The 5 Traits Colleges Look for in Applicants

We already distilled the purpose of college essays into a single phrase: To prove you'll be successful in college and beyond.

Now we'll focus on how you can prove you'll be successful. The only way to prove future success is through your experiences to date. These must relate to one or more of the five traits colleges look for in applicants: drive, intellectual curiosity, initiative, contribution and diversity of experiences.

Drive

Driven students push themselves to succeed no matter the odds. They go through difficult and challenging situations and come out better. Driven students take action to make their situation or the situation of others better. They are more likely to be successful in college and beyond because they'll persevere through any challenges they encounter.

Intellectual Curiosity

Intellectually curious students spend their free time learning just for the fun of it. They dive deep into topics and subjects in which they're interested. They routinely seek knowledge and often engage with others in the pursuit of understanding. Intellectually curious students are more likely to do well in their classes, and they're likely to succeed in whatever they choose to do in the future.

Initiative

Students who take initiative are entrepreneurial and not willing to accept the status quo. They're always thinking of and executing on ways to improve whatever group or organization they are a part of. Colleges love students who take the initiative because they'll be more likely to improve the college's community, become leaders, and make everything they touch better.

Contribution

Contributing students make any group they're a part of better as a result of their involvement and actions. Groups can be organizations, activities, a school, a community or even peer groups. Colleges love contributors because they greatly improve the college's community and will add value to any group they're part of in the future.

Diversity of Experiences

Colleges are trying to build a well-rounded class made up of students with different life experiences, different interests, and different ways of thinking about the world. Diversity adds unique perspectives to the student body and enables a college community to thrive while adding value to one another. Additionally, diverse students will do a variety of things after they graduate, enabling the college to fulfill its mission of having a positive impact across many parts of the economy, society and the world.