THREE Lessons from Dartmouth’s Dean of Admissions
Jack Beecher, here.
Last year, Dartmouth’s dean of admissions gave a talk to parents about college admissions. Last weekend, I talked to a parent who attended it.
This parent recited to me their three big takeaways and I couldn’t help but smile.
Why? They are the same exact lessons we constantly preach in the program.
Here they are:
Different > Difficult
The dean of admissions at Dartmouth shared they had a pile called “same as others.” Once your application is in this pile, your chances of admission are low.
To avoid this pile, the dean recommended avoiding common activities. Every student has a “non-profit” they start or a couple basic clubs they’re “a leader” of. Very few students have true unique activities that no other applicant has listed. For instance, one of my top activities was “Professional Fortnite Player.” I’m sure that helped me sidestep the same as others pile.
Depth over Breadth
Another insight this parent shared was that the Dean said they prioritize students with 1 or 2 deep activities rather than those with 10 activities at a mediocre level. This should come as a relief. You don’t need to stress yourself out joining club after club. Focus on one or two things and be great at them. Your college admissions chances will thank you.
Apply to Many Schools (let luck help you out)
Schools look for students to fill specific spots. Maybe it’s a trumpet player for their marching band, a physics student for a new undergraduate research position, or a soccer player for their club team. The problem is, as applicants, we have no idea what these spots are.
So instead of putting all your eggs in one school's basket, spread your luck around and apply to several schools (the dean recommended 10). Who knows, you might just perfectly fit one of your reach school’s mold and get in when you don’t expect it. You don’t know unless you try.
I hope you enjoy these lessons as much as I did,
Jack Beecher
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