“I’m delighted to inform you that the Admissions Committee has voted to admit you to Middlebury College for the term beginning in September, 2013….Our decision-making process considers not only the academic qualifications of our candidates, but also their character and fortitude….”
“It is with great pleasure that I write to offer you admission to the University of Virginia and to invite you to join the first-year class in the College of Arts and Sciences. Your inclusion in this group is a testament to your hard work and superior academic performance as well as the personal qualities that distinguish you from your peers.”
Tonight I am thinking about my Juniors who have taken their ACT today, preceded by their SATs last Saturday, and further preceded by their AP exams last month. They are also taking their finals this week and next. They are fueled by the promise of a respite during the summer, slated to begin in only a few short weeks, during which they will have the opportunity to work on their college application essays and to prepare for yet one more (perhaps final) round of standardized testing in the Fall. They can hardly wait to power up their Common App accounts when the Common Application goes live for next year on August 1.
What keeps these kids going? It’s not the cheering of their parents, who by this point are too awestruck by the perseverance of these kids to do much more than step aside, fearful of doing something to break the (albeit fragile) momentum that drives these students forward. There is no external force that can push these students as hard as they can push themselves. They are motivated by an internal drive to perform to the best of their abilities. Grit provides their adrenalin. Grit has kept them working hard not just during these final weeks of junior year, but week after week, month after month, year after year.
And guess what? Colleges notice grit. Many of the most selective colleges, like Middlebury College and the University of Virginia in the opening passages above, actually place a significant value on “character and personal qualities” in the admission process. Whether they call it character, personal fortitude, persistence, perseverance or determination, one character trait of enormous value (and not just in college admissions) is Grit.
Colleges seek Grit because Grit is becoming more and more recognized as a significant factor in determining who will succeed. Indeed, the work of University of Pennsylvania’s Dr. Angela Lee Duckworth has determined that Grit – the tendency to sustain interest and effort toward a very long-term goal – is a significant indicator of success. Duckworth claims that Grit contributes to success more than Talent and more than IQ.
Colleges seek students who are likely to succeed and recognize Grit as a significant predictor of college retention and overall success. According to information they report on the Common Data Set, some of the colleges that place Character on equal footing with Grades and Academic Rigor (“Very Important” in the admissions decision) include Amherst, Bowdoin, Babson, Brown, Bucknell, Bates, Claremont-McKenna, Colby, William and Mary, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Chapman, Emory, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Middlebury, NYU, Pomona, Princeton, Stanford, Swarthmore, Tufts, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, Vanderbilt, WUSTL, Washington & Lee, Wellesley and Yale. Others like Bentley, Colgate, Boston College, Carleton, Case Western, Lehigh, Trinity College, Notre Dame, Wesleyan and Williams consider Character only slightly less significant (“Important.”)
So Juniors, when you are working on your essays this summer, be sure to tell your story. Colleges will not know about your grit unless you tell them about it in your application. You can do this through the story you tell in your essay or in the way you are described in your counselor’s or teacher’s letters of recommendation. Be sure your counselor is aware of any obstacles you have overcome during your high school years. Prepare a resume and give it to your counselor so she can easily reference your achievements and attest to your perseverance.
But most of all, be confident that your grit is likely to be more valuable than any singular “dream college” might be in helping you to achieve your goals.
