What Are Universities Looking
for?
By: Sean
Savoie
It may be a little late for early decision into a university, but the vast
majority of the Class of ’07 students are still busy
chipping away at their application essays, portfolios, and general
self-promotion packages. These are tough times, eh?
Information regarding this change has come to me in the form of anecdotes from students of mine who are juniors and seniors in high school. Students, upon receiving a grade of “C” for an essay they submit to me, claim that their public school teachers would never give them a “C”, adding that it is much too embarrassing for the student. Nearly every student, apparently, gets an “A” or “B” for an essay assignment. Here, of course, is one source of the problem. Mom and dad say the essay is great, the teacher in high school says it is amazing, but the College Board and college professors are not impressed. Our public school teachers do not want to discourage students from writing, yet this form of encouragement is condoning the mediocre level of writing that colleges are rejecting. As a result, an “A” in 2006 is most likely similar to a “B” in 1996. Recruiting officers for high-level universities can, of course, see the trend; school grades are still a factor, but are less significant.
Better understanding the recruiting process probably, like most things these days, requires reversing the entire process. Instead of examining the situation chronologically from youth to old age, we should move backwards from old age to childhood. To use an example, assume Mr. Z is a famous, well-educated billionaire. How did he become so fabulously successful? He started a successful business? How did he start the business? He had excellent training in a terrific company. How did he land the job? He attended a quality university. How did he get into the university? He worked diligently in junior high school and high school. Why did he do well? His parents, a relative, a mentor, or even peer pressure encouraged him to study, participate in school activities, and develop his personal abilities. OK. Looking at the above reverse process, you may notice that one critical factor is missing; the university recruiter needs to discover that the young man has potential to become wildly successful. No discovery of talent, no school acceptance. However, as is the case in the world of art and music, there are many ways to be discovered if a person has true talent. A university can miss its chance to be an influencing force in the training of a future star.
This shift of strategy, looking backwards from success, is where we can better understand and predict how the changes in society cause universities to re-evaluate their measure of a student. A university is basically similar to a company. It is concerned with its cash flow, reputation in society, and competitiveness, wanting the best possible students just as a company wants the best employees. However, the Internet, among other things, has altered society. The websites that foster a means for individuals to get exposure in the world, such as myspace.com and youtube.com, are not only changing how people are discovered, but also influences how people are viewing success. In other words, the old system is falling and the universities are forced to adapt to the current trends.
If a person is destined for success, a university craves to be part of this process simply from a business perspective. The more a university allows true talent to pass by undetected, the more that university will fall into the trappings of “old-world thinking”. So, do grades and test scores mean anything? Well, yes……and no. Keep in mind that universities are hoping to recruit students who will thrive in the environment of the school campus and become successful (hopefully in a noticeable way) after graduating.
The most significant change involves the ways that people become successful. Companies are becoming less concerned with where a potential employee learned a skill. If, for example, a young person has an excellent understanding of computer security systems, the company does not really care where this skill was learned. Systems change much too fast. The bottom line is efficiency and profit. As the needs of companies change, so must the universities. Numbers are not sufficient to judge a young person’s likelihood for success, and excellent schools know this.
So, what is the real meaning of this trend for the university applicant? Well, make sure to include information about all educational, cultural, artistic, work, and service-related experiences in an application. Universities are examining the whole person, not just the numbers. You may think your drawings are childish, your website is boring, or you may even think that playing the violin is unimportant or does not count for anything because your parents made you practice. Do not leave these details out! Promote yourself as potential for success, not simply as a product of your environment. Even though Albert Einstein played the violin badly and did not achieve much in school, he did manage to make serious contributions to society. Based on the information universities are now giving us about recruitment, we do not exactly know what they are using to evaluate a potential student, but we do know that universities are always looking for just such a violin player as Albert Einstein.