Where do my impressions come from? My network of friends/former colleagues who are in higher ed, and my own experience as an academic meaning that I get the "lingo" and can read between the lines
very successfully in interpreting communications from those in Academia at such institutions. I also spent time (post-Espenshade time) sorting out who got such awards within a STEM college at an unnamed mid-sized public college. Because I was a tenure track faculty member at that institution, and because I was a perennial good departmental citizen in terms of serving on the most time-consuming kinds of committees, apparently (sigh)... and because it was a good match with my personal interests-- improving diversity and retention in STEM, that is.
People like me (and those over in admissions) are wise to the fake or overly groomed resume. They can't
always do much about it, because such an applicant really DOES have an enormous number of things down there on their vitae, but it's the little things that stand out.
Some of the things that are ringers for "this is only here because of how it looks to us" are:
a) short-term but Big Ticket and Splashy vacation-time "volunteering" at some exotic location-- often overseas. (This is the "getting-it-all-out-of-the-way-at-once" model of community service or volunteering.)
b) TITLES that sound impressive-- lots of them-- as in, in EVERY extracurricular, this applicant is "concertmaster" or "president" or "spokesperson." Because why would you be involved if you aren't in charge?
c) Completely random participation in various activities-- or lots of jumping around from one thing to another.
Okay, what do I mean by that?
Well, this would be a stereotypical "groomed" resume sample of a student like this:
* Ran silent auction for Ronald McDonald House gala benefit
* Served as President for Girl Scout Council (this year only)
* Vice-president of NHS (this year only)
* President of Student Council (past two years)
* Concertmaster and principal oboe, youth symphony (this year only)
* Spearheaded fundraising efforts for {school} Mission {to Caribbean nation}
* Media spokesperson for {school} Community Service project to {Caribbean nation}
* Built a school in {Caribbean nation}-- (spring break this year)
What's wrong with this picture? Well, several things--
The first is that the last three items are
all probably a bit overstated, and they are all effectively the SAME thing, really... and the rest of it is photo-op stuff, but not much TIME commitment, other than the symphony one, but even so, let's assume for a moment that the oboe was taken up at the start of high school (when it became evident what an awesome 'scholarship' instrument it is)...
It's also not painting a terribly coherent picture of this student's long-term interests and passions. Well-- it
is, all right, but not the way that Mom and Dad were hoping, probably.
What it says to me is that this kid is a major schmoozer... and that if I asked co-participants in any of those above activities, they'd probably sneer at some of those entries, because the person basically showed up to shake hands and sign in, and did little of the heavy lifting BEHIND the scenes. Best case scenario is that this kid is pretty skilled as a PR rep for themselves.
Okay-- so my daughter's resume does NOT look like that. What does hers look like?
Peer tutoring Mathematics-- 3 years, ~500 hours.
Local Food bank-- 8 years, ~65-100 hours annually.
Advisory Board membership-- for local government agency-- 3 y, ~70 hours annually.
Community volunteering as a board member-- 200 hours +
NHS/NJHS leadership-- 4 y as treasurer, 1y as President
NHS project leadership-- food bank warehouse work, school events-- 25 hr, over 4 years; food drives 25hr over 4 yr.
NHS-- quilt raffles for Crisis Nurseries/children's charities-- 100 hr, over 3 yr.
4H leadership-- Club treasurer (2y), Club president (2y)
Random Volunteering in community through either 4H or county government (literacy, food security, and mentoring)-- 300+ hours.
4H volunteering-- county leadership (multiple-- all low-key, behind the scenes "real" work positions-- mostly out of the spotlight, and essential to the operation of the program and/or county/state fair)
In other words, she's a kid that puts in a LOT of time, and has done so for many years. Yes, there're a significant number of
entries in terms of line items, but more significantly, they definitely read as somewhat
under-stated, if anything. The leadership positions are "work" positions, not titular ones.
She also lists extracurriculars that have long TIMELINES, but without any particular "accomplishments/rewards/awards" associated-- like piano, (9y)-- for example. That communicates that the is a kid who has the skills to be responsible and commit seriously to an activity, even if it isn't one where they are in the spotlight. It's a good sign in term of college, because hard work OUT of the spotlight, (and without frequent trophies and award certificates) is ultimately going to be pretty important.
Something quirky and a little bit edgy also is helpful-- like actually COMPLETING a NaNo novel, building a prototype of something odd or strange, etc. is also a good sign, because it indicates
intrinsic motivation. This tells the ad-coms and committees that this is a real person-- and that at least occasionally, this is a person who does what they want BECAUSE they want to do it, not because it will look good or score points with others.
There is fundraising on her list of accomplishments, yes, but it's low $ buy-in stuff (nothing pay-to-play on HER list), and it's going to local recipients, by and large-- it also fits with the rest of her obvious 'causes,' and makes sense of what matters to HER. She is clearly someone that simply likes helping other people with basic needs-- and doesn't need a lot of rewards to keep coming back for more.
Does that help any?
I truly think that our DD, had she been 16 and not 14, would have been a great fit at MIT. But for now, the state flagship is a better place for her.
