If you found this page, you’re probably a counselor, parent, coach, or student who is looking to find tools for helping. If you check out any of the other blogs here, then you will likely see a bias towards applying to higher-institutions, to sacrifice in the present for long-term benefit. My biases are a reflection of my personal values-which are an essential part of “my why”. They motivate me and help me align my actions in the present with my goals in the future. I feel this was especially true when I got tired of studying, sports, sorting through deadlines, and everything else I had to juggle with along the college road. In another blog post, I will talk more about identifying your values. Now though, for the sake of transparency, here are mine.
- It’s better to “do too much” and set yourself up for success than not enough. At the start of highschool, I didn’t have a specific pathway set out for me. But I wanted to take all the AP classes (partly because of academic validation), I wanted to be valedictorian, etc. etc. I think part of this is just a natural drive to win (I’m very competitive), but I think this is important. It’s hard to get into a selective college based on chance (I would say impossible). You’ll have to work for it.
- My experiences are different and valuable. There is a sort of confidence that is necessary when applying to “elite undergraduate institutions.” You have to feel that to some degree there’s a chance you get in. As someone who didn’t start a nonprofit or company, I still felt that I was a hard-worker. This is always a work in progress, but you have to believe that on some level you’re worthy of going to these types of colleges.
- Failure is okay. I got rejected from Jackie Robinson very quickly. I didn’t get the Coke Scholarship Finalist. I was rejected by Bryan Cameron very quickly.
- Success is great, but it doesn’t mean everything. I had a lot of failures and success. I got into MIT, Yale, Vanderbilt. I received various scholarships and awards: Gates, National Merit, Jack Kent Cooke. The failures hit hard (not good for self-esteem smh) and the wins made me ecstatic. The important thing was that I didn’t let the failures stop me from applying and the successes didn’t make me feel immune to failure.
- I’ll do my best and see where it ends. This is probably the most important. Learning to give your all and then accept the outcome is hard. I learned it from school, from sports, and family. This attitude is so important. You might get accepted early, deferred and accepted late, deferred and denied, or flat out denied. These outcomes are all very real and possible. Learning to accept the effort you give is important. Your acceptance is not a reflection of your value or quality as a person.
These are my values. In another post (link here), I’ll discuss how I gained these and why you should have them too. I hope something resonated with you. If there’s one takeaway, I think it should be the importance of values. These ideas have guided my life before, through, and after applying. They are what I credit my success to. Make sure you figure out what you value.
Seth Robles, MIT 2027