Some families base their approach to college admissions on
fear. They're afraid of not getting into a prestigious
school, afraid of making a mistake, afraid of not doing enough, afraid that
their test scores will be too low, afraid the neighbor’s kid will get into Harvard
and take their spot, etc.
That approach doesn’t just ruin the process. Fear can actually ruin the chances of
achieving what these families so desperately want.
The fear-based approach makes it scary not to join the same clubs everyone else is joining. It’s scary to only take the SAT once or twice
and move on. It’s scary to visit
colleges you’ve never heard of, to take a fun class over the summer that isn’t
academically impressive, or to spend time doing a hobby that doesn’t seem to
boost your resume. You can’t be happy
for the neighbor’s kid when she gets a high SAT score or wins an award. You can’t be happy with your effort in a
tough class even if it doesn’t boost your GPA.
You can’t just be yourself and find colleges that will appreciate you
for exactly who you are—too scary.
Scared applicants don’t stand out.
Of the 2,000 colleges out there, only about 40 of them
are absurdly competitive, and those 40 aren’t even necessarily the best. So ditch the fear. Just let it go. You’re going to be OK. Once the fear is gone, you can enjoy the
college search adventure. You can do
things you enjoy, be proud of who you are, and feel genuinely happy for other
kids’ success. Seems like a no-brainer
to me.
Bottom line: happy, creative, unique and generous beats
scared, narrow-minded, indistinguishable and selfish every time.