Before you decide on the theme of your application, you should take stock of who you are. After all, the application presents who you are to the colleges, and you have to decide who is the person you want to present in the Common Application.

When you have a theme, you present a coherent picture of who you are, whether you would be a good fit with the college and where you are likely to go in the future.

So, what will your theme be?

It all depends on who you are. Are you passionate, curious, entrepreneurial, driven, academic, funny, compassionate, a natural leader, nature lover, avid jazz musician and so on? Well rounded should NEVER be one of your descriptors for an application to a top college.

Pick 5 or 6 adjectives that best describe you and that you want the college to know about. Make sure these descriptors recur and are reinforced throughout your application.

These descriptors are your theme - they tell a story about who you are and what qualities you possess.

Where is your theme highlighted in the Common Application?

• Activities - you demonstrate who you are through your activities.

• Essay - the best place to share about yourself.

• Letters of Recommendation - if your recommender’s information packet is well thought out, it will project your theme and help your recommender elaborate and provide additional perspective on it.

• Supplemental Essays - these too enable you to demonstrate who you are.

Keep the theme authentic and honest

Resist the temptation to present who you think the colleges want to see. The experienced readers will see right through you, and leave your application in the “reject’ pile.

Present who you are, that’s who the colleges want, not who you think you should be for purposes of college admissions.

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