After nearly a decade of college admissions advising, I can assure you that “spikiness” works. Applicants who pursue a single subject, cause or creative endeavor to the max in high school have a better time getting into college, especially those applying to highly selective universities from very competitive areas (like DC, NY, NorCal and Boston). If you could compare admission stats from those areas between spiky students and “well-rounded” students—those who do a little bit of everything—the spikes undoubtedly would come out on top.
But discussions of spiky applicants often miss a more important point: almost all admissions officers—including those at the most selective schools—see college as a time to seek out new interests, explore possibilities and change your mind (ok, maybe not if you’re an engineering student…but that’s a different story).
What colleges are really looking for is not spikiness or well-roundedness as much as intentionality. If you’re a spiky applicant, you’re being intentional; but there are many other ways to be intentional if having a single “spike” isn’t for you. Being intentional is not always about being laser-focused on a single pursuit, but about actively seeking out opportunities to engage, being thoughtful about them and, most importantly, being open to how your interests might lead you down pathways you didn’t expect.
Here are some ways to be intentional that colleges LOVE:
Finding a point of connection between two things you enjoy that seem very different
Trying something new just because you are curious about it
Being open to inspiration from current events and world news
Staying on the lookout for new questions to ask
Tuning in to shows, podcasts or articles that might help you expand your ideas about an area of interest
Committing to an activity or project without knowing exactly where it might lead
So, someone who loves the oboe and enjoyed precalc who chooses to take a class on the mathematics of music is being intentional; so is someone who listens to “How I Built This” and decides that they would learn more about entrepreneurship working in an ice-cream shop than as a lifeguard; so is someone who thought they wanted to be entrepreneur but, after hearing a great speech, decided they could have a bigger impact as a politician; so is someone who joined a philosophy club because their friends were in it, and ends up finding a philosophical angle for their upcoming history project.
There are millions of ways to be intentional without being spiky—and colleges want to hear about it!
There are hundreds of college podcasts out there, and they can be excellent windows on campus life, both inside and outside of the classroom. Here is a working list of college podcasts I've pulled together with an eye for those focused on undergraduate student experiences (excluding podcasts put out by graduate programs, and the whole multiverse of podcasts on college sports).
Finding a few podcasts to tune into can be a great way to extend your college research--both for learning about exciting opportunities that can help you narrow down your list, and for writing persuasive "Why Us" essays. You might pay special attention to podcasts put out by admissions offices on the application process (like Princeton's, Notre Dame's, Yale's, and Dartmouth's); podcasts that are student run (like Hopkins's, Grinnell's, and Penn's) and podcasts devoted to student life (like Penn's and Rice's).
I will continue to add schools as we get deeper into the spring "Demonstrating Interest" season. Please let me know if you have any college podcasts I should add to the list!