Who Are You? The Most Important Question in College Admissions!
Who Are You? The Most Important Question in College Admissions!
Copyright (c) 2010 Marjorie Hansen ShaevitzWhen I start working with students in the college admissions process, at the very first meeting I ask parents to identify a series of nouns, adjectives, adjective phrases, or even little stories (just positive ones please!) that will help me know who their son or daughter is. Very purposely, I don't ask students for their contributions, because most kids don't want to have anything to do with blowing their own horns.MESSAGES YOU WANT COLLEGES TO GET ABOUT YOUWhat I tell the family is that this exercise is just the beginning of the process to help their student come up with "messages" that he or she wants colleges to get about him or her. Clear, sharp images should leap out as the student completes applications, writes essays and goes through interviews. Usually, one parent takes the lead, shouting out a rapid-fire list of words. A father might say of his son, "Brilliant, tough as nails in sports, hard-working, and a team player." Then the other parent chimes in with his or her chosen adjectives. A mother might say, "Caring, respectful, everybody loves him, a wonderful son." Yes, mothers and dads often have quite different things to say about their kids. All the while, I'm writing down what they say, sometimes asking for clarification or elaboration. If a parent gets stuck, I will say, "What has your son (or daughter) been like since he (she) was a little boy (girl)?" That usually brings forth a whole new set of fresh descriptions. Recently, a number of parents have asked me to provide them with a list of words that will help them jump start their message list process. Here is a list of 140 words and adjective phrases that have been collected over a number of years: 140GREAT WORDS AND ADJECTIVE PHRASES TO DESCRIBE WHO YOU AREA: Academic, an acquirer of knowledge, adaptable, adventurous, affected by the plight of others, analytical, animal-lover, animated, articulate, artistic, assertive, athleticB: Balanced, bright, brilliant, has a good business senseC: Can do anything, caring, good with children, the class clown, devoted to community service, compassionate, competent, concerned about others, confident, conscientious, considerate, courageous, creative, curiousD: Deep, dependable, detail-oriented, determined, disciplined, down-to-earth, people are drawn to her, drivenE: Good with the elderly, empathetic, enthusiastic, ethical, exceptionalF. Fitness-oriented, flexible, focused, a foodie, doesn't suffer fools, friendly, fun (or funny)G: Generous, genuine, never gives up, goes beyond what is expected, good natured, groundedH: Happy, hard-working, health-oriented, helpful, honest, humble, good sense of humorI: Imaginative, independent, inspirational, great intellect, intelligent, involvedJ: JoyfulK: KindL: A leader, a fast learner, logical, loyal friendM: Mature, mechanical (can fix anything), encyclopedic memory, modest, moral, motivated, multi-cultural, multi-lingual, musicalN: NiceO: An "old soul," one of a kind, opinion maker, optimistic, organized, original, outdoorsy, outgoing, his or her own personP: Passionate, patient, persistent, poised, polite, popular, positive, a problem solverQ: Very quick, quietly confident, a quiet leaderR: A reader, refreshing, reliable, a researcher, resilient, resourceful, respected, respectfulS: Scholarly, self-directed, self-motivated, self-starter, sensitive, science-oriented, sincere, sparkling, spiritual, a sponge for ideas, stands out from the crowd, studious, superb, supportive of othersT: Talented, has good taste, team-player, a techy, loves to travel and explore, trustworthyU: Unique, unpretentious, upfrontW: Willing to step up, acerbic wit, work until you die kind of person, a beautiful writerIf you are a parent (or student), take a look at the words above and circle any that apply to your child (or you). If other words or adjective phrases pop into your head, add them to the list. If you end up with more than 20-25 adjectives, you should probably go back and select no more than 15 or so to hone in on.MANY USES FOR WORD DESCRIPTIONSThere are many uses for word descriptions. For example, the USC application usually asks for "...three words that describe you." Last year's Stanford application asked, "What five words best describe you?" And as noted above, as applicants decide what they are going to say on the applications--especially in the essays--it's useful to keep in mind what you want the colleges to "get" about you as they read your words. Some counselors and teachers like to receive lists of words that describe student applicants to help them know what to say in their respective School Reports and Teacher Evaluation Forms/Letters of Recommendation. Finally, based on my many years of writing about confidence and competence, I also tell students that knowing who you are is a first step in becoming a confident, effective adult person.
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