I want you to avoid this pitfall: that’s why I wrote this book. But admissions counselors get a feeling when everything has been pre-ordained, pre-managed, and pre-packaged to impress us-which is not impressive.

It’s not that we think you’re lying to us (we can spot the true liars! That’s not what we’re talking about). You’re not just involved in clubs-you’re president of every one. You wax poetic about your involvement in the “Earth Club” and make a deadly serious pledge to save every honeybee by graduation. You’re overly earnest in your application. However, there’s a second pitfall, one you’re probably much more at risk of falling into (without even knowing it). If you care enough about your future to read a book like this, I doubt you’re at risk of leaving no impression at all. Activities you tried for a semester, then pooped out on. The first is not being impressive at all: no clubs. There are two main pitfalls in creating your application (and the life you’re presenting in the app). You know the person is faking.Įxactly the same dynamic applies when admissions officers are sitting around the committee table, making decisions on your application. In that situation, it feels like someone trying to “play” you.

Like when your classmate shows off their latest selfie on social media, and you know it’s totally got a filter. No one is impressed by someone who is trying too hard to make an impression. You know this intuitively in your own social circle. I call it the “Impressiveness Paradox.” The paradox is that almost all impressiveness goes out the window when you’re trying to be impressive. But paradoxically, admissions officers are underwhelmed by students who are clearly managing their lives outside of the classroom in order to impress the committee. It’s really counterintuitive, but here it is.Īdmissions officers at top universities know you’re trying to impress us with all that stuff you’re doing outside of the classroom. I want to share something important with you, something I don’t think you’re going to hear from other college admissions officers. As a former admissions committee member at an Ivy League university, I know a thing or two about what separates the accepted from the rejected.

Get Real and Get In by Aviva Legatt