Connecting esoteric interests to past experience

Kurt had an uncompromising but fascinating career vision that would set him apart–if the adcom could understand it.

The Challenge

Kurt’s interests lay at the nexus of math and philosophy, and dealt with concepts not usually explored by high school students (or adults for that matter). His biggest obstacle was that he was not able to express his ideas, the significance of his accomplishments, and the impact of his life experiences in a coherent, creative, and compelling essay. He would need to convince the adcom that, even though he was a teenager, his understanding of these topics was real and well thought out.

Possible Approaches

With a developed extracurricular profile, we primarily worked on showcasing his accomplishments and personality through the essays. We considered the following focal points:

The Admissionado Approach

We ultimately decided to focus on Kurt’s ambition and future goals to become a mathematician and philosopher. Through this vehicle we were able to explore and present his past experiences and who he is as a person, and how that has influenced his aspirations. We knew that other aspects of his accomplishments and character would be shown throughout the application, and that this particular focus would successfully tie all of his materials together to form one coherent application. It would also give Kurt the opportunity to explain his goals at greater length, which we felt was neccesary to explaining his enormous potential as a college student.

The Result

Kurt was accepted to the University of Virginia, his first choice, and a number of other programs.

Personal Shoutout

If we aren’t thousands of miles apart, I will certainly give my consultant a big hug. Without his encouragement and help, I could never get this far. The questions he challenged me with pushed me to think out of the box and they enrich my essays for so so much. I can still recall lots of interesting and inspiring discussions and the lessons I learn through them.