What Really Matters on a College Application?

Last night was the annual National Honor Society induction ceremony at my daughter’s high school. One year ago, when my daughter was a junior, I was racked with disappointment that our family was not there. She was passed up for admission into the prestigious society after applying in the winter of her junior year. That process was a good warm-up, a realistic taste, of the world of college applications she entered into not long after that.

 I remember how upset and incredulous I felt when my daughter didn’t receive a letter of acceptance into the National Honor Society. So upset in fact, I stealthily contacted her high school counselor to ask why. Had my daughter known about this she would have killed me. Yet I needed to know, perhaps recognizing that such information could be valuable in the subsequent college admissions journey.

 Her counselor was courteous enough to respond, and she explained that while my daughter certainly had the grade point average, the challenging course load, and an impressive array of extracurricular activities that included among other things, varsity sports and student congress, her lack of community service was ultimately her downfall.

This knowledge did make a difference when she filled out college applications in the fall. You see, my daughter had in fact put in a significant number of volunteer hours throughout her high school career – she just wasn’t very experienced in the art of packaging that information. Rather than devote a chunk of time to a particular volunteer organization, she had amassed many hours across a range of organizations. This was not at all clear in her Honor Society application. On her college applications – she was sure to make the point.

 While I was disappointed that my daughter wasn’t invited to join the National Honor Society, in the end I suppose it didn’t matter. She still was accepted by the majority of schools she applied to, and she’ll be attending an excellent university this fall. I wouldn’t have believed it if I had had a crystal ball in front of me one year ago when that much anticipated letter of acceptance to the National Honor Society never arrived.

To me this is a good example of why college admissions can seem like a crapshoot. You really just don’t know what matters. All a high school senior can do is give it their best shot, hope for the desired outcome, and above all, not take admissions decisions too personally. As a parent, I’m still working on that last part.

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