Colleges Admit Personality Hires

One of my students got into Notre Dame, Emory, Barnard, UCLA, and Berkeley as a pre-med.

With a 1310 SAT.

Not a 1510. Not a 1580. A 1310.

Before someone’s father opens Naviance and starts doing deep breathing exercises, no, this was not random. This was not luck. This was not “test optional gone wild.”

Her essay opened with three words:

I keep going.

And she meant it. She was a distance runner, so endurance was already part of her life. Her father was a type 2 diabetic who endured more than 18 surgeries before his death. She helped care for him. She watched him fight for mobility.

When he died at 2:53 a.m., she was at school by 7:45 a.m. By 12:30 p.m., she was taking a science test.

She got a 100.

That detail is insane, not because colleges want teenagers to be little grief machines who never rest, but because her essay understood what it meant. Her point was not “I am tough.” Her point was: love is persistence.

The rest of the application proved she was not just resilient. She was electric.

She processed her adoption and Hispanic heritage by choosing a dual-immersion school and performing 120+ traditional dances with Ballet Folklórico. She launched a TikTok campaign about being Black in suburbia that hit 1.6 million views, with thousands of girls participating in the conversation. She was a state-level runner who cut more than eight minutes off her 5K time. She was a killer Girl Scout with 150+ badges, actual wilderness skills, first aid training, and a bizarrely charming amount to say about sisterhood and competence.

She raised over $23,000 for Girls Soccer Worldwide, mentored younger girls in sports, worked as a camp counselor, helped build up a tiny Black Student Union, and still carried serious home responsibilities while caring for her father.

Your Personality Counts More Than Your SAT

Colleges are totally transparent about that. They release common data sets that show us how they evaluate students. Every college has a different data set.

This is where colleges rank admissions factors: rigor, GPA, test scores, essays, recommendations, extracurriculars, talent, character, personal qualities.

And at elite colleges, “character/personal qualities” is often marked as very important.

That’s why some interesting, brave, and fantastic students don’t get into their state school but then get into the Ivy League.

In many cases, character sits right next to academic rigor and GPA. Sometimes it is ranked above standardized testing. A high test score proves academic ability. It does not prove anyone wants to live with you, teach you, fund you, mentor you, recommend you, or claim you as an alum.

It’s Hard To Be A Personality Hire

So many students who are competing for Ivy League and top-notch schools do not have depth of character. They don’t take risks because they’re obsessed with being perfect. They’ve never faced really serious adversity because their parents have done everything to make them into success monsters.

That’s why some kids with the 1560 can’t get into a single top college.

To clarify, you don’t have to have gone through something harrowing to be someone with deep, deep character, but you do have to be an introspective, meaningful soul who took responsibilities no one else was willing to and developed perspectives that don’t come easy.

That’s why a lot of my students end up doing very well in the college admissions process because I force them to examine their lives and find meaning in them.

The essay is a great conduit for this, but so can extracurriculars when leveraged correctly.

I’ll say, when I met this student, I instantly adored her. Her essays were almost too bold, but she had such bravery to her that she was irresistible. It was obvious she was going to give all of herself to this process because that’s who she is and always will be.

This Is Why Activities Matter More Than Parents Think

people often mistake exceptionalism for meaning, however.

• Ballet folklorico was not just dance, it was about our heritage and teaching.
• Girl Scouts wasn’t just about badges, but a long-term commitment to helping other people feel capable as girls.
• Cross-country wasn’t just about athletics, but it was a way of expressing power where her father couldn’t.
• And yes, making TikToks about being black and suburban was ballsy and incredibly meaningful.

Often, the things that we don’t write about or don’t expect on a resume look great on college applications. Caretaking, for one, is amazing. So is examining religious texts by yourself in your bedroom.

The Essay and Recommendations Are the Interview

In the professional world, the interview counts a ton. Sure, your resume gets you in, but the interview gets you hired. Some people view essays and recommendations as accessories to the application. However, they are its entire spine.

This is logical for the schools because every office needs personality hires. Every single school needs deep, interesting people because they are likely going to be hugely accomplished.

Elite colleges aren’t institutions that make successful people. They identify them.

My student was not another “pre-med applicant.”

She was a daughter. A runner. A caretaker. A performer. A cultural bridge. A digital organizer. A mentor. A Black girl in suburbia with something to say. An adopted Latina student who did not treat identity like a checkbox, but like something she had to seek, build, dance, speak, and live her way into.

She did not need to be the top testing student in the pile because she already looked like someone who was going to be successful in life.

This person has a point of view, a social presence, emotional depth, and enough lived complexity to become someone people want to know, teach, fund, mentor, recommend, and eventually claim as an alum.

So Yes, Colleges Admit Personality Hires

And honestly? They should.

A student still needs to be academically credible. Nobody is getting into Notre Dame, Emory, Barnard, UCLA, and Berkeley as a pre-med because they are merely charming. My student had phenomenal grades. More importantly, she was interesting.

That will be the first question I ask you if you work with me. Are you not just great at things but destined for greatness?

My work is figuring out classes and defining extracurriculars, but most of all, it’s figuring out how to be more than a piece of paper, but a person others want in the room.