It used to be that a family could wait until junior year to start thinking seriously about college and still have plenty of time. That's no longer true. Admissions offices are weighing things that take years to build: character, depth of interest, and a coherent story about who a student is and where they're headed.
What we're seeing is that students who started developing their interests early are far more likely to get into one of their top three schools, because of how heavily non-academic factors are weighed in admissions. Most parents don't know how the system works until it's already too late to take action.
There's a public document called the Common Data Set (CDS) that every college publishes. You can find any school's by Googling the name plus "Common Data Set." Section C7 breaks down exactly what admissions offices weigh, and how much, separated into academic and non-academic factors. Here’s Columbia’s CDS.
The academic side sets the floor. At Columbia, 100% of enrolled students scored between 700 and 800 on SAT Math. Students have to clear that bar to be in the conversation. But once they do, the students left in the pile look more or less the same on paper.
That's where the non-academics take over. At Columbia, the essay, character/ personal qualities, and extracurriculars are all listed as “Very Important”. Those three factors are hard to fake. To write an essay that gets noticed, to demonstrate real character and genuine interest in something, students have to have actually done things over a sustained period of time.
This is making summers between 9th and 10th grade and 10th and 11th grade just as important, if not more so than the summer before senior year. A student who spends those summers following a real interest has a much better grasp on what they want to study and why. A student who waits until the summer before senior year is starting from zero, with a college list already due and an essay to write about interests they hasn't had time to develop yet. Admissions officers can tell the difference between an application that took years to build and one that got assembled in a hurry.
For the next three weeks I'm going to get specific. Each issue will have concrete recommendations for a different grade level, things students can do this summer to start building curiosity and strengthening the non-academic part of their college applications. Middle school, lower high school, upper high school. Whatever stage your kid is at, there's something useful coming.
🗓️ NYC Opportunities
Every issue, we'll point you toward specific NYC programs, deadlines, and events that help your student explore what they're actually curious about and build the kind of depth colleges are looking for. Here's what's worth your attention this week:
1. Battle of the Books, Queens Public Library (Middle School)
Deadline: Registration open now through the summer
Queens Public Library's summer reading program gives middle school readers a team, a shared book list, and a friendly competition that runs all summer long, part of the citywide summer reading initiative hosted across QPL branches. Students read together, meet with their teams at their local branch, and face off against other branches as the season builds. It is free, no experience required, and open through the library, which means signing up takes a library card and nothing else. Reading is the foundation for every strong application, and a team gives a middle schooler a reason to keep showing up. Free, local, and zero pressure is exactly what this age needs. Learn more and register →
2. Voice and Choice: Summer Reading Contest, The New York Times Learning Network (Lower High School, works for all ages 13+)
Deadline: Weekly entries now through August 14, 2026
Every week for ten weeks, The New York Times asks students one question: what got your attention in The Times recently? Students ages 13 to 19 respond with a short written piece or a 90 second video, a fresh entry allowed every week, with winners announced each Tuesday and selected work published on The Learning Network. Free to enter, from anywhere, no teacher required. This is the lowest stakes way for a ninth or tenth grader to build the weekly writing habit that pays off enormously by essay season, and a Times byline is quite the accomplishment. You can enter every week. Learn more and enter →
3. Teen Internship Programs, Brooklyn Museum (Upper High School)
Deadline: Fall 2026 applications open this month
The Brooklyn Museum runs four paid programs for high schoolers interested in art, education, curation, and museum careers, including the Museum Apprentice Program and the Teen Night Planning Committee, where teens plan and produce real public events at the museum. Teens are paid $16.50 per hour and commit to a regular work schedule across the school year. The application window for the fall 2026 programs opens on the museum's site in July, which makes right now the moment to get on it. A paid museum job with a schedule and deliverables is the kind of commitment that admissions officers are looking for, and a great way to learn more about museum careers. Learn more and apply →
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