer program certainly allows for that in a location that can’t be beat. If you can’t get inspired to learn more about yourself and the world around you while on TASIS’ Lugano campus, you can’t get inspired anywhere. Another upshot of this program is that all high school students, no matter their grade level, are able to take part.

Who it’s perfect for: Students taking part in this program should have the desire to immerse themselves in one course and maybe one sport (sports cost extra but include Milan Academy Scuola Calcio, Olimpia Milano Basketball, and Crossfit) in the unsurpassed setting that is Lugano, Switzerland, which is also a wonderful jumping off point for educational European excursions near and far. Students who are undecided on their path in college and beyond will find something to try at TASIS over the summer and have the chance to do so in an environment that seems almost too perfect and made for life-long memories. Students whose interests align with one of the course offerings are in the unique position to build upon this preexisting interest in the company of peers who may have very different academic and personal interests but who share an interest in spending time in the pre-Alps over the summer.

Cost (in 2019): Payment is quoted in Swiss Francs, but for 2019 the exchange rate with the dollar is roughly 1:1; therefore, depending on the session, standard costs range from $6,700 to $8,200, and participants should expect costly add-ons including flights and special bonus programming.

Learn More: Click here.

Alternative worth considering: TASIS also has intriguing summer options for high school students in England, France (see more below), and possibly in the future again in Puerto Rico (recent hurricanes have led to the suspension of those summer programs for the time being).

#4. University of Notre Dame: Pre-College Program in Ireland

High school students taking part in Notre Dame’s pre-college program

It shouldn’t be so surprising that the Fighting Irish run a summer travel tour seminar worth one college credit for rising high school seniors in Ireland. Notre Dame’s Pre-College Program in Ireland allows rising high school seniors to explore “bustling Dublin,” “bucolic Connemara,” edgy Belfast, and so much more during a twelve-day jaunt through the Emerald Isle.

“Guided by Notre Dame faculty and local scholars, students will embark on an exploration of Irish culture, history, and landscape through what Notre Dame’s O’Connell House calls ‘learning through the soles of your feet.'”

Why I love this program: It’s pretty immersive in terms of ground covered and it’s pretty cool that students live and learn at the Kylemore Abbey Global Center, which is right next to a castle, during the last leg of the program.

Who it’s perfect for: Students taking part in this program should have demonstrated academic achievement in high school and some sort of preexisting interest in Ireland, Irish Heritage, Irish History, Catholicism, Protestantism, place-based learning, European culture and/or History, 20th Century History, European History, the British Isles, castles, and/or the Northern Ireland Peace Process in order to get the most out of this experience and in order to have it align with other activities they’ve pursued in the past.

Cost (in 2019): $7,075 (including application fee cost; does not include cost of passport)

Learn More: Overview and More Details

Alternative worth considering: Notre Dame also has a summer program for rising high school seniors in Rome.

#3. The New School: Parsons Paris Pre-College Studies

Sunset in Paris, France

If you are an artist, there are few better places to visit for inspiration than Paris, France. Did you know that Parsons School of Design, part of The New School in New York City, has a campus in Paris where rising high school juniors and seniors – they must be sixteen by the time the program begins – have a variety of summer art course options from which to choose? The immersive courses of study at Parsons Paris last just over three weeks in July and cover topics ranging from “Explorations in Drawing,” “Fashion Design Process,” and “Fashion Photography: History and Process” to “Graphic Design Workshop,” “Introduction to Design and Management,” and “Fashion Illustration.”

Why I love this program: This program is for serious artists; each class meets daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., so it’s for those who are energized by developing their craft. All Parsons Paris Summer Intensive Studies courses are not only educational in their own right; each course counts for three college credits and may also be used by students to develop a portfolio for their upcoming college admissions process. Students also have the chance to take part in excursions, including crepe tastings.

Who it’s perfect for: Students taking part in this program should have demonstrated artistic achievement in high school and some sort of preexisting interest in Art generally or specifically fashion, fashion merchandising, drawing, graphic design, photography, and/or art history in order to get the most out of this experience and in order to have it align with other activities they’ve pursued in the past.

Cost (in 2019): $7,650 (including application fee cost; does not include cost of flights or passport, but does include Metro pass for getting around Paris)

Learn More: Overview and More Details

Alternatives worth considering: If you don’t need to be in France, but want a lot of what Parsons Paris’ summer courses offer, Parsons also has a pre-college/intensive summer programs for high school students at its main campus in New York City. Meanwhile, if you would love to spend several weeks intensely pursuing your passion for art in France but don’t need to be in cosmopolitan Paris, TASIS (mentioned more above) has an intimate one-of-a-kind at program in the south of France called Les Taipes, which accepts an extremely limited number of students each summer.

#2. Columbia University: Summer Immersion in Barcelona

Students exploring Barcelona, Catalonia

While this three-week Columbia University pre-college program run in partnership with the venerable University of Barcelona won’t earn you any official college credits (only a Columbia University Statement of Completion and evaluation letters from University of Barcelona teachers), it will still immerse you into a kaleidoscope of knowledge pertaining to Barcelona, Spain, and Europe and allow you to gather this knowledge in the company of earnest and thoughtful peers as eager as you hopefully are (if you choose to apply) to explore Barcelona and its slice of European culture. All student participants take all four of the following courses:

~Barcelona in Historical Context: Roman Origins to the Spanish Civil War
~Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, and the European Union
~Modern Architecture, Urban Development, Art, and Design in Barcelona
~Spanish Language Workshop

This ain’t no teen tour; open to rising high school juniors, rising high school seniors, and rising college freshmen, all those attending will take part in rigorous study while doing some serious place-based learning. Students live at the University of Barcelona’s modern Sant Jordi residence hall, which is located in Sarrià and only one block from Avenida Diagonal, a major thoroughfare that runs right through the city.

Why I love this program: Side trips to Figueres and Tarragona are nice, as are the variety of extracurricular activities available to students in and around Barcelona, but the biggest reason I promote this program is because my students who have taken part in it all come back appreciably more thoughtful, worldly, and mature individuals.

Who it’s perfect for: Students taking part in this program should have demonstrated academic achievement in high school and some sort of preexisting interest in Europe, European History, Spain, Spanish History, Catalonia, Catalonian History, Latin cultures/heritage, Mediterranean History, the European Union, Architecture, Urban Design/Development/Planning, Art, and/or Spanish language  in order to get the most out of this experience and in order to have it align with other activities they’ve pursued in the past.

Cost (in 2019): $11,208 (this does not cover flights or passport, but does cover the application fee); and Columbia recommends that students bring $900 in spending money to boot!

Learn More: Click here.

Alternatives worth considering: Brown University offers short “On-Location” pre-college programs for high school students in Segovia, Spain and Rome, Italy.

#1. University of Dallas: Study Abroad for High School Students in Rome

University of Dallas summer high school students on a excursion to Capri

Simply put, the most college-esqe of the courses you will find available to high school students in Europe over the summer are offered by none other than University of Dallas (go figure!). No matter which of the three course options you complete, you will earn three college credits, and the course content is pitch-perfect to study while in Rome. Italian cooking (see TASIS above) is fun, if not a bit trite and short on academic heft; nobody who takes one of UD’s courses can be accused of being unoriginal or an academic push-over.

Why I love this program: I love Italy, I love Rome, and I’m all about ROI (return on investment). If you are interested in the content of one of these courses, this pre-college program represents a really great deal and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study on location – though the formal campus is just outside of town – with passionate University of Dallas professors doing what they love. The three course options are “Shakespeare In Italy” (did you know a full third of his plays were based in Italy? It wasn’t by accident), “Latin in Rome” (learn about Roman history, politics, art, and architecture while engaged in advanced study of Latin and the people who spoke it), and “Rome and the Catholic Church” (again, this is not fluff course by any means, as it “explores the truth, goodness, and beauty of Catholicism as manifested in great theological texts, lives of saints, artistic masterpieces, historical landmarks, and miracles connected with the Eternal City”).

Who it’s perfect for: Students taking part in this program should have demonstrated academic achievement in high school and notable preexisting interest in at least one of the subjects covered in one of the courses on offer in order to get the most out of this experience and in order to have it align with other activities they’ve pursued in the past.

Cost (in 2019): $3,500-$3,900 depending on exact course (there is no application fee, participants will need to budget roughly $2,000 more for a round-trip flight, and a bit more for a passport if not already in possession of one)

Learn More: Click here.

Alternative worth considering: As I mentioned, I love Italy. I love it so much that I decided to move my annual summer college application completion colloquium for rising seniors to Italy a few years ago. Known as Bellagio Apps, this program, which takes place in northern Italy, will help you craft amazing applications to the colleges on your list – all before the first day of senior year. Luckily, you don’t have to choose between Bellagio Apps and any of the other options mentioned above because Bellagio Apps doesn’t start until August, while the programs mentioned above take place in June and/or July.

Yet, it’s also important to note that you can’t put Bellagio Apps on your extracurricular resume like you can put any of the other programs mentioned above. I mention Bellagio Apps here because there’s really nothing else on Earth like it and because if you’ve gotten this far into this article, you probably love Italy just as much as I do. Bellagio, on the shores of Lake Como, is about as close to a hybrid of Italy and heaven as one could imagine, so if you want to ensure that all you have accomplished during your high school years is conveyed in a manner most likely to get you into the colleges on your list and you could use some time in a stunning European locale, consider Bellagio Apps this summer.

Summer internships for high school students

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While colleges increasingly emphasize the value of “experiential” or “hands-on” learning within their own communities, high school students are discovering real benefits in setting aside time during their high school careers for internships or other out-of-classroom experiences. In fact, they are finding that internships provide amazing opportunities to gain significant work experience while exploring long-term career options.

But these opportunities don’t magically appear. You have to plan ahead and do a little networking.

And now is a good time to begin nailing-down plans for next summer.

Although college students usually stand at the head of the line for internships, businesses and nonprofit organizations are increasingly holding positions open for students currently in high school or those transitioning to college. But make no mistake—these positions are getting increasingly competitive. And many application deadlines are coming significantly earlier than in past years.

It may take advance planning and persistence, but opportunities are out there.

Why intern?

Going through the internship application process teaches much-needed job search and employment skills. Preparing a résumé, asking for recommendations, landing an interview, and understanding what it means to be a responsible employee are all skills that give high school students an edge in college and beyond.

And it’s no secret that internships strengthen college applications, as these opportunities introduce students to career fields or potential majors and reinforce valuable research or lab skills.

An internship helps students understand how professional organizations function in the real world. While learning and working, interns have the opportunity to refine career goals. In fact, a summer internship can serve as a “trial period” to test ideas about professions and industries without making any long-term commitments.

If you’re especially lucky, these kinds of opportunities can also lead to award-winning science fair projects, journal articles, or patents.

Where are the internships?

Local businesses and organizations sometimes have formal internship programs designed specifically for high school students. But for the most part, these programs do not offer housing and are usually limited to students able to commute or living in the immediate area.

For example, here is a sample of the many organizations making internships available to high school students in the Washington, DC area:

For a great list of opportunities outside of the DC area, check the webpages maintained by the Rochester Institute of Technology. Scroll down for high school students and note that while the dates may not be updated the links are).

Be aware that some internship opportunities are “salaried” positions, some have stipends, and some are strictly volunteer. Again, they are generally highly competitive and some deadlines may already be past. So make note for next year.

Also, many organizations don’t advertise the availability of summer internships. This is when you have to do a little investigative work on the internet and through other kinds of public job listings. Use your networks—parents, relatives, family friends, teachers—anyone who may have contacts in businesses or organizations of interest to you.

At the end of the day, internships are great ways to get to know yourself a little better while building skills that will make you competitive for the future.

Colleges continue to welcome applicant résumés

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Vanderbilt University allows resumes on both the Common App and the Coalition application.

High school students who invest time creating résumés may be handsomely rewarded in the college application process. Of 689 Common Application member colleges and universities that are “live” as of this writing, at least 224 — or about one-third — have made specific provisions for or even require the submission of this handy document.

This hasn’t always been the case. In fact, there remains a lingering controversy over the appropriateness of asking students to develop and maintain résumés throughout high school. And many colleges are very deliberate about not including them as part of their applications.

In her blog on college admissions at the University of Virginia, Jeanine Lalonde makes a point of repeating every year, “The Common App has a resume upload function and lets each school decide whether they want to use it. We are one of the schools that turned that function off. We prefer the Common App activity section to the various ways people choose to present their activities on resumes.”

But many college advisers and lots of colleges very much disagree.

“Almost as soon as I start guiding a student through college planning, I learn about the student’s interests and hobbies and discuss the importance of extracurricular commitment in and out of school – both for college admission and life enrichment. That naturally leads to an analysis of student engagement and the creation and continual updating of a résumé,” said Judi Robinovitz, a Certified Educational Planner in Palm Beach and Broward counties, Florida. “The résumé becomes far more than a list of activities. Rather, it highlights a student’s accomplishments about what she has done, why, how, and, most especially, how these actions have impacted lives (hers and others’).”

Robinovitz adds, “Here’s an important secret: when you share a thoughtfully prepared and detailed résumé with anyone who will write a recommendation, you’re likely to get a stronger and more anecdotal piece of writing that supports your application. Plus, through résumé creation now, we lay critical groundwork for undergraduate summer job and internship applications – and ultimately, for graduate school and vocational opportunities.”

In other words, a résumé represents an opportunity to collect, keep track of and reflect on accomplishments. And it’s likely to be a document the student will have to maintain, using different formats and styles, through college and beyond.

Most school-based and independent college counselors agree there’s no reason to include a résumé with a college application if it totally duplicates information contained in other parts of the application, unless of course, the school specifically asks for one. And plenty of colleges outside of the Common App system do, such as Georgetown University, Virginia Tech, MIT and the University of Texas at Austin.

For students using the Common Application, basic extracurricular-related information may be presented in the Activities section, which provides space to describe involvement in ten activities. Within each activity, the Position/Leadership blank allows 50 characters to give a solid indication of your position and the name of the organization in which you participate. A second box allows 150 characters to provide insight into what you’ve done and any distinctions you earned.

The Coalition provides space for extracurricular activities in the Profile section of the application. Students may enter up to eight activities and are asked to specify “the two primary activities that have taken up most of your extracurricular time during high school.” For each activity, the student is allowed 64 characters for the activity name (Cashier, Wegmans Grocery Store, Fairfax VA), as well as 255 characters for “one brief sentence describing the primary function of this activity” and an additional 255 characters to “[L]ist any positions/honors/awards received in this activity, if any.”

Students using the Universal College Application (UCA) may enter up to seven “Extracurriculars, Personal and Volunteer Experience[s]” and up to five employers or job-related activities.  While the characters allowed are more limited (35 for extracurricular and 32 for jobs), students are encouraged to provide more details in the Additional Information section.

But for some students, these activities sections are still limiting and don’t provide enough of an opportunity to showcase specific accomplishments or direct attention to relevant online content. In this case, the applicant has a couple of options.

 

First, check member questions for additional opportunities to provide details about extracurricular activities. This is where some Common App members have made provisions for an upload of a fully-formatted résumé. These include:

  • Boston College
  • Brandeis University
  • Brown University
  • Bucknell University
  • Claremont McKenna College
  • Colgate University *
  • Cornell University
  • Dartmouth College*
  • Davidson College**
  • George Mason University
  • George Washington University
  • Howard University
  • Johns Hopkins University**
  • Kenyon College
  • Lafayette College
  • Macalester College
  • Mount Holyoke College
  • Northeastern University
  • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Santa Clara University
  • Trinity College
  • Tulane University
  • Union College*
  • University of Cincinnati
  • University of Massachusetts-Amherst
  • University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
  • University of Pennsylvania*
  • Vanderbilt University*
  • Washington University in St. Louis*

Another option is to see if the college offers an alternate application that allows for résumé uploads. For example, the UCA provides for fully-formatted résumés by allowing PDFs to be uploaded in the Additional Information section of the application. Before going forward with this plan, however, it’s wise to check with the college first to see if they’d like a copy of your résumé as part of your application for admission. They may not!

A résumé can be a very powerful document for pushing your college candidacy forward. It can serve to color between the lines or provide extra detail beyond what may be crammed into a standardized application form.

If given the opportunity, use it. But make sure it reflects well on you and contains accurate and up-to-date information.

*     This school also made provisions for résumé upload on the Coalition Application.
**  This school does not specifically provide for résumé upload on the Coalition Application.

Common App introduces an improvement that largely goes unnoticed

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Pepperdine University

For nearly a decade, the Universal College Application (UCA) has offered students the opportunity to include on their applications a “live” link or URL to online content such as YouTube, LinkedIn, personal websites, blogs, etc. In this regard, the UCA was way ahead of the competition, offering an option that both colleges and students seemed to want. Despite repeated calls to include a similar field on their application, the Common App opted to strengthen partnerships with outside vendors like SlideRoom (frequently charging applicants a separate fee) and resisted signs that colleges were increasingly transitioning to inclusion of digital credentials as part of the admissions process.

With the debut of the Coalition platform, the idea of making digital media available as part of the college application became more institutionalized. Videos, audio presentations and pictures can be easily uploaded to the Student Locker and transferred to applications for colleges requesting them. And most Coalition colleges opted to also use the upload function for the personal statement—something the Common App dropped a couple of years ago in favor unwieldy “text boxes,” which definitely limit an applicant’s ability to control format, embed live links and use different characters or pictures as part of their essays.

As the Coalition built on a precedent established by the UCA and opened students to the possibility of introducing colleges to their digital sides, the Common App responded by creating a relationship with ZeeMee, originally an online resume-building site high on visuals and low on written content. In the spring of 2016, the Common App introduced the new partnership with an “infomercial” at their annual conference and offered colleges the opportunity to have a field dedicated to ZeeMee included in their “member questions.” A number of colleges accepted the offer, some by stridently advertising for and recruiting students to the ZeeMee platform. Others were moderate in their requests and still fewer (one or two) suggested that students could include a link to ZeeMee or other online media if they chose.

But the times are changing. Without any promotion or advertisement from the Common App, many member colleges adopted the more “generic” URL field in their 2017-18 applications and are using this opportunity to encourage students to provide links to any site—not just ZeeMee. In fact at least 45, or about six percent of Common App members with live applications at this point, intentionally give students a wider opportunity to provide a link to a website of their choosing.

For the record, an additional 125 Common App members (as of this writing) appear to limit their requests to or provide dedicated fields for ZeeMee URLs—some with very strong marketing language.

But this welcome application development seems to have largely gone unnoticed. Perhaps it would be even more welcome if the link were “live” and a reader could click on the URL and go directly to the site—an opportunity the UCA has offered students and admissions readers for close to ten years! Unfortunately, the current state of Common App technology apparently requires readers to copy and paste the URL into an internet browser to access content. Nevertheless, the inclusion of a more general question in the bank of member questions is an acknowledgment of the value of this information to the admissions process.

Here is a sample of Common App members electing to move away from promoting a single site to opening their application to the inclusion of any URL:

  • Antioch College
  • Brown University
  • Centre College
  • Colorado College
  • Earlham College
  • Eckerd College
  • Florida Institute of Technology
  • Florida Southern College
  • Hampshire College
  • Kenyon College
  • Lafayette College
  • Marist College
  • Occidental College
  • Pepperdine University
  • Pitzer College
  • Texas Christian University
  • Union College
  • WPI

Franklin and Marshall, Hamilton and the University of Mary Washington make similar requests on the Coalition application.

And while the URL requests are fairly generic and don’t steer applicants in any particular direction, the award for best wording by a Common App member goes to the University of Mary Washington:

“Some applicants maintain an electronic profile (such as ZeeMee) that exhibits talents, creativity or other information to share with the Admissions Committee. If you maintain such a site, and would like the Admissions Committee to view it, please enter the URL here.”

The cleverest college award goes to SUNY Purchase, which gets around the deficiency in Common App technology by instructing applicants to be creative about uploading a document containing a link:

“For video submissions, post your video to YouTube or Vimeo and submit a document here with the URL link to the video.”

Note: For the nearly one-third of Common App members providing for submission of fully-formatted résumés, you can include URLs on those documents, upload them as PDFs and assume the links will be conveyed as live, thereby providing direct access to any online content you wish readers to see. Click here for more information on colleges that welcome your résumé.

Another Reason Why Your College Application Essay is So Bad

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If your attempt at writing a strong college application essay is failing, you very well could be making this major mistake in the drafting process. Fix it and you will give yourself a fighting chance to write an essay that is actually decent. We gave the first reason your college application essay is so bad back in 2016, and it can be found here.

Don’t Be Perfect and Other Tips for Your ZeeMee College Admissions Video

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Your story matters.

During the college admissions process, sharing your story as part of your application provides context and gives you the opportunity to introduce yourself. In the past, this has been accomplished by submitting at least one essay with your college application and at some schools, scheduling a personal interview.

Thanks to technology, today’s Snapchat Generation can also submit a concise video specifically geared to the college admissions process via digital video manager ZeeMee.

ZeeMee’s smartphone app helps you create a three-part video that can be viewed in a minute or two. It’s free of charge. Students own their content. Privacy settings prevent a student’s video from being searchable. And no special equipment is needed to make the video beyond access to an iOS or Android smart phone.

“Selfie-style is genuine and real,” says Courtney Vaughn, an admissions officer at Elon University in North Carolina. “Don’t hire a professional — keep it casual.”

Vaughn credits the ZeeMee videos with helping her “connect with applicants on a deeper level.” When she can glean additional knowledge about an applicant from their video, she says she will “take that nugget of information to the admissions committee” to advocate for the student.

To be clear, Vaughn says that “the students who are in the middle of the applicant pool at Elon benefit the most” from submitting a ZeeMee video. Providing the additional information, as well as taking the time to show interest and effort, says Vaughn, contributes another positive layer to an application that might need the extra boost.

Other ZeeMee partner schools may also consider a student’s submission to help them create a well-rounded class; or to select among applicants for competitive honors programs or majors. If you are applying to a school that encourages submission of a ZeeMee video or you would otherwise like to create one, here are some additional tips.

The Basics

There are three parts to a ZeeMee video: your Profile Information, the Video Feed and the Photo Album.

Your Profile Information features a snapshot of you with your name, high school, and graduation year, superimposed on a default image. (Later, you can select the photo you want in the background.)

The Video Feed gives you the opportunity to tell colleges, in your own words, what you want them to know about you. You have the option of recording a brief introduction, for example, and/or speaking about a topic of your choice. Optional question prompts on the Chat tab can help you decide what to share. Some examples of ZeeMee question prompts are Describe your high school and what you like most about it. Or, Who would win, Batman or Spider Man? Or, How would your friends describe you?

These prompts can get you thinking more about how to best showcase your character and values. Are there certain topics that resonate with you?  Do you have a compelling anecdote to share? What motivates you; or challenges you; or captivates you?  Take some time to think about what you want to say. And if you change your mind and want to delete or rerecord your video, you can!

Videos (whether your own, or responses to prompts) are limited to no more than 26 seconds each — but you can record as many as you like. You’ll make your own decision about how many videos compose your Video Feed; just remember that a shorter one is more likely to be viewed in its entirety, so try to keep your points succinct.

If you are camera-shy, no worries — not only is ZeeMee always optional, there are a variety of ways to tell your story — for example, a teacher, friend or slideshow can serve as your introduction.

Use the Photo Album section to bring your activities to life with images that showcase who you are and what you do. These images can spotlight your athletics, talents, hobbies, projects, skills, jobs, ideas, interests, family, and more! You’ll add captions of up to 5000 characters to describe what is happening in each photo to help the reader get to know you better.

Details and Dimensions 

Once you have the basics in place, continue to refine your presentation. Layer your Photo Album with a variety of images to tell your story, not just the ones that show off your accomplishments.

For example, if you have discussed several types of art mediums you enjoy, include photos of each, as opposed to five pictures of your watercolors, even if watercolors are the only ones that have earned you accolades. (Because your whole story includes your efforts with chalk and charcoal, too.)

If you love soccer, five images of yourself scoring goals will be redundant. Consider adding a photo of you working out with your teammates; or of your soccer jersey collection; or of whatever conveys more facets of your story. (After all, your ten-year relationship with soccer surely isn’t primarily about the goals you’ve scored…)

Students with just one or two activities can showcase those activities more deeply. If you do only make drawings in watercolor, for example, feature images that express variety another way, such as subject matter or color choice or even a progression of your art throughout high school, as opposed to five similar watercolors you produced for the same project with the same theme.

Or, if baseball is your thing, include all of the ways you express your passion — sure, you have some great photos of yourself in action as your high school team’s shortstop, but what about all those impromptu neighborhood street games you started in the summer and the trips to your favorite professional team’s stadium and the hours you spend playing catch while chatting with your best friend? Those are part of your story, too.

(Note: If you plan to use photos that feature friends or family, get their permission first.)

Prepare, then Share

If you open your ZeeMee account early in high school, you can upload possible content to your Photo Album as soon as you want. Later, when you are ready to put your video together for college applications, you can select the best photos, add captions and record your video responses.

To share your finished ZeeMee video with colleges, you’ll paste your video link on your applications ‘s ZeeMee field for partner schools. For other schools, you can add the link to the Additional Information or Anything Else You Want to Share section.  Other options for sharing your ZeeMee video with colleges include adding it to your resume; mentioning it in a thank you note to the college; or emailing it to your regional admissions rep. Also consider providing your ZeeMee link to your school counselor and anyone who will be writing you a letter of recommendation — it can help them get to know you better, too!

Short and Sweet

The last tip is to make every second of your ZeeMee video count by targeting the things that are most important to your story; be thoughtful about every image, caption or video you include. And again, welcoming the viewer to your world from a more informal, homey, casual perspective will help you connect more authentically with your application reader. Think: heart and soul, not perfect and polished.

Will a well-done ZeeMee video alone get you admitted to a school? No, but it won’t hurt, and could help boost a borderline candidate’s admissibility or increase the odds for selection to a more competitive program.

It will also be good practice — it is highly probable that this college admissions video will be just one of many personal digital portfolios our technology savvy Snapchat Generation will create during their lives. In today’s world, says ZeeMee director Ethan Lin, “a digital identity is no longer an option.” Lin points out that students already have a professional side that their activities and academics and experiences all speak to; with ZeeMee, they can showcase their story in an easy-to-use smartphone app where they are in control of what they share.

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