As application deadlines loom, it's zombie season across Vancouver for Grade 12 students vying for a spot at top-tier universities in Canada and abroad. Between October and January, students immerse themselves in a gruelling routine of caffeine-fuelled all-nighters and hours of seclusion just to craft the perfect essays and applications.
The starting line at elementary school: Passion projects, profile packaging
While most high school students begin researching colleges in Grade 10, some exceptional students begin preparing for standardized testing as early as Grade 7 or 8 in hopes of securing a spot at their dream school. Others even start laying their post-secondary foundation in elementary school to craft a consistent narrative.
Alice, who plans to attend the Dual BA Program between Columbia University and a public university in France, Sciences Po, says to focus on "profile packaging" if you’re applying to top schools in America. She explains that “high grades get you considered, but packaging according to your major is the most important thing.” This is where a passion project comes in.
A passion project is a self-initiated project a student creates and undertakes in hopes of diving deeply into a specific area or skill. For instance, a student aiming to attend a prestigious school may create their own jewellery businesses and donate profits to charities to showcase their academic interest in entrepreneurship and business.
The competition for admission is equally fierce for student athletes. Amelia plans to run for the University of Pennsylvania’s Division I Track and Field team this fall. She shares that “as an international applicant it’s definitely hard because there’s already a big pool of domestic athletes who they can offer less financial support to.” Amelia adds that she created five-year plans for her high school career in volleyball and track to demonstrate her commitment to her sports and academics.
The secret weapon of the admissions game: College consultants
Besides extensive tutoring in SAT/ACT and AP courses, some outstanding college applications could be the work of college consultants. An increasing number of families targeting top schools are turning to consultant services where prices can reach up to over $160,000 per academic year.
These consultants offer a range of services — from crafting compelling admissions essays and supplements to online tutoring and even creating the list of universities where the student will apply. As the demand for college consulting continues to skyrocket, the debate on inequality begins to unravel, particularly for less privileged families who are unable to afford such services.
Celebration or sabotage?
In highly competitive high schools, conversations about what students are doing outside of the classroom are noticeably absent. Students who are aware that admission officers make comparisons based on applicants from the same school may become increasingly guarded about revealing their extracurricular activities, volunteering opportunities, summer programs, and more, hoping to gain an edge in the admissions process.
The quote, “win in silence,” comes to mind.
When you open that acceptance letter from a top-tier university, it's natural to want to shout it from the rooftops and share your happiness with your friends. But in today's cutthroat academic climate, some students choose to keep their acceptances private for fear of sabotage. Shockingly, some students become consumed by jealousy and resort to extreme measures, such as contacting admission offices to rescind their peers' acceptances. Although rare, this behaviour creates an atmosphere of paranoia where students keep their acceptances under wraps to avoid unwanted attention and malicious attacks.
What do students wish parents would do?
Aurora, who plans to study law at King’s College London in the U.K., hopes for parents to have realistic expectations for what schools their children could get into. “I think that in many cases it's really easy for both parents and the student to both overestimate and underestimate their results, especially because so much time is spent waiting,” she says.
Emmy Woo, a senior at Vancouver's Crofton House School, is the first high school student writer for V.IA. She has contributed articles to Young Post by South China Morning Post and The Los Angeles Times HS Insider in the past. When she's not challenging senior citizens to a game of mahjong or using Duolingo to learn a new language, Emmy is an advocate for underrepresented voices in the media.
