How best colleges evaluate applicants, how to get students ready beyond books for Ivy League success

Since our world is quickly evolving towards an AI and tech-centric future, the college admissions process is no exception. The world economy needs more specialisation and inter-disciplinary problem-solving. The institutional agendas of the best colleges in the world also signify the shift.

Our education system, though, falls behind. Too much emphasis on intellectual brilliance leaves no room for building well-rounded profiles. As the Ivys pursue the intellectual whiz kids, they also search for good extracurricular profiles and individual narratives.

A good academic record can hardly make up for a lack of extracurriculars. An empty lack of academic and career counseling in high-school curriculum compounds the issue. Therefore, academically talented students sometimes fail to impress the admissions committee and their achievements are rendered worthless. This is even more important since the acceptances percentage in the top universities is approaching a historic low. During the previous cycle, we saw some of the percentages fall below 5%—and lower yet for Indian applicants only. 

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There is just one regulation to the process of applying: be engaging. The rules of success in the Ivy League carry over to success in life in general perfectly. So then the solution also is to go back to first principles of quality schooling. The liberal arts model practiced by the finest colleges, including the Ivies, tests students holistically, as opposed to simply on intellectual potential alone.

As was found during the 2014 lawsuit, Harvard evaluates its candidates on these 4 aspects, and collectively they are perfect to test the total growth of a young pupil. This model is adopted by the easiest measurement of total growth:

• Extracurricular: Find your Ikigai through extracurricular activities. Working on social impact personal projects helps in developing interpersonal skills, and pre-professional experiences build relevant transferable skills, providing industry context. Moreover, landing opportunities is an exercise in self-marketing, which is an extremely important skill to learn. Remember to think globally and act locally. The universities are keen to notice how you’re engaging with your local community and solving problems.

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• Personal: To develop the eye to view challenges as opportunities and a challenge of problem-solving and personal development. Social, Emotional, and Ethical learning values should be our guiding light. Values over information and knowledge but values such as ethics, synthesis, and growth, education is necessary to understand this complex world. Being antifragile, inquisitive, leaders, resilient, and culturally embedded is crucial in today's rapidly changing career landscape.
• Academic: Gain scholarly strength. Graduating from high school does not suffice, do high school academic scholarship. Interdisciplinary research is needed to achieve mature balanced scholarly perception. A scholar who has a more holistic perspective across disciplines is a superior problem-solver, entrepreneur, and leader.
• Athletics: Competitive sport is usually the steppingstone to a lifetime of healthy productive life. Colleges also hungrily seek world-class athletes among their student body. Being an athlete in itself isn't necessarily necessary for the process, but sport can be the teacher of values such as discipline, perseverance, team work, and leadership—something very coveted in application season.

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The common denominator for these demands is authenticity, which is a core aspect of personal branding. Thus, one must find one's Ikigai and promise to become brilliant at it, instead of being chased for piecemeal pursuits in the cause of college admissions. The career has to offer teachers particular, moment-to-moment tools and techniques to access the maximum potential of students so they can succeed in their studies as much as in life. Alumni networking has to be facilitated such that there is a system of support and advantage derived from the valid experience of seniors.

In short, the perfect applicant is someone who demonstrates that they can make it in life. Colleges want students who can explain the world's complexities and also challenge themselves. Take the admissions process as an opportunity to discover your voice, find yourself, and where you are meant to be. Bet on yourself and the rest will follow!