"What are some college application red flags?" ©Quora


"Here are some that come to mind:

1. Mentioning the wrong school in your essay… “I really want to attend Harvard…” when submitting the essay to MIT.

2. No idea why you want to attend the school. Not being able to answer “Why Duke?” Or saying you want to go to Duke because of the basketball team, when you don’t play basketball.

3.Applying and referring to a major they don’t even have, because you re-used the essay from another school. “I really want to major in architecture…”

4. Stating “facts” with no evidence or basis in reality, “People tell me I’m a really good singer…” but you’ve never even been in a singing group.

5. Lukewarm recommendations*

6. Lame excuses about why your grades suffered. You’re not supposed to fail even if you had mono. Leave that sort of justification to your HS counselor to include.

7. Claims of greatness in sports, when you haven’t even been on varsity before your senior year.

8. Silly, made up leadership or clubs created just for the app

9.Obvious lack of engagement or passion. Sense of entitlement.

10. “And that is the summer I helped the poor people of color”

11. Using lack of preparation as a badge of honor. “I didn’t study for the SAT but I still got a pretty good score.”

12. Using “I skipped a grade” as an excuse for your immaturity.

13. Making it like everything you did is unique when it is commonplace. Hint: If you watch something on NetFlix or HBO, so do other people. It not like watching GoT qualifies you as a history major.

14. Expecting brownie points for doing something everyone should do anyway, such as, “I was brave enough to march in protest of an unfair school policy, at the risk of detention.”

15. No sense of perspective. An applicant that reeks of the stench of white privilege.

16. Anything obviously racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, etc.

17. Too much focus on money

18. Any mention of school ranking

19. Telling the admissions officer what they already know, “MIT is world-renowned for its engineering education…”

…and many more"


Link: https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-college-application-red-flags/answer/Bruce-Epstein-3?ch=15&oid=47745970&share=4a169366&srid=hplbNZ&target_type=answer

*lukewarm recommendation - weak rec letter written by someone who doesn't know you well

#quora

@ellsletter