A Guide to Helping Your Student Find His or Her Passion
Students always ask, “What activities will impress admissions officers?” The answer is both complex and straightforward - you. Your choices of activities should be an extension of you, a reflection of your passions, interests, and personality.
There is not a curated list of activities out there to make applicants look good on their college applications. According to Georgia Tech Senior Assistant Director of Admission Katie Mattli, “To be competitive, you should choose activities that make you happy.”
The secret sauce to an impressive list of extracurricular activities is one that includes activities that follow your passions.
One buzzword we hear over and over again when discussing college admissions is passion. According to a University of Michigan admissions blog, “A one-dimensional student is not a strong applicant at Michigan. We’re not looking for a certain club or a specific organization. But we are looking for passion and enthusiasm. We look for students doing amazing things in their communities, with their religious organizations, or with their families or caregivers.”
It is essential to understand that the college admissions process has changed direction over the years. Colleges are still looking for students with a strong academic profile – that hasn’t changed. However, most colleges now practice holistic admissions meaning they are evaluating applicants using a multitude of factors, many of which are not quantifiable.
In the past, colleges were looking for “well-rounded” students. The ideal applicant had a little bit of everything on their application – athletics, a bit of the fine arts, some community service, etc. In stark contrast, today, most colleges are looking to build a well-rounded student body made up of individuals who have demonstrated commitment to their passion. That’s a significant shift!
Admissions officers are looking for commitment and a meaningful impact in a few activities. They want to understand what type of impact you made on your school, your community, and your family, as well as the impact your involvements made on you. Colleges want to admit students who will contribute to their community and make their college a better place.
We promise colleges have no preference for what kind of activity applicants are involved in. They do not favor any one activity over another. Community service looks no better on a college application than student government, for instance. So long as your child demonstrates a passion for what they do and a depth to their involvement, admissions officers understand that they have something unique to contribute to their college community. Similarly, there is no prescribed formula for the number of activities colleges want. Remember - it’s quality over quantity.
However, this focus on passion brings with it a new challenge for today’s high school students. Specifically, discovering their passion so early in life. We are not promoting that our already stressed out and over-scheduled generation of kids take on additional commitments. It is actually the opposite. Instead, we encourage students to do some work to understand themselves better and add some focus to their activities. Let’s be clear that college admissions offices do not expect students to know what they want to be when they grow up. They are simply looking for students who demonstrate a commitment to something (anything!) before college.
While a few lucky teenagers discover their passion very early in life, most have no idea. So, what if your teen does not yet have a passion? Here are a few ways to help your child through the process of self-exploration and discovery with the ultimate goal of finding those things your teen is genuinely excited and passionate about.
First, start by encouraging your child to turn their focus inward and think about themself. What do they love to do? What makes them tick? Do they love teamwork? Dancing? Serving others? Music? Acting? Sports? Technology? Politics? Trivia? Debate? Knitting? Movies? Yoga? Writing? Walking?
When your teen is driven by passion the activity, time commitment, and involvement rarely feel like work. Or, if it is hard work but it’s rewarding to them, it feels worth it. Their sense of involvement and being “in the zone” is most evident when passion is present.
Brainstorm! Sit with your child and help her dig into her interests, strengths, skills, and talents. Ask questions about what your child loves rather than assuming you know the answer. Help her make a list of everything she is interested in, whether or not she has previously participated in that activity. Then, see if your teen can rank the list, or at least the top five to 10, after a little self-reflection. Often, ranking her interests will help her uncover what she truly loves versus those interests that do not rank as high on her list.
Find a time to help your teenager explore the activity section on his high school’s website. High schools post information about clubs, activities, athletics, and organizations available to students on their websites. Dig deeper to learn more about any activities that stand out or overlap with some of your student’s higher ranking interests. Encourage your child to reach out to students and teachers involved in these activities or attend a meeting and try it out if allowed.
If your child is still uncertain, suggest that he explore all the options and try something new. Freshman year is a great time to join new clubs and activities and experiment. High schools offer such a diverse range of activities, many of which young high school students have never previously considered or even knew about. Try out for a play or join the stage crew. Many high schools offer no-cut sports teams, so try out a new sport. Does your child follow politics or care about any particular social justice issue? There is probably a club, but if not, tell him to talk to a teacher or counselor about starting a new club. By recommending that your child open himself up to new experiences and join various clubs or activities freshman year, hopefully, one of two of them stick and grow into a passion throughout the remainder of high school.
Still stuck? There are numerous assessments available to high school students to help them uncover their interests, aptitudes, and personality characteristics. Personality assessments and Myers-Briggs Type Indicators are non-judgmental tools to help your child better understand himself, his strengths, and interests. Career assessments are another great tool to help your child reflect on his values and strengths and better understand how his personality relates to his daily activities and involvements. We highly recommend starting with the O*NET Interest Profiler.
Once your teenager has discovered her interests and hopefully her passions, the next step is to help her make her involvement dimensional. In other words, to demonstrate passion, your student must show authentic commitment and depth in her activities. Specifically, focus on a few areas and go to the deepest levels of involvement you can. For example, if your child is a musician, encourage her to participate in the band at school and offer her services to the community via a church band or fundraiser. In addition, she can demonstrate responsibility and leadership by earning money teaching younger students. By exploring her interests at a deeper level, colleges will look at this kind of depth and dimension as a sure sign of passion and commitment.
Get the idea?!
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