Failure is a loaded word for high school students. In the pressure-packed process of college admissions where even apparent perfection isn’t enough for some schools, it’s hard to imagine how anything resembling a failure could ever help you get into college.
But there are two kinds of failure, and while one is inherently a lot more productive than the other, either can actually be turned into something positive.
First, there’s the failure that happens frequently to people who are willing to try things that might not work. The college-level math class you challenged yourself to take over the summer but just couldn’t succeed in no matter how hard you tried. The fundraiser you initiated in your club that didn’t work despite your herculean efforts. The part-time job that didn’t work out when it quickly became clear that sales is not exactly your calling. Colleges don’t see those failures as blemishes. They see them as evidence that you aren’t satisfied just doing what’s easy and familiar. You want the learning and challenge that comes from new experiences. Those traits are evidence that you have the skills to get the most out of your college experience. Don’t be ashamed of these experiences. Continue to seek them out, and don’t be shy about sharing them with colleges when you apply.
Then there’s the failure that’s entirely your own fault.
The low grade in a class in which you just didn’t try hard enough, the fundraiser that you took on but didn’t follow-through to make it successful, the part-time job you lost because you were late one too many times—these are failures that you created, not that happened because you put yourself on a path where failure was a possibility. Not trying at all, giving up midway, or just failing to act responsibly—these are not traits that will help you get into college.
But that doesn’t mean these experiences can’t be valuable, even in college admissions.
Do you take full responsibility for the failure, rather than blame other people? Did you apologize to anybody that you let down as a result of it? Did you learn something from it and resolve not to make that mistake in the future? It’s hard not to like a kid who’s mature enough to do those things. And if you’re willing to be open with colleges about those experiences, chances are that they’ll be a lot more forgiving of what otherwise might have marred your application.
The college admissions failure formula: (1) Seek out the good failures; (2) Do whatever it takes to avoid the bad ones; (3) Take responsibility when failure happens; (4) Learn something from the experience; (5) Apply those lessons in the future.