Stop Taking Shortcuts in Life
You know that family member who only (and always) shows up when he needs something? What is your gut reaction to his appearance?
Or what about the attractive man or woman who just seems to want you for the number of digits in your bank account, not for who you are?
In general, we don’t feel great around people who don’t have the truest of intentions. These are often folks who look for shortcuts at the expense of others.
Stop trying to take shortcuts
Just like how life isn’t about shortcuts, getting into college isn’t either. Instead of trying to game the system, become someone special instead and demonstrate your true value. This pays off in both the short and long run.
We avoid people who are trying to “hack” it
When all someone is trying to do is “close the deal” to get something they want, we can sniff that out from a mile away. Salespeople who take that approach often end up complaining that people are hiding from them. No surprise there.
Imagine if RizeU just spammed you with advertisements, pushing you to pay for our services instead of providing helpful content that you can actually apply (notice every article has a takeaway) to build trust and credibility. You’d probably stop coming to our site, and we wouldn’t blame you.
College admissions officers are just as attuned to applicants who try to “hack” the admissions process. Those officers at selective schools read tens of thousands of applications each year. Don’t you think they can easily see through that?
Instead, when you commit to developing your strengths to genuinely bring value to others and you put your best foot forward, it’s a breath of fresh air. Now you have a chance.
If they don’t trust your intentions, it doesn’t matter what you say
Even if what you’re saying is true, people stop believing everything you say when they don’t trust your intentions. Remember, it’s about them, not you. So from the admissions officers’ perspective, they’re trying to minimize risk while maximizing the potential for reward for the university.
For better or for worse, every student who enters the university becomes a representative of the school. When someone commits a crime, it definitely does not reflect positively on the reputation of the perpetrator’s family. Say what you want, but reputation by association is powerful. What risk are universities exposing themselves to by admitting a student who doesn’t have the truest of intentions?
Looking out for others’ goals: more genuine and effective
The helpful approach builds trust. A lot of existing resources on navigating the college application process focus entirely on one goal: getting into your choice school. That approach often involves short term tactics to beat the system, which admissions officers can easily detect.
Another problem is you are forever reliant on keeping up with the newest tactics. You’re always trying to memorize the answer instead of learning how to ask the right questions and get to the right answer yourself in any situation.
That is why RizeU focuses on developing your strengths, so you can better help others (and help yourself as a result). We utilize that same approach in our content, hence our posts are targeted to both 1) those who are applying to college soon, and 2) those who just want to become better versions of themselves.
Yeah, we know this is harder. But for those who are willing, the payoff is great. And we’ll help you get there.
