Character Counts

Home > Parents > Plan 4 college > High-school steps

The Child Behind the Numbers

From GPA and class rank, to SAT® results and test scores, it may feel as though the child you've raised to be honest, sensitive, generous, hardworking, and interesting has been reduced to nothing but a number by college admissions officers. While there is no denying that your child's 'numbers' are very important to the schools to which he's applying, it's also true that most colleges take into consideration the person behind those numbers. So, don't worry—your child's personality and strong character do make a difference.

Character Is Important to Colleges

Bucknell University: In selecting students, we look at academic achievement in high school, evidence of significant talent or ability, and strong personal qualities of character, leadership, and personality.

Swarthmore College: In the selection of students, the College seeks those qualities of character, social responsibility, and intellectual capacity that it is primarily concerned to develop. It seeks them not in isolation but as essential elements of the whole personality of candidates for admission.

Harvard College: Academic accomplishment in high school is important, but the Admissions Committee also considers many other criteria, such as community involvement, leadership and distinction in extracurricular activities, and work experience. We rely on teachers, counselors, headmasters, and alumni/ae to share information with us about applicants' strength of character, their ability to overcome adversity, and other personal qualities—all of which play a part in the Admissions Committee's decisions.

Trinity College: Trinity is keenly interested in attracting and admitting candidates who not only give ample proof of academic prowess, but also show evidence of such personal qualities as honesty, fairness, compassion, altruism, leadership, and initiative in their high school years.

Academic achievements are measured with grades and test scores, but qualities like character and personality are not as easy to measure. Following are some of the ways college admissions officers assess an applicant's character:

Extracurricular Activities

What your child does while not in school—and not studying—is considered by many admissions committees to be the most important measure of character and personality. Because they want to know who your child is, some applications go into some depth with questions about how your child spends his time. The number of activities in which your child participates is not nearly as important as what he gets out of his participation in each, and his ability to express in writing what he's learned, and how he's grown as a result.

College Essay

The college essay is a very important measure of your child's individuality. Unlike a test score, which says nothing about your child's character, the essay can show him as an authentic person—someone worth having at that college. He should be open in his opinions and his point of view, and not worry about what he thinks admission officers want to read. This is your child's opportunity to be himself—to show his true colors.

Letters of Recommendation

Recommendation letters, if well written, can speak volumes about the kind of person your child is, especially if they come from those who know him well, like teachers, coaches, and other mentors. A teacher can give insight not just about your child's learning style, but about his leadership in the classroom. Similarly, a coach, for example, can do more than just describe What your child does in the summer is not nearly as valuable as what she learns from the experience. your child's athletic ability; can also describe how he works with a team, how he handles responsibility, and how he reacts to winning and losing.

Summer Jobs and Activities

Colleges gain insight into your child's character and personality by asking about summer experiences. What your child chooses to do in the summer is not nearly as valuable as what he learns from the experience. Attending a prestigious summer school, or traveling to a third-world country to do community work can be as interesting and character building as pumping gas for the summer. It's all about how your child describes the experience—how it helped him to learn and grow.