What is the most common mistake on every college application?

When we work with our students and parents, we encourage them to put themselves in the shoes of college admissions officers. These hard-working officers have been reading thousands of applications for months, and they don’t have a lot of time to read through all your materials—often, 10-15 minutes per file. Unless something is very interesting about the application, it won’t stand out in the sea of materials these officers have been swimming through for weeks on end. 

The truth is, most of the applications colleges receive won’t stand out from each other. Time and time again, colleges see the same mistake come up on almost every application that holds it back it from being unique and memorable. 

Let us illustrate our point with a story about one of our former students who first came to us a few years ago as a rising sophomore. She and her family were very ambitious and motivated, and she already had her sights set on one of the top East Coast liberal arts colleges: Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Bowdoin, or Middlebury. She already had a 4.0 and a 1500 on her SAT mock test without studying, which meant that she could probably score close to 1600 after test prep. Not only had she been working hard at school, she’d been grinding away at her extracurriculars during her freshman year. Here’s a list of her activities at the end of freshman year.

• Model UN

• Tennis Team

• Key Club

• Volunteering at a soup kitchen

• Summer course in investing

• Summer course at Harvard Pre-College

• Studying for the USABO (USA Biology Olympiad)

• Math Team

• Quiz Bowl

• Playing cello in the school orchestra

Her parents explained to us that they felt she was on the right track with the above extracurriculars because she was involved in so many different clubs, programs, and teams across different areas of skill and interest. They let us know that they had come to us to see what other types of programs we thought she should add throughout her sophomore and junior years, what tests and school courses she should take, and eventually seek help on her college application process senior year.

We love that the student and her parents were so determined and proactive, but we had to ask the student why she was involved in anything and everything possible. She explained to us that she was scared she wouldn’t make it into a top college. Unless she was feeling overwhelmed, she felt wasn’t doing enough to look appealing enough and stand out to colleges.

We advised her to trim down some of these activities.  Besides the fact that colleges aren’t looking for “well-rounded” students anymore, it became clear upon speaking with her further that many of these activities weren’t even serving a purpose in her life besides helping her just feel like she was she was prepping enough for college. The student was doing all these activities to try to stave off anxiety about standing out to colleges, but ironically enough, the time commitment was actually creating more anxiety and burnout for her.

We went back to the drawing board with her. We eliminated the activities that were not enriching her mentally or physically—activities she had signed up for because everyone else was doing them or she thought they were the “right things” to participate in. There is no “right” set of cookie-cutter activities for any student. 

The big mistake that almost every applicant makes always has to do with how they are spending their time outside of school classes and homework. Getting good grades and test scores is straightforward enough, but figuring out their extracurriculars is more mysterious to them. 

Instead of considering what they are actually passionate about, they try to fit the mold of what they think colleges want to see. This is pretty transparent to colleges, and since so many students make this mistake, it’s easy to blend into the sea of applicants if you also end up here. By trying to stand out in the wrong way, students actually cause themselves to appear indistinguishable, predictable, and boring to college admissions officers.

We worked with this student to help her discover what really excited her and motivated her, not only to excel in school and be a leader, but also to do good for the rest of the her community and the world. She finished her junior year with a set of extracurriculars that showed commitment, leadership, initiative, and concern for others. These activities were true to her talents, academic interests, and personal values, and she truly enjoyed digging into them. And yes, she did get into her top choice, Swarthmore, during the early decision round!

If you’re a parent, think about all of the activities your child does, and consider which ones they might be doing just for the sake of looking good on their college applications later on. Sit with your child and discuss their strongest skill sets, non-academic and academic interests, and personal values. On a piece of paper, write these down. Also write down a list of all of the activities they are currently participating in. Do these align? Eliminate any that do not, and consider eliminating activities that drain instead of inspire your child. 

You’ll probably be left with a few core activities. Now, your child can build on those instead, deepening involvement and specializing in a select few areas instead of pressuring themselves to become a jack-of-all-trades, which colleges don’t want to see anyway. Your child’s college application should tell a compelling story to the overworked admissions officer reading the file, convincing them that he or she will spice up the community.

Remember also that doing the above will also encourage genuine enjoyment and authenticity in your child’s life! That’s also our goal besides helping students get into their dream colleges.