Indulging in 'GAMING' or Genuine Profile Building!

How important are the Profile Building Exercises?

Dear Parents,

One of the most standard questions that are aimed at me is – How important are the profile-building activities for college admissions?

While the inquiry is mostly the same, the information they seek is always different. How can I tell?

The intensity of the questions differs. Sometimes it is more like a statement and asked of me as a challenge to understand what importance I grant. It has also come loaded with Anxiety, mostly for those whose children are currently in the 12th grade and have been convinced that they have missed the venerated bus to the admissions.

What is my Answer? Yes, it is crucial or No, it isn’t.

Like all answers in life, this too lies somewhere in between these two.

In today’s article, I wish for parents to understand one uncomplicated truth - Each Child will have his/her unique journey.

If you are out there to make clones, then yes The Activities are critical. If you understand that your child is unique and will handle each situation distinctively, then no the activities are not critical. Single rule to determine - The CHILD is important and so is his/her mental health.

If you have read my previous article, I have pointed out the activities that matter – Debating, Publishing, Sports, Research projects, Internships, Volunteer work, Advance Placements, Standardized Tests, and Academic Scores. PHEW!!?Then there were more!

To understand the importance, you may begin by answering one question- Can your child handle all of this and not overlook the academic grades? After all Academic Performance in high school is the single most important factor in the student selection process at most universities, the evaluation process takes a much wide approach, but the grades matter in most universities both overseas and domestic. When I say grades, I include the 12th-grade academic testing that each university considers, standardized testing scores or the entrance exams. The academic ask will vary at different universities. Be diligent and find out the single most important factor that demonstrates the academic readiness required by the universities.

On the one hand, the grades are the tools to demonstrate the academic readiness of the student for the universities, and the Extra-Curricular or soft factors reflect the student's capability. If the two can co-exists and complements each other, then definitely take them up, push your child, and create a worthy PROFILE. If, however, you at any point feel that your child is going to get mislaid with all of this, then take a step back and think again. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT follow the list blindly. A single activity which can demonstrate passion and college readiness can be enough to convince the admissions officers and sometimes a buffet of activities may not convey the character or passion of the student. It will fall short, no matter how impressive it looks on paper.

So the deciding factor – Do the collective activities apprise your child’s story or not? Does the passion of the child echoes through the application or not? Are these activities interfering with the basic ask – Grades or portfolio? Use these to navigate your path, keeping a keen eye on your child for his/her interest and his/her performance.

Advice in the report ‘Turning the Tide, Inspiring Concern for Others and the Common Good through College Admissions’ A Project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

“Finally, we recognize that we cannot prevent some students from “gaming” community service. But in valuing sustained and high-quality forms of service we can increase the likelihood that what students “game” will have considerably more benefit than it currently does for a large number of students. Guidance counsellors, admissions officers and other stakeholders can also send a strong message that college admissions officers are far more alert to “gaming” than is commonly perceived.”

The Gaming as they are referring is the superficial profile-building exercises. It is an attempt to warn the students that the admissions officers can look past them. Trust me when I say, they really can.

So going back to - How important is it to have the RIGHT PROFILE? Very, but only if it complements your child's performance without bordering on ‘Gaming’ and does not interfere with the academic performance and more importantly mental health.