With the college applicant pool becoming more and more competitive each year, it is crucial to differentiate yourself from other achieved high school students to optimize your chances of getting into a top university.

In this post, we demystify the process of building the perfect college application with 3 easy steps to help you curate a winning profile.

The Importance of Personal Branding in College Admissions Walmart’s Core Values.

Amazon’s Four Principles.

Tesla’s Pillars.

When scrolling through a company’s website, there’s always a tab at the top unfailingly marked ‘Our Values’ or something of the equivalent.

Companies all have a penultimate goal: to sell to you.

Branding is all but a part of the process of building memorability, cohesiveness, and credibility in order to incentivize you to buy from one company over another.

Mastering the college application process, it turns out, is not so different.

The key to creating the perfect college application that’s received favorably by admission committees lies in thinking of yourself as a company, trying to sell your mission—your unique personal brand—so that your dream college chooses to invest in you over another applicant.

Therefore, creating the perfect college application doesn't stem from a one-size-fits all approach.

The key to crafting the ultimate applicant profile lies in developing a compelling set of extracurriculars that fits your unique personal brand.

Step One in Creating the Perfect College Application: Identifying Your Personal Brand The biggest mistake students make in trying to land a coveted spot at a top university is trying to pad their resume with unrelated extracurriculars when they can’t decide on a clear theme.

While the dedication is admirable, it is much more practical to start from the idea instead of the execution.

Determining your personal brand will pave the foundation for your spike, an essential in the perfect college application.

This is an exceptional collection of extracurriculars focused on a specific area of interest that makes you stand out.

To brainstorm ideas for your brand, let’s go to the drawing board.

If you don’t happen to have a massive dry-erase board just lying around in your home, don't worry—a simple piece of paper will suffice.

First, jot down four or five words, or values that describe you and are integral to your identity.

Here’s an example:  Research Writing Advocacy Environmentalism Art Each of these values should speak to a part of who you are as a person.

In other words, imagine you’re writing a short bio for your professional X account.

What few words summarize you and the work you do, or wish to do?

While the more unique the better, it’s completely okay for some—or all—of your values to be more general (like mine).

However, steer clear from writing basic descriptors like ‘student’ or ‘high schooler. ’ The idea is that each one of your words has the capacity to be explored individually or in tangent with another (more on this later).

Have a bit of fun as you’re playing around with this.

Feel free to jot down your favorite hobbies, your heritage, or even your geographical location.

If it’s important to you, then it matters!

Step Two in Creating the Perfect College Application: Bridging Your Interests Now that you’ve narrowed your list of values down, I want you to flip your paper over, space your words across the page, and draw a large circle around each of them.

Now, here’s where the magic happens.

Observe your values and start brainstorming ways that they can integrate by labeling the overlaps between circles.

Going back to my example, I see ‘Research’ and 'Advocacy. ’ A way that I can connect these two values is by exploring the field of policy research!

And here’s the kicker: I can combine multiple values if I want to.

If I add ‘Environmentalism’ to the mix, I can research the extent to which environmental legislation has mitigated climate change.

If I just want to focus on ‘Advocacy’ and ‘Environmentalism,’ I can start a student organization that promotes environmental awareness.

In the same vein, by merging ‘Art,’ ‘Writing,’ and ‘Environmentalism,’ I can create a digital zine that details ways to reduce one’s carbon footprint in the household.

See?

The possibilities are truly endless!

Let your imagination run wild.

In addition, if you need some additional inspiration, don’t forget you can always do some research online to see the work others are pioneering in your fields of interest.

What makes this method so great is that it’s versatile.

It allows your list of values to be fluid since it’s completely reasonable that what might captivate you today might be the same thing you lose interest in after half a year.

But quantifying your character on paper allows you to more easily see a distinguishable line that connects all of your personal values and therefore weaves a cohesive personal brand together.

Step Three in Creating the Perfect College Application: Implementing Your Personal Brand So I’ve got my brainstorming sheet.

Now what?

This next step in building the perfect college application is where you'll do the most heavy lifting.

You have your ideas, but it’s time for the execution.

As a high schooler, the array of opportunities available may be more limited.

But don’t be discouraged—this hasn’t stopped the thousands of high-achieving students every year from securing the internships and positions of their dreams.

First, identify what you already have.

No detail is too small.

It may be positions you’ve held or currently hold at school clubs, some meaningful work you’ve contributed as a volunteer, etc.

Then, compile this information, along with your academic credentials such as GPA and class rank, into a resume.

This will ensure your experiences into a format that will be easily translatable to potential mentors and employees.

Now, it’s time to reach out for opportunities!

For most high schoolers, they don’t have existing connections to the field they want to work in.

It may also be unfathomable to think that a high schooler can land an internship at a biotech company or conduct research at the most prestigious universities in the world.

But what if I told you it’s completely possible?

Check out Rishab’s free complete guide on internships where he explains how he did just that.

He goes over essential strategies such as:  Cold emailing Drafting a memorable cover letter How to ace the interview for an internship Media platforms for showcasing your skills Search strategies for finding opportunities These tried-and-true methods will significantly up your chances of landing a position, whether it be at a lab, law firm, or startup company.

For high schoolers with no previous experience in internship-hunting, it’s an excellent place to start.

Aside from internships and jobs, high school programs are also great opportunities to explore.

These experiences are specifically catered to individuals from ages 14-18 and span across multiple fields and disciplines in STEM and the humanities.

The only caveat is that many of these programs are competitive, so it’s best to apply to multiple and have backup options. https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=32Uq1qNSDz4&t=17s&ab_channel=RishabJain Watch Rishab’s video to get a comprehensive run-down of the top summer high school programs for STEM.

Once you’ve racked up enough experience and knowledge in your fields of interest, competitions may also be a good place to expand your breadth and meet tons of other like-minded people!

Similar to high school programs, there are a plethora of high school competitions around the world.

These dabble in virtually all fields of study, from the International Research Olympiad to DECA.

Finally, there’s always an option to start your own club or organization that aligns with your personal brand if you feel there isn’t a niche out there specific enough for your values.

Don’t be afraid to take risks—the world is your oyster.

Concluding Remarks In conclusion, everyone's extracurricular profile and personal story differs from person to person.

However, creating the perfect college application lies in creating a unique personal brand that ties everything you’ve done together.

Think about building your ultimate differentiating factor.

This is a theme so special that colleges are certain they won’t come across another student like you.

Finally, it’s inevitable that you might be compelled to look at your high-achieving peers and feel discouraged about your own progress.

However, keep in mind that everyone is on their own timeline.

Every person starts from square one, but it’s consistency and drive that gets you to one hundred.

Best of luck in your endeavors!

Additional Resources to Strengthen Your Applicant Profile Does your personal niche overlap with STEM?

If so, good news!

Here's the ultimate free STEM guide to research programs, competitions, internships, and more to further establish your personal brand.