Inside Tips About College Admission

A Wall Street Journal article (11/30/06) listed the numbers of kids from a variety of high schools admitted to the freshman class at Harvard. It mentioned 19 admits from one school, for example, but could not explain why that 19 got in and the other 19 or more, from the same school with similar credentials, did not.

 

Don Dunbar was a college counselor for Phillips Academy, Andover, where he attended meetings during which the nation's top colleges decided whether to admit his students. Prep school counselors no longer get this access, but in those meetings, Dunbar discovered a little-known key to college admissions that still holds true today. Many applicants look alike, based on their grades, test scores, and extracurriculars, so colleges want something more. They want applicants with CHARACTER. Dunbar became sensitized to the reality that this makes a huge difference to admissions offficers who understand what kind of people enhance the quality of life and productivity in any community or work place.

Since it is difficult for colleges to figure out who among the look-alike candidates are the best people, here are examples of how a few students made it easier for the colleges to reject them.

One student wrecked her chances in her essay. She had a weekend job in a drug store—10 hours on Saturday and 4 on Sunday. In one of her college essays, she wrote about feeling gratified that she was making her own spending money—taking some pressure off her parents. But then she wrote, "None of my friends work, and on the weekends, they just ride around in their cars and party, and I don't think any of them could ever face working an eight hour day." She put down her competition to lift herself. That showed aggression, and she was rejected.

The editor of an award-winning school newspaper presents another example. He used his role as an example of his outstanding leadership. He had worked all summer on the paper before his senior year: organizing, getting advertisements, and ordering equipment. When school began, he worked long hours, striving for a prestigious award that he had received for the paper the year before. However, since he did almost everything himself, he didn't develop a team and share decision making with others. He was a single act. That's not outstanding leadership.

These are just two true stories from the many in Dunbar’s book What You Don't Know Can Keep You Out Of College: A Top Consultant Explains the 13 Fatal Application Mistakes and Why Character Is the Key to College Admissions (Gotham Books; 7/5/07). These are seemingly innocent mistakes, not really terrible ones, but enough to cause them to lose to others who hit a little higher note on the scale of character.

Dunbar identifies 13 fatal mistakes and offers solutions in What You Don't Know Can Keep You Out Of College:

  • Not understanding what it is to be "prepared"
  • Being yourself
  • Lack of passion
  • Misunderstanding leadership
  • Appearing as a threat
  • Social insensitivity
  • Dependency
  • Negativity
  • Exclusivity
  • Narrow thinking
  • Wasting special qualifications
  • Unwilling to learn from rough times
  • Waiting for your life to happen

Don Dunbar is a former admissions consultant for Philips Academy, Andover, and an expert on the college admissions process. He founded Dunbar Educational Consultants, which has helped clients gain acceptance to all of America's top colleges and universities.