The 5 T's of the Common Application

This post isn't only for the seniors working on their college applications. This post is for anyone who plans to apply to college in the future. You see, seniors can't really do much to make the T's happen. They've either been effective in their quest to master the 5 T's and can use it to their advantage in their application, or they can't speak to the 5 T's, which may lessen their admission chances at highly selective colleges. But if you aren't a senior right now, then keep reading, start planning, and work on making the 5 T's part of your future application.

The 5 T's are questions any college admissions officer will be hunting for answers to as they review your application. How well you answer the 5 T's could determine the pile you land on: Accepted, Denied, or Deferred.

1. Time - what do you do with it?

2. Talent - how do you define yours?

3. Treasure - what's valuable about your talents?

4. Transfer - how do you distribute yourself and your talents into the world to make an impact?

5. Truth - never, ever lie!

   
   

I am not in any way defining "talent" as expecting you to be a world-class violinist or an award-winning artist. That's not the talent I'm talking about (or it could be if you're either one of those). No, I'm defining "talent" as your own uniqueness, your individuality. It's the quality that makes you, you. Notice it always starts with defining yourself first. How you spend your time, where you spend your time, and on what you spend your time says a great deal about you as a person. What do you love? Colleges want to know. They want to see a fire inside of you for whatever it is; the more obscure the better, sometimes. The real question is, where's your heart?

Once you know your heart, you can then share your heart. When you begin to realize your ideals, test beliefs, and challenge your efforts, you can then give to others. This is VERY important to colleges. Now, they are no longer seeking evidence of who you are as an individual; they are now searching for how you'd be as a member of the community. Impact is gold in college admissions. Living beyond yourself and sharing a passion or talent is going to be the pinnacle of your application - don't take this lightly!

Completing your story around the 5 T's shouldn't feel like an obligation or a checklist of sorts. If it does, find another talent or passion to focus on because you just haven't found it yet. Did you get that word? Y.E.T. It's a little word with a whole lot of power behind it. Don't be discouraged if you don't feel you're passionate about anything right now. It'll come. But, only if you keep trying new things, feeding curiosities, and keeping the 5 T's in mind as your roadmap to discovery!

Speaking of discovery, if you haven't already, be sure to download the free Ultimate College Visit Guidebook! It's the first step in discovering your best-fit college list! Click here.