Successful people have the guts not to do the easy thing. They'll take a risk if it means doing work they want to do. They don't need to follow the crowd and they're not afraid to be different. That’s true in college admissions, too. You need a little guts.
If your friends are taking college level calculus over the summer because they think it will look good to colleges, do you have the guts to take the cooking class you really want to take instead?
Would you admit in your college essay that while you love playing water polo, you are unquestionably the worst player on the team?
Will you get a part time job bagging groceries, or will you go to an expensive summer program at a prestigious college because that feels more impressive?
If you love musicals but don’t get the lead, will you volunteer to run the lights instead just to stay involved?
Will you volunteer with a mobile health care unit that goes to your city's poorest neighborhoods, or will you just spend a few hours working the blood drive with all your friends.
Are you nice to the kid that nobody else is nice to?
Do you put your hand up and contribute to classroom discussions, or do you just sit quietly and prefer not to get involved?
Will you apply to the colleges that are right for you, even if they’re not famous?
Students who get into colleges they’re excited about, who go on to do great things both during and after college, they don’t just work hard and care about their futures. They’ve also got some guts to do what isn’t easy, safe, or traditional.
And guts aren’t available just to people with good grades and high SAT scores. Everybody gets an equal chance to show some.