In my booklet ‘110 Tips for Getting into the College of your choice’ I write:

#63: Be genuine when filling out a college application. You are marketing yourself. Be authentic and refreshing when writing about your interests and passions.

This means that a college wants your application to reflect the ‘real you’ – warts and all.  At the least, this means telling the truth about your EC’s. Beyond that, you should avoid being stilted or putting yourself forward as something you are not.

High school students will find it difficult to do this. That’s not surprising. Look at the role models kids have today.
The girl who was the model for the Dove billboard was artificially transformed with professional make-up artists and computer software from a real person into a plastic replica of a woman.

(Take a look at the amazing video of this artificial transformation on YouTube)

Colleges don’t want plastic people in their freshman class. They want authentic, refreshing students. Who is authentic? How about Olympic Gold medalist Michael Phelps? He exhibited superhuman capabilities at the Beijing Olympics but his story is a genuine and authentic one - the guy had a hard time in grade school where he was diagnosed with ADHD and teased by classmates because of his long arms.

Who else could be an authentic role model for teens today? What does it mean to be genuine and authentic in your college application? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment.