It's NOT a Sprint: The High School Years

Ask anyone who has graduated high school how fast those years flew by, and they'll probably respond with "In the blink of an eye." When you're in it, living it day by day, the workload tends to weigh down even the best of students, making the days feel really looonnnggg. Between sports, classes, lessons (take your pick: music, driving, tutoring, travel sports), volunteering, and homework, it's hard to imagine there's much time for anything else. It'll all be okay. Let's take some of the load off your back. If I told you there's a distinct possibility you may be doing too much, would it surprise you? Are you feeling hopeful? Take a breath~let's talk.

The Well-Rounded Student is Dead

Becoming "pointy" is the name of the game today. It's not about the number of activities you're involved with; it's more about the depth of your involvement. And no one is asking you to fake it! In fact, if you keep showing up for an activity you hate but are doing it to make your college application look "good," I've got something to break to you~ it aint' gonna look good. Why? Because when you finally go to write about it common application essay time, the words you'll come up with will be lackluster and passionless. You'd be surprised how loud silenced resentment and obligation come across in college essays. There's really just no hiding apathy. So, if you're planning on going deep, plan on choosing something you find worthwhile.

Don't Just Go Deep, Go Wide

As you commit to going deep into the activities that interest you the most, there's another step that is critical ~ your impact! Are you able to take what you love to do AND (eventually) share that same enthusiasm with others ( a lot of others)? Can you rally people to care about something you care so deeply about? Their commitment to it may not be as strong as yours, but can you LEAD and GATHER others to join you in what you are passionate about? Is the dent you're making tangible, measurable? Example: you founded a club and grew it from 2 people to 20, you fundraised for 4 years, increasing donations by 50% year over year for 4 years. That's going wide.

A Suggested Plan for Each Year of High School

What you'll notice is the progression from wide exposure to a sharpened point.

Freshman Year: Sign up for everything that you think you'd like to try. This is the time to dabble, get yourself out there, and widen your scope, feed your curiosity. This is the time to take some risks in areas you may have never considered before. Be fearless, and don't be picky. Give it a try.

Sophomore Year: Now it's time to take stock. Now is the time to get REALLY selective. Look at all your involvement from freshman year. What did you love? Throw away at least 50% of what you tried out. Only continue to do what you want to DEVELOP into more. This is the time you'll go deeper into what activities you have decided to keep. Increase your involvement. Be vocal about making whatever that is better~work towards improving what already exists. You're setting yourself up to lead that activity in the future.

Junior Year: You'll do one of two things this year: Either you'll take on the leadership role, or you'll work on establishing yourself as the undeniable leader in your senior year. The choice should be an obvious one due to your hard work, dedication, efforts, and impact throughout. Please don't make it a question-seize the role! How do you do that? Go deep! Make a measurable impact. Think about your future college application. If the best description you could indicate about your role includes the words "member" or "participated," you've got some work to do.

Senior Year: You'll only have a short couple of months to make your next moves (unless you're really on your A-game and started during the summer). This is the time and year to take that dedication and your cause out to the community. It's time to SHARE your love of whatever it is with others. It's branching out that will turn heads. Be bold in your expansion. The more people you can get behind you, the greater your impact.

As you may have noticed, this is quite the path. A journey like this takes commitment, time, and strategy. That's why it can't be faked. The passion alone should be a driving force. Once you're on that road, it all becomes exciting, fun, and what you want to do, not what you think you have to do. But, here's what is happening behind the scenes that you may not realize, but is VERY clear to colleges: you have become engaged, one who can rally people behind you, a community leader that won't hide in their dorm room, but take to the quad and get involved in campus life! While you're busy going deep and wide, you're also learning how to work with others, how to develop your character, and how to positively engage others to believe in what you love, too. That's what colleges seek in an applicant. Discover what that is for you and explore both its depth and breadth! It's a marathon, not a sprint. Get the sharpener ready.

The BEST way to explore colleges is to visit. Not sure where to start? Download this FREE Ultimate College Visit Guidebook and make it easy on yourself. This should be a fun journey, remember?

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