What Achievements Can Students Write About?
by Kathleen M.
If you are stumped about how to present your achievements in an application essay for a summer program or for a college application, think about what you want to highlight about you.
What makes you different? What makes you a good applicant?
One articles suggests that what may be important to link to your achievements are character traits you might not initially think of a part of achievement, like compassion, curiosity, and cultural intelligence. So look at the list of things you have done so far as a part of your high school life, and consider what story you want to tell about yourself.
Maybe you live in a more rural area and are a part of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) and participated in an interesting project with the club. You might also be an officer in the club, and have directed the activity. Both of these would be achievements.
Maybe you are a Scout and reached the highest level. What was your final project? How did you contribute to your community? What did you learn about civics from your participation?
Maybe your science fair project was innovative or unusual. Maybe you participated in a special project at your school or during a break that taught you something different in a STEM subject.
Maybe you are particularly skilled at music – or your band raised money and participated in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (or some other special presentation).
Maybe you’ve helped take care of an older grandparent by driving them to weekly meetings with their friends and preparing food that avoids a complicated list of allergens. Even personal responsibilities like these can be worth writing about.
Choosing an achievement and deciding what value/trait to focus on in your essay is your aim. What do you want to tell the selection committee about you?
