05/21/2026
For me, one theme came up again and again at this week’s IECA conference: the strongest applicants are not necessarily the most polished ones.
Admissions officers repeatedly talked about seeking alignment among a student’s interests, activities, academic choices, values, voice. Not perfection or the longest resume. Not the most strategically engineered academic narrative. They really want to know, why do you do what you do? That question matters more than students (and parents!) often realize.
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For me, one theme came up again and again at this week’s IECA conference: the strongest applicants are not necessarily the most polished ones. Admissions officers repeatedly talked about seeking al…