A Note to Rising 10th, 11th & 12th Graders and Their Families
Summer has arrived, and with it comes something every student has earned: rest. After the intensity of the school year, there is real value in stepping back, recharging, and reflecting on how things went, academically, extracurricularly, and personally. Students may take the initial portion of the summer to ask themselves: “What worked? What didn’t? Where do I want to grow?” This kind of honest self-assessment is one of the most productive things a high school student can do before the next school year begins at any grade level.
As you take stock, I’d encourage you to think beyond grades and activities. As important as those two aspects will be in your future college applications, ask yourself a harder question: What kind of community member have I been this year, and how can I be a better one?
Believe me, this question matters more than most students realize when it comes to college admissions.
During my time working at two highly selective college admissions offices, my colleagues and I evaluated students across three major areas: academic performance, extracurricular involvement, and what we called PQs or “Personal Qualities.” While grades and activities tend to dominate college prep conversations, I can tell you that inside admissions offices, PQs carry enormous weight.
When I was working in the Princeton admission office, we weren’t just admitting highly qualified students to fill seats. We were building carefully and intentionally building communities, incorporating a long view. We wanted the students we admitted to become each other’s closest collaborators, intellectual sparring partners, and lifelong friends. More than that, we believed the young people sitting in our classrooms could one day be found in boardrooms, courtrooms, laboratories, community organizations, and government offices. In a very real sense, we believed we had the opportunity to admit young people who could one day help shape the world: students who, with the right foundation and sense of purpose, had the potential to make meaningful contributions to their professions, their communities, and to society at large.
That responsibility weighed on every admissions decision. We were looking for students who didn’t just want to succeed for themselves, but who carried a genuine awareness of, and commitment to, the common good: the belief that their talents, education, and opportunities exist not only for personal gain, but in service of something larger. A student with that orientation doesn’t just perform well in college. They contribute. They lead. They lift others. And that is exactly the kind of community every great college is trying to build.
That meant asking, as we were reviewing applications, to ask ourselves questions such as: Will this student be a good roommate in a diverse residence hall? Will they add something meaningful to classroom discussions? Will they support struggling peers, energize their professors, and ultimately become alumni we are proud to claim?
So, what do PQs actually look like – and how do you continue to develop it?
In the classroom,
personal qualities show up when teachers can speak to your leadership, intellectual generosity, and initiative in their recommendation letters. They show up when you pursue academic growth beyond what’s required, through summer coursework, independent reading, or intellectual curiosity that extends past the syllabus.
In extracurriculars,
PQ surfaces through leadership, mentorship of younger students, and sustained commitment. Your involvement in co-curriculars, athletics, religious communities, service, or even meaningful family responsibilities can speak volumes to an admissions reader about the kind of person and community member you are.
And for our rising 12th graders,
there is one more powerful opportunity ahead: the college essay. No other part of the application gives you as direct a voice to show who you are, what you value, and how you see the world. We will be working closely with each of you on this, and we look forward to helping your authentic story come through.
This summer, alongside rest and growth, I’d encourage every student to sit with one simple question: Am I becoming someone my community, at school, home, and beyond can count on? That reflection may be the most important college prep work you do all season.
Wishing you a restorative and purposeful summer.
Warmly, Andy Ramirez
