When applying to colleges, it is important to understand what you are getting into and how to show the best version of yourself. Some people think colleges look for perfection, and while this is mostly true, you shouldn’t change yourself. It is important to show off the right qualities about yourself to draw people in and put you in a light that makes you more interesting. When speaking with Joseph Harris, a Senior at Tech High, he talks about how important this is.
Harris believes extracurriculars, volunteering, and internships are very important when applying to a college, but they should be done in subjects you enjoy and plan to pursue. For example, Harris intends to go into the biomedical field for his degree and wants to continue this path after college. During his high school career, he has picked internships with medical professionals and in labs. He participated in “Future Faces of Family Medicine,” a program where he met others interested in the same field and made connections with people.
Through “Future Faces of Family Medicine” and some of the resources it provided, Harris interned with two different doctors over four weeks. Both medical professionals, Dr. Giac Consiglieri and Dr. Navpreet Sidhu, gave Harris different experiences in his chosen field so that he could narrow down what he wanted to do career-wise and build upon that in ways to prepare him for jobs and opportunities that will come.
During the application season, Harris applied to 39 different colleges and universities. He has been accepted into several schools, some of the most well-known being the University of Michigan, University of Rochester, UC Berkeley, University of Southern California, and UC Merced. Harris is currently waiting to hear back from more schools. Many of these colleges have very low acceptance rates, but by setting up his future in the right way, he was able to have the opportunities that he does now.
Some advice that Harris would give to underclassmen who know they are interested in going off to college after high school is to build connections with teachers. If you need someone to write you a letter of admission, have a teacher you can rely on. Even just for general support, having a good relationship with your teachers is important. You should maintain good grades throughout the year. Colleges are looking to see whether you have been a determined and hard working student throughout high school. Harris says it is important to branch out with interests and passions before settling on a single career path. It is normal to not know what you want to do yet—many don’t. However, you should still be thinking about the future so you won’t get blindsighted in your Junior and Senior years.
For Sophomores, Harris recommends building a resume, starting with applying to different internships and programs. It is good to get experience in the field you want to pursue before you leave for college because you may realize you don’t like something about that field. In some cases, you will be able to deal with it, but in other cases, you may change jobs to something similar that doesn’t contain the reason why you made the change.
Harris said that it is a good idea to start filling out your applications in the spring of Junior year so you won’t have to rush them, and so it won’t cut into your summer break. This strategy is very effective, as most going into college apply to multiple, often separated into first choices and backups. For those applying to colleges this year, most schools made submitting your SAT scores optional because many people suffered academically during COVID-19. Starting next year, colleges will use them again, making the SAT a bigger deal. Typically, these scores are used to determine your skills. By Senior year, you have done everything you can, and all that is left is to keep up the good grades.
In your applications, you want to be the most vulnerable and exposed version of yourself. These colleges and universities are after people who have put in a huge amount of effort into their future but also are willing to share their experiences and challenging moments. Colleges are after well-rounded people, and while it may seem as though colleges just were to see your perfect moments, the times when you aren’t are, in some way,s even more powerful. They can show how you overcame those moments and grew as a person. People who have gone through trauma and painful memories can expand and mature because they have to grow up faster over a quicker period of time and learn through experiences and life lessons.
