Recipe For Selective Admissions

If it’s not already obvious from this website, I spend most of my days thinking about two things: university admissions and my next kitchen experiment.

Over the years, I’ve realized that the selective* U.S. admissions process and cooking have more in common than you’d think. There isn’t one perfect recipe for a mouthwatering lasagna, but there are essential ingredients: tomato sauce, cheese sauce, meat or veggies, seasonings, and lasagna sheets (or eggplant/zucchini, if you're watching the carbs).

Admissions is much the same. There’s no guaranteed formula for getting into a highly selective college, but there are core ingredients that matter:

• A transcript that shows you're performing in at least the top half of your class (realistically, top 10% or top 25%, if you're at a more rigorous high school that doesn't officially rank)

• Test scores (SAT or ACT) at or above your school's median

• Letters of recommendation that speak to the kind of learner and leader you are

• Activities that offer a glimpse into what drives you outside the classroom (and why)

• And essays that reveal your story and core values

Like a homemade lasagna, the quality of each ingredient often determines the caliber of college options. An unseasoned sauce that hasn't been simmering, or a one-dimensional personal statement that doesn't teach your AO anything new about you, may throw the whole thing off...especially when you're trying to cater to the tastebuds of AOs who are trained to be picky eaters (i.e., an acceptance rate <10%).

This is why college counselors always emphasize building a balanced list. Your thoughtfully layered lasagna will likely appeal to some admissions officers (AOs), but not all, and that's perfectly OK. Some of us love a creamy pesto; others a bolognese or a béchamel. (This, dear chefs, is a metaphor for institutional priorities, but we’ll dig into that layer another day.)

Above all else, your goal in this process is to create a lasagna you're proud of, one you’d happily enjoy yourself. Ideally, you'll be creative and reflective. And if you're lucky, there will be moments when time feels like it briefly suspends as you layer your ingredients with precision and care.

*Note that selective US admissions generally refers to colleges and universities with acceptance rates below 50% (i.e., institutions that deny more applications, not students, than they accept). Highly selective institutions are those with acceptance rates below 25%.