My wife and my daughter are big fans of the Bachelor/Bachelorette shows, so much so that even though my daughter has moved to Arizona, there is a pact between them to not communicate about the show until they are sure the other one has watched it, and that they will reach out on Tuesday evenings to talk about the participants, a day after the show is on. The discussion ranges from who is the best/worst competitor, the clothes that are worn by everyone, the different adventures and locales of the day, etc. If you have not guessed so far, I hate the show. It’s not a hate like Georgia/Florida or Red Sox vs Yankees (Boston rules), but more of a cringe inducing discomfort about on par with drinking orange juice after brushing my teeth. The interactions and relationships all seem so shallow, with only weeks to try and find your true love, and events set up to intentionally make the people clash with each other. Let’s get 25 guys who want to stand out for one girl, throw in some form of physical competition, add a little (or a lot) of alcohol, and watch the egos clash. What could possibly go wrong?
But my main issue with the show is the expectation that over five weeks or so, a person can accurately narrow things down from 25 people to one, while trying to give time to everyone, travel around the world, and have some personal time. How much time does the main person have over that five weeks with the final three competitors, maybe 3-5 days in total? It takes me longer than that just to review, compare prices and buy my next power tool. (FYI, the Craftsman cordless finish nailer is a life saver if you are putting up crown molding). Are you really going to get to know a person in that short of a time span? You will learn a great deal of surface information, and details they feel comfortable sharing. But will you get to know how they load the dishwasher, what vegetables they love/hate, which Friends character is their favorite, and how they really feel about dogs. In looking at a lifelong connection, it is important to get a better understanding of the depth of a person, and what they put their time and effort into in their life.
In the same way, when we are looking at admissions applications, we try to look beyond the surface information as much as possible, and try to get more understanding of an individual’s depth in their time commitments. In our academic review, we are looking at how you have challenged yourself over your four years of HS, not just a bulked up senior schedule. If you have a passion for engineering, have you focused hard on the math and science classes over the years to get ready for the challenges you will face in a college engineering program? If you are interested in political science as an example, have you participated in an activity tied to this major such as Model UN, mock trial, or something similar, and/or have you volunteered in a campaign or for a voting precinct during your HS years? As for activities/clubs/sports/work/volunteering/etc., have you found a passion and become deeply involved, both through your time commitment and the years involved and possibly grown in leadership roles? We like to see that you have depth in your academics and activities, as we can then see these translating over to your college years. There is a big difference in a 3-4 year commitment to your activities versus adding a number of things senior year to expand a resume. These are things that are noticed in an admissions review.
In your high school years, shoot for depth, not breadth, as that is a key for both what you will get out of the experience and how we can see that you can commit time to your areas of interest.
Good luck, and Go Dawgs!
