Back-To-School Season Is Go Time For Ivy League Hopefuls
While many families assume it's your grades or test scores that carry the most weight, Ivy League admissions officers are increasingly asking: What sets this student apart? What do they truly care about? And how have they used their free time to deepen their academic interests?
Here's how students can treat the back-to-school season not as a return to routine, but as a launchpad for standing out.
1. Recalibrate Your Resume
A new school year is the perfect time to take stock of your extracurricular activities. But here's the truth: it's not about how many clubs you join, it's about what you do within them. Admissions officers at top colleges aren't tallying your hours, they're scanning for leadership, consistency, and authentic love of learning.
If you're tempted to add a new activity each semester, pause. Instead, ask yourself:
As Heidi Steinmetz Lovette, Top Tier Admissions Senior Private Counselor and former Assistant Director of Admissions at Cornell University, explains: 'We sometimes used 'busy' as a quiet shorthand for students trying to do it all. It wasn't a compliment—it meant they had taken on too much without showing why any of it mattered, and were pursuing things to check off boxes rather than with real intention or interest.'
Whether you're leading your robotics team or launching a community garden, showcasing initiative and follow-through will always beat a long but shallow list of extracurricular involvement.
2. Make Writing a Weekly Habit
For seniors, the fall semester is crunch time to write your college essays, and the difference between a good application and a great one often comes down to how well you tell your story. This is the time for students of all ages to develop a writing practice that strengthens your voice and brings clarity to your ideas. That could mean:
For younger students, building strong writing habits will serve you well in high school, college applications, and beyond. The earlier you start thinking critically about how your experiences connect, and challenging yourself to experiment with different genres, the more authentic and compelling your college essays will be. A great way to begin is to contribute to your school newspaper or literary magazine.
3. Think Like an Admissions Officer
This fall, commit to becoming a more intentional, engaged observer of the world around you. Why? Because top colleges—especially Ivy League institutions—seek students who demonstrate curiosity, critical thinking, and the ability to engage respectfully with those who hold different perspectives. That means reading thoughtfully, asking questions, and being willing to challenge your own assumptions.
One of Harvard University's supplemental essay questions asks: Describe a time when you strongly disagreed with someone about an idea or issue. How did you communicate or engage with this person? What did you learn from this experience?
To prepare for questions like this, and to grow as a scholar and community member, try this weekly exercise:
Read one article from a national newspaper (like The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal) and one from your local or school publication. Then, ask yourself:
Whether you're interested in healthcare equity or sustainable design, top schools want students who connect their intellectual interests to real-world challenges and personal experiences. To build this habit, consider entering The New York Times Summer Reading Contest. It's a great way to practice engaging with current events with purpose.
4. Build a Roadmap to Your Zone of Genius
The concept of the 'zone of genius,' coined by author Gay Hendricks, describes the unique space where your natural talents, passions, and sense of purpose intersect. It's the place where your work feels both deeply fulfilling and uniquely your own. For students, leaning into this zone can lead to meaningful projects that stand out far more than a checklist of activities.
This fall, choose one project, pursuit, or question to explore in depth—something that aligns with your strengths and curiosity. For example:
When you work from your zone of genius, the results feel authentic, and they can lead to the kind of accomplishments that resonate most with admissions officers.
5. Reframe College Prep as Self-Discovery
Too often, students approach college admissions with a scarcity mindset: Am I doing enough? Will I get in? What if I fail?
Instead, college applicants should think of these next few months as a rare opportunity to articulate who you are, what you care about, and how you hope to grow. The strongest applicants I've worked with aren't the ones who checked the same boxes, they're the ones who can connect their authentic interests and meaningful experiences with intention and depth.
As the school year begins, set goals not only for grades and test scores, but for questions you want to ask, mentors you want to meet, and risks you're ready to take. Ivy League schools don't just admit students, they admit people. Be the kind of person who's building something meaningful, starting now.
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