_edited.png)
Your inbox may be full of (misleading) promotions from places with names like Lumiere and Polygence... these "pay to play" research platforms connect high school students with graduate students for the sake of "publishing" "research." The number of "scare quotes" I'm using should be an indicator of most admission professionals' opinion about these businesses.
ProPublica did some in-depth reporting on this phenomenon, which is causing many well-intended parents and students to sign on for what is essentially an unproductive use of a student's valuable time, in the name of accolades to list in applications to highly selective institutions.
Trust me when I say that authenticity matters in all the ways a student spends their time! College admission officers have learned about these programs, and while listing a published paper of this type may not hurt a student, it's time that could have been better spent. Any endeavors that are self-generated and self-directed, and appropriate for a high school student, will resonate far more in an application.
This recent piece in the NY Times appropriately critiques the "branding" of students that you hear about more and more on Facebook parent panic groups, on Tik-Tok and elsewhere.
It’s not just that these courses cut corners on self-discovery; it’s that they get the process backward. A personal brand is effective only if you can support it with action, so instead of finding their passion and values through experience, students are encouraged to select a passion as early as possible and then rack up the experience to substantiate it. Many college consultants suggest beginning to align your activities with your college ambitions by ninth grade, while the National Institute of Certified College Planners recommends students “talk with parents, guardians, and/or an academic adviser to create a clear plan for your education and career-related goals” in junior high.
The idea of a group of middle schoolers soberly mapping out their careers is both comical and depressing, but when I read student essays today, I can see that this advice is getting through.
The idea of "branding" oneself in the extreme ways described here is counterproductive to a healthy college application process. I'm reminded of the wise words of a late, great counseling friend who used to talk about the "Zen of College Admission:" The more your choices are defined by what you think a college admission officer wants to see, the less interesting your record and application will be to a college admission officer.
The selling of unneeded vanity ("passion") projects and other ostensibly differentiating deliverables are among the many reasons you should choose college admission consultants carefully. Those of us with admission experience and significant school-based counseling experience, which yields relationships and insights into college admission offices, focus on helping the student explore and deepen interests in healthy, productive, authentically-motivated ways.
Comments