When it comes to applying for college, students are often primed for a period of intense stress. They know that they’ll have to keep up their 4.0 GPAs, take 15 AP classes, and join the crew team, or maybe start taking harp lessons. The overwhelming questions that come to mind might be, “Am I smart enough?” Or, “Am I interesting enough?” Or, “Am I unique?” The college process demands that students turn inward and evaluate what they do, how successful they’ve been, and where they’re headed. But having clear and mature answers to all of these questions is far from what most teenagers (or college admissions officers) can imagine.

Even more, now that our world has been hit by a pandemic which has wiped out testing opportunities and put more pressure on students to stand out, the existential questions are pouring in faster. What about a gap year or community college? Now in competition with students that had deferred and international students, how are these kids supposed to manage?

Building Your College Profile

Tips for Current Sophomores and Juniors

High school students have been enormously impacted by the pandemic this year, and last. With activities interrupted, distance learning and disruptions to the testing industries, the mental, emotional and physical burden that teenagers have been facing is unprecedented. However, while the toll of the pandemic has demotivated many, high school Sophomores and Juniors shouldn’t lose sight of the future. While many students have had their plans completely dismantled, now is the time to refocus and bring new energy to constructing a college profile.

When it comes to building your college profile, the work needs to start early. While adolescence is a time of confusion and experimentation, it is also a time where commitment to a few key goals can really pay off. Starting Sophomore year, students can already begin crafting their resumes and projecting themselves as future college students, even if that future is unclear. Here are some tips to get the process started.

Think about your core values.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in listing off to colleges everything that you’ve done, but that gets superficial very quickly. Instead, start with this values exercise. By thinking about your top values, you can more easily link them to anecdotes that represent these values, which can end up being excellent fodder for essays. Your core values should also be able to explain the activities and courses you choose to take.

Don’t over-explain.