A student I once knew tore his college application essay in half and sent the first half with a note at the bottom that read, “If you want to see the other half, admit me.” He got admitted to Stanford.
Have you heard that one before? There’s a good chance you have. It’s a college admissions urban legend (obviously from the days before internet applications). A more recent one involves a student who answered an essay question, “What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken?” with simply, “This.” That story isn’t as ridiculous as the torn essay, but I’ve had three people in two different states tell me the kid who wrote it went to their high school.
Like most urban legends, these are easy to remember and to pass along to others, but they’re not true. Can you really imagine a college admissions officer reacting well to a kid dopey enough to tear his essay in half?
Blending in–doing the same activities and applying to the same colleges and writing the same essays as every applicant is no way to stand out. But an application gimmick isn’t going to make you memorable, either (at least, not in a good way).
Admissions officers are impressed by real kids, kids who are memorable because they're interesting, not because they used gimmicks. It’s the kid who did math problems at lunch with the math club, the student who worked 20 hours a week at McDonalds, the quarterback who writes poetry, the tech genius who lights all the school plays, the section editor of the school newspaper who wants to write for Sports Illustrated someday, and the saxophone player in the marching band who wrote about marching in the rain.
Why would any of those kids want to waste an opportunity to share more about themselves by relying on a gimmick?
When you're applying to college, don't use gimmicks. Just be clear, honest and thoughtful. You may not become a college admissions urban legend that carries on to the next generation, but at least your story will be real. And the admissions officers will be more likely to talk about it.
katiegate says
Ha! Heard the second one last week. The student insisted it was a guy at her school. 🙂