The Challenge
As a gap year student, Rachel had a lot of time, but very few activities with which to fill that time. Before she graduated high school, she participated in very few activities and did not take any standardized tests. The challenge was in helping her construct a successful application profile from the ground up.
Possible Approaches
With only a couple months before the application deadlines, we needed Rachel to use her time wisely as she prepared for her standardized test and developed her extracurricular profile. With that said, there was only one way to go about this.
The Admissionado Approach
With so little time, we needed to develop Rachel’s activities in a focused area, rather than having a diverse set of activities. She expressed a great interest in Biology, so we went straight to work finding opportunities for her to develop a robust extracurricular profile in this area. In addition to preparing for her standardized tests, Rachel conducted research and volunteered at a local science museum. While there was a risk in portraying her as a single-faceted student, we knew that her demonstrated passion for biology and research, if skillfully shown through the essays, would more than make up for that.
The Result
Rachel was accepted to the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign.
Personal Shoutout
Rachel was a great pleasure to mentor. She knew this process was not going to be easy, but she battled through even when some very unexpected circumstances arose. You are extremely thoughtful, smart, and hardworking, Rachel! Together, those traits are going to take you very far!