What Exactly Is a “Distinguished” Applicant When It Comes to College Admissions?
By Jody Bell
Growing up I had a friend who was two years older than I ‒ let’s call her Julia.
She lived two doors down from my house, and throughout my entire childhood I viewed her as a role model. When I entered high school desperately searching for some semblance of belonging, she introduced me to her friends on the volleyball team that she was a captain of and when I searched for academic support she would come over and tutor me in her free time. She had never gotten below an A-. On the weekends, she would volunteer through her church and support those experiencing food-insecurity in our community.
Julia loved her sports, academics, and community service, and while she gladly would have participated and excelled without the motivation of her dream college, she always thought her sports leadership, volunteer experience, 4.2 GPA, and aced AP exams would allow her to go to her dream college without question.
But, I remember a night in December when she dragged her feet to my house, and without saying a word, showed me a letter from her top college with the words “unfortunately” typed out in bold. I could tell she was disappointed, but more than anything she was surprised. She had everything an admissions officer would want ‒ right?
The truth is, colleges are changing, and as higher education becomes the norm, students are all striving to fit this very narrow profile of the “perfect candidate.” Colleges are no longer just searching for that specific individual ‒ they can’t afford to when most of their applicants share similar if not identical backgrounds.
Julia was not alone in her experience. Our high school pushed each and every student to achieve their academic potential. This resulted in a student body with an incredibly high GPA average, a solid track record with AP exams, and plenty of extracurricular opportunities.
The longer I attended, the more I noticed that many students were just like Julia ‒“perfect” candidates who still struggled to gain admissions into some top colleges.
This shift has resulted in the word “distinguished” being used by many admissions officers and institutions alike. There are two major reasons for this:
Colleges are becoming more aware that not every student will have the same academic resources and opportunities ‒ thus these factors are no longer the absolute focal point of an application.
With increases in youth activism, entrepreneurship, and community leadership, institutions are simply favoring a candidate who is passionate over one who is motivated and follows the “norm.”
This leaves current high school students in a difficult position ‒ they don’t necessarily have a blueprint to follow that will result in them being “distinguished.” However, speaking from experience, being unique, opinionated, and passionate, are all traits that students naturally have. Sometimes these intrinsic attributes get buried behind the exhaustive attempts to perform perfectly academically, participate in multiple extracurriculars, and have time to still serve your community ‒ the perfect-candidate-blueprint of the past.
Don’t get me wrong ‒ it is absolutely a priority to focus attention on academics and passions, however, it is also important to allow space for identity exploration and an opportunity to act on that individuality in a way that does distinguish.
Personally, that’s exactly why I became a student with Girls With Impact back in 2017. I had an interest in politics and NGO work and simply didn’t feel satisfied with my weekly volunteering in high school. I wanted something more and saw gaps in my community that current organizations were not fulfilling. It was this passion and dissatisfaction with the norm that gave me the motivation and courage to step out of my comfort zone and actually make my own organization. Of course I had the help and support of Girls With Impact, which gave me a game plan to succeed, but it was my personal passion that truly made me act upon this.
After my organization was launched, the press that followed was huge ‒ students don’t normally just take an idea or a problem that they notice and act upon it ‒ that’s exactly why the press and colleges took notice. I was fortunate enough to be able to leverage this as a way to distinguish myself ‒ attaching a press kit to the back of my application that led to scholarships which made my dream college financially reasonable.
This was simply my track ‒ but distinguishing yourself is not a one-size-fits-all plan. It is born out of a passion which students have explored, and motivation for that passion that pushes them outside of the realm of “normal” for a highschool student. Below are some ways that this can manifest in other distinguished students:
For the sports-superstars
Say there is a student who has seemingly exhausted the ways in which they could distinguish themselves on that team ‒ the next step could be to try to search for problems. I know that may sound counter-intuitive, however, solving problems that the team/school are unaware of is what can show an entrepreneurial mindset and sets students apart during the application process.
As an example, say that they notice an issue within representation ‒ whether that is a women’s team that doesn’t garner the same turnout on game days or funding, or a sport that lacks diverse players. The student could connect with administration for the team/school and try to work together to come up with effective and innovative solutions to the problem.
For the passionate yet not-business-oriented
Plenty of students are incredibly passionate about a certain social or environmental issue in their community, yet, they don’t necessarily see themselves partaking in pitching or venture creation.
That student could focus their attention on awareness as opposed to problem solving ‒ such as a social media campaign or blog that educates people on the matter. From there, they could even speak to their school about starting a club or holding various events for the student body.
For those who want to develop a business or venture
This is most aligned with the track I followed ‒ and while the venture I created was philanthropic in nature and not profit-generating, I still used business and entrepreneurship to give myself a game plan.
This involves a lot of ideation and building ‒ from a landing page, to a press release, to a following of individuals who believe in your mission statement. This is truly Girls With Impact’s specialty, and you can click here to explore the different ventures that have come out of the program.
The possibilities are truly endless when it comes to becoming a distinguished applicant‒ but hopefully this gives just a taste of what colleges look for. Yes, exhausting the academic opportunities available to a student is still crucial, but they are no longer the spotlight of a college application.
Colleges care about students ‒ what they can do to improve their community and campus, how their passions manifest themselves, and how their backgrounds have shaped their identity.
This is what shines through in a distinguished applicant, and this is exactly what students need to explore.
As always, feel free to shoot me an email at belljr@g.cofc.edu with questions, comments, or just a chance to chat ‒ I would love to hear from you!
Jody Bell, 19, is Girls With Impact’s Chief Editor and a program graduate from Greenwich High School. Girls With Impact is the nation’s only online, business and leadership program for girls 12-21, turning them into tomorrow’s business leaders and innovators.