The Rise of the Teen CEO
If you start to feel like every teenager in your child’s high school is the CEO of a start-up, a non-profit founder, or a lawyer for social justice, you are not wrong. Nowadays, teenagers not only go to their neighborhoods or go to the cinema, but also fit in large technology companies that maintain tailor-made brands and build AI-driven apps. But just because these activities impress the parents in the Country Club does not mean that they impress the registration officers of college.
The Problem with Artificially Curated Resumes
In fact, they could even raise the chances of a student with an acceptance of the Ivy League. When a student who is interested in evolutionary biology miraculously studies an internship on Google, the message you send to Colleges is clear: They do not take care of developing their real passions or improving their community – they just want to get to an elite university. Every admission cycle, countless families try – and fail – a convincing application through striking, invented CVs.
Authentic Passion vs. Artificially Curated Resumes
Hectic parents ask questions such as: "Should I build an app for the uncertainty of food in Cambodia? Or do you think it is better to start a sustainable jewelry brand on Shopify? Should my child take up? Will you have better entry chances if you are used as an anthropology?" However, these questions reflect a fundamental misunderstanding about which approval officers are looking for in Ivy League and other elite universities today. Instead of artificially curated résumés with global effects and keyword words, the top colleges are looking for the only one that they cannot pretend: authentic passion.
The ‘Teen CEO’ is Still a Teenager
With the explosion of pay-to-play programs, admission officers are increasingly experienced in recognizing injustice. You know when the brand internship of a student from a family connection, not a cold email or as a research publication was paid and not checked by experts. And they stand out the eyebrows when the non-profit organization of a student has 10,000 Instagram followers, but no measurable effects … and zero commitment.
What Colleges are Looking for
This does not mean that outstanding activities are not necessary. Participation in a competitive, merit-based summer program, foundation of a school club, a small company, lead a volunteer work initiative or a respected price in your area of interest are important to increase your application profile and stand out against other applicants. However, these services must fit into the broader narrative of a student’s applicant profile – a unique story about their authentic interests and the pronounced perspective that they will bring in their field.
Start Early and Start Locally
The best ideas are often in the back yard of a student. Some of the most impressive projects are small, specific, and deeply personal. Students who worked on organized model aircraft construction competitions to introduce primary school students to aviation technology; started creative YouTube channels to educate others about the old mythology; partnered with local restaurants to promote the widespread use of sustainable materials; and wrote creative brochures to encourage students to detoxify them from their phones. None of these students started a million-dollar business or applied for the status of the 501(3), but everyone entered their dream schools.
Be Who You Are – Not What You Think Admission Officers Want
Starting with the first year, the students should ask themselves: What do I like to do in my free time? What kind of questions do I come back? What problems could I solve in my school or in my local community? How can I innovate creative solutions through my core passion? If the answer is neurosciences, design a simple memory experiment and do it with volunteers at your school, analyze the results and discuss them in a scientific blog or a podcast.
The Key to Standing Out
In today’s competitive approval landscape, in which 4.0 GPAs and perfect test results are a dozen dozen, admission officers look beyond the registration information from a student. You want to know who a student really is, what he appreciates, and what he will uniquely bring to your future campus community. The most important thing is that you want to allow applicants who have already made a difference – even a small one – instead of those who pretend that they have achieved something impressed to earn approval.
