5 Things Top Students Are Doing Now…

September 2023

Summary: The competition for spots at the top universities is fierce. But you can learn from the best, and steal their secrets for yourself. That means starting early, prioritizing grades, focusing on one exceptional extracurricular, and seeking professional guidance.

So you want to go to Harvard…

…or Princeton or Brown or Yale. Or really any of the Top 30-ranked schools whether it’s Stanford, Columbia, Vanderbilt, Duke, UPenn, University of Michigan, you name it. Well guess what? Your competition wants to go there too. So you might as well know who you’re up against, and what they’re doing right now to take your spot. Here are the Top 5 things that students all across the country (and all around the world) are doing right now to take that coveted spot away from you. This article isn’t meant to bum you out. It’s meant to inspire you, so that you know exactly what you have to do to win back your spot. If it means enough to you, you’ll go out and do what you need to do to bring it home.

No one says this has to be a goal of yours, of course. Not everyone needs to go to a top university. But if it is your goal, you have to go into it with eyes wide open.

#1. They’re starting early

The top candidates in this year’s applicant pool all started their college planning a long time ago, way ahead of you, some as early as when they were five or six years old. Their parents enrolled them in private schools to ensure that they were getting the best education, and many had private tutors after school and on weekends to make sure they excelled in every class. They also started young in sports, music, art, chess, computer coding, science competitions, and anything else that might spike their interest and uncover a hidden talent. In addition to attending daily or weekly classes, a lot of them had private coaches to help push their progress along.

Of course you don’t have to go to those lengths, and there’s always the risk of burning out if you start something too young or if you push too hard. But if you start fencing at age 14 while someone else started fencing at 4, he’s going to make the national under-17 team and you’re not. Just saying.

#2. They’re mapping out their high school career like a war plan

Which brings us to high school… Instead of just casually enrolling in a bunch of random classes, participating in whatever clubs or sports interest them, and chilling out on the weekends, star students are following a carefully laid-out plan. First and foremost, they’re looking to excel academically. They purposefully enroll in all of the hardest courses (AP whenever available), prioritize good study habits, turn in excellent homework, and plan weeks in advance for research papers and exams. Their academics are their top priority. And they take advantage of whatever resources are necessary (private tutors, parent-teacher meetings, extra assignments) to ensure straight A’s across the board. Nothing is left to chance.

#3. They’re enhancing their education over the summer

While most students spend their summers sleeping in, hanging out, or working a menial job, the high-achievers are exploiting their summers for educational gain. They’re participating in prestigious summer programs for STEM, math, or creative writing at top universities. They’re competing in state chess championships, trying out for the national under-17 soccer team, participating in a lab study at Yale-New Haven hospital, performing in top musical theater programs, participating in a church mission trip to Tanzania, or founding a non-profit that provides food and clothing to local refugees. What they are not doing is languishing, posing endlessly for Instagram, or frittering their lives away, as appealing as those sound.

#4. They’re focusing their energy on one impressive signature project

Most students make the mistake of trying to pad their resumé with a dozen different activities: Vice President of this, Treasurer of that, J.V. volleyball, volunteering for the Red Cross, Manager of the Cross Country Team, Meals on Wheels, Founder of the Rubik’s Cube Club, etc. Now, no one’s going to tell you that those activities are bad. No activity is bad. They’re all important for personal growth and enjoyment. And if you’re volunteering your time to help people in need, well that’s even better. However, none of those things will help you get into a Top 20 college.

Why? Because they don’t make you stand out. They’re not impressive enough. Look, there are about 25,000 high schools in America and every last one of them has a Spanish Club, which means every last one of them has a Vice President, which means every last one of them also has a President who’s above all of you. So while being VP of your school’s Spanish Club may be personally rewarding, it won’t move the needle one bit in terms your college application. It’s too common.

Instead of spreading themselves thin across a dozen different activities, high-achieving students are choosing one thing to focus on, and they’re pushing themselves to achieve extraordinary heights. There’s only a handful of students who will be the best high school fencers in the nation. There’s only a handful of students who will win national awards in engineering competitions. There’s only a handful of students who will launch a highly-profitable business, or have their research published in a medical journal, or successfully campaign their state legislature to adopt more stringent gun control measures. These accomplishments are rare and extraordinary. And these are the students who are stealing your spot.

The good news? You don’t have to be good at everything. You don’t even have to be good at most things. And you don’t have to do 101 different things to pad your resumé. Instead, pick one area where you can excel, and push yourself to achieve greatness. It’s not only more personally rewarding than “phoning in” a bunch of half-baked efforts; it looks infinitely more impressive on your college application. And now you can say “no” to all that other stuff you don’t really want to do. (Keep doing at least charitable cause, however. That helps everybody, including you.)

#5. They’re getting expert guidance

This is where you expect me to say you should sign up for private consulting to build your long-term candidacy and help with your college applications. I wouldn’t presume to tell you what to do with your hard-earned money. But I will tell you that the vast majority of students who get into top-ranked schools like Stanford, Duke, UCLA, Vanderbilt and the Ivy’s all get private help. (And the rate for international students is even higher, since they need more help navigating the complex American college system.)

The reason college consultants are in such high demand is that the college admissions process is so specific and nuanced and poorly understood that unless you do it for a living, you really have no idea how it actually works. It’s like trying to fix your own car or fly your own plane if you don’t do that for a living, day-in and day-out. Try teaching the complexities of your job to someone through a few helpful web articles or videos; it’s impossible.

The other key element a good college consultant can provide is objectivity, which is critical in a high-stakes field like college admissions where you only get one shot. Most parents think their kid is a gem who will be welcomed with open arms at every institution. Sadly, this is not the case. Because college consultants deal with hundreds of students every year, they know exactly what will impress each university, and just as important, what will not. Their insight and perspective helps them brand candidates in the best possible light, and prepare a well-balanced college list that is both aspirational and realistic. Good luck!