Most college applications read flat. We know students aren’t the same. But it sure seems like it from many applications: similar academics, similar activities, similar leadership.

The only way for seemingly similar students to differentiate themselves is through their writing (essays, activities list, additional information section). But students struggle with what to write about and how to write about it.

In this newsletter, we’ll explore:

The one question that sets high-performing applicants apart
Focusing on actions – not just experiences and results
How Prompt’s free essay planning tools can help your students identify what to write about and how to write about it.

The one question that sets high-performing applicants apart

High performers have many things in common:

They’re always succeeding in challenging situations
They’re always learning
They’re always making everything they’re a part of better
They’re always making other people around them better

But how do students make it clear they’re high performers? Titles don’t do it. Activity names don’t do it. Awards and accolades are nice, but are the result – not the journey. And some people’s journeys are far harder than others.

Selective colleges can’t accept every award winner. Instead, they want the students who’ve had the highest degree of difficulty to achieve success. They want students who can answer the question:

“What did you do that other applicants could not have done (or could not have done as well)?”

This question produces results. It focuses students on the specific actions they took to achieve their most impressive accomplishments. And it gets them writing about their actions, which helps admissions officers understand the amount of work they put in and the degree of difficulty of their accomplishments.

Focusing on actions

There’s a simple framework for discussing any experience:

“I accomplished X as measured by Y by doing Z.”

X is what the student did
Y is a sense of the scale of the accomplishment (preferably quantitative)
Z is the actions the student took to achieve the accomplishment.

Most students only describe X – what they accomplished.

“My team took 1st in the speech and debate competition.”

Sometimes students include Y – a sense of the scale of the accomplishment.

“My team took 1st in the speech and debate competition after finishing 2nd to last a year ago.”

Students rarely include Z – the actions they took to achieve the accomplishment.

My team took 1st in the speech and debate competition after finishing 2nd to last a year ago. I achieved this result by working with each team member to create yearly learning and practice goals. Then, I spent an hour each week meeting with each of my 10 team members. In the meetings, we discussed their progress against their goals, and I provided coaching and guidance from my experiences improving from last place to first place last year. As a result, by the end of the year, all 10 team members moved from being bottom-half finishers to top-3 finishers in every event. And 3 even made it to the state competition.

The actions make the experience. If the team took 1st, perhaps the team was always good. If the team went from 2nd to last to 1st, perhaps the team improved without the student playing a substantial role. By focusing on actions, we learn the specific role the student played that led to the result – and it’s far more compelling.

How to help your students identify what to write about and how to write about it

Prompt’s Essay Planning Tools help students identify what to write about and how to write about it. The tools are available for free for every student either by requesting a Prompt college application essay resource page for your school (click here to request a page) or through our integration with MaiaLearning.

Click here for a 12-minute video overview of Prompt’s Essay Planning tools.

In our next issue, we’ll focus on proving intellectual curiosity.

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The Apply

The #1 Question to Ask High Performers