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Develop a Student Theme

Your college applications should clearly express a student theme. A student theme is a clear, consistent and compelling picture of your personality and character. It is a portrait of WHO you are and what interests you. Your theme should show how your interests, strengths and character relate to your goals and achievements; it should clearly link (1) your interests, (2) your activities and (3) your college/career goals.

For example, a college-bound student may be planning to major in biology with a pre-med emphasis. Ideally, this student’s theme should paint a picture of an enthusiastic student with high achievements/honors in biology and other sciences, involvement with science organizations, volunteer service at a local hospital, and personal gratification from working with others. This student’s personality, character, and accomplishments should be included (to the extent possible) in every part of the application including:

• Student Résumé
• Essays
• Letters of recommendations from adults
• The application itself (include the most important aspects of your student theme into the list of extracurricular activities, short answer questions, and leadership questions on the application).

Incorporating your student theme into all application materials will help college admissions officers focus on your key characteristics and strong points; a student theme will highlight what makes you unique and what assets you will bring to a college community. Having a consistent student theme in all application materials will increase the odds of you getting accepted to college.