How Activities Influence Admissions

It used to be that colleges looked for “well-rounded” students, whose interests spanned as broadly as possible. These days, we hear more about the “well-grounded” student, who tends to delve vertically into a particular area of interest and shows a deep level of commitment.

This is reflected in our survey results, with 67 percent saying “consistency/depth within interest” was most important with respect to extracurricular activities. By comparison, “diverse interests,” was selected by just 27 percent. Consistent with this, 73 percent said “long-term commitment” mattered most.

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What do you value most in extracurricular activities?

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Our findings do seem a little at odds with a concurrent demand for a certain level of eclecticism in academics: many schools seem to favor those who express passion for both the sciences and the humanities, as much ardor for physics as the classics, for instance. Perhaps it’s that schools remain impressed by omnivorous interests, with the proviso that the student connects the dots between them to create a larger, more interesting and memorable portrait.

So, it may be the connections between activities, as much as the activities themselves, that tell the story. This does not necessarily mean that extracurriculars should be linked with academics, however: just 17 percent said such connections mattered.

What matters most, according to our survey, is “leadership/initiative,” cited by 75 percent of respondents. Presumably that means it’s still impressive to be captain of a team, president of the class, or editor of the school newspaper. Yet “initiative” can manifest itself in other ways, such as founding a club or organizing an event.

Surprisingly, just 27 percent said that “originality/creativity” is important. This may not mean schools are unimpressed by innovative extracurriculars, just that they don’t necessarily expect it.

Next Thursday: The Secret of Supplemental Essays

The Education of the College Parent

The Atlantic: "Many undergrads, especially those who live on campus, are caught in a sort of limbo between dependence and independence, making their own rules and schedules but relying on their parents to help them navigate financial-aid applications and health insurance. Students may have to do their own grocery shopping, but there’s a good chance their parents are still footing the bill; they may live in a dorm, but their home is still likely their parents’ house, a place to which they return on breaks and during the summer. And this limbo, it turns out, may spur a healthy evolution in students’ relationship with their parents."

"In one recent survey of roughly 14,500 college students across the U.S., three in five respondents said their relationship with their parents had improved since they started college; a quarter said the relationship was 'much better.' Perhaps that’s in part because geographical distance fosters in students a greater appreciation for their parents. Students’ tendency to describe the relationship as improved 'could be indicative of a shift in how young adults view the role of the parent as one of confidant and adviser rather than authoritarian,' says Tisha Duncan, an education professor at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina."

"As long as parents embrace their role as advisers—rather than trying to hold on to their authority into college and beyond—they can not only better prepare their emerging-adult kids for full-fledged adulthood, but improve their bond with them, too."

Colleges & The Out-of-State of Mind

Inside Higher Ed: "Since the economic downturn hit in 2008, many public colleges have attempted to become destinations for students from all over the country. Institutions like the University of Vermont have long pursued such a strategy, but they have been aided by the fact that there aren't that many Vermonters. In states like California, such moves have been controversial. The University of California agreed to some limits on out-of-staters in a deal with then governor Jerry Brown to get more money."

According to a survey by Inside Higher Ed, "57 percent of admissions leaders at public colleges say they have been seeking to increase out-of-state enrollment, and 75 percent of them report being successful. Twenty percent report facing political scrutiny over the practice. However, more admissions directors than in the past value out-of-state students for their brains (or other attributes), not tuition revenue. Only 41 percent said out-of-state students were essential for tuition revenue, down from 55 percent in 2016."

"Part of the out-of-state enrollment picture, for public and private colleges, is international students. Fifty-eight percent of admissions directors are concerned about maintaining the same number of international students they have had, up one percentage point from last year ... In the current environment, a slight majority (51 percent) say that they will increase scholarships to maintain current enrollment levels. That figure is up sharply from previous years."