Getting accepted to your dream school is becoming increasingly difficult. As more and more high school students understand that college is the path of their immediate future in order to improve their chances of securing a good job in an ever competitive market.
The result is that college applications are on the rise and that increases the competitiveness of the admissions process. Besides securing top grades, how then can you make you application stand out from the crowd?
Many colleges now highlight the importance of not just extra-curricular activities, but worthwhile extra-curricular activities that show maturity and a connection with the global community. That is where travel comes in.
It’s a sign of maturity
Traveling abroad by yourself at a young age is a sign of maturity. It shows that you are willing to step out of your comfort zone and can handle the sorts of scenarios that the adult world will throw at you. If you can prove you are mature enough to handle that, chances are you’ll be able to handle going through college easily and that makes you the sort of student that will be in demand.
It shows you have motivation, curiosity and initiative
Motivation, curiosity and initiative – three things that will make your college application stand out above those of a straight A student. Being a traveler indicates you have all of these – the motivation to leave your home at an age when most people are still playing video games; the curiosity to get out there and see the world away from the United States in an age where 64 percent of Americans have never left the country and the initiative to organize and plan a daunting trip of a lifetime.
It makes you more appealing to grant and scholarship providers
Financing yourself through college can be one of the hardest parts of further education and it does provide a barrier to plenty of young people from attending. You can apply for grants or scholarships, but these are fiercely competitive. If a charity or foundation like the Minority Scholarship 2017 are going to be paying a big sum of money to help you through college, they are going to want to know it is worth it before investing in you. International travel shows an interest in the wider world, which is exactly the sort of thing a scholarship provider will look for.
It gives you a connection to the global community
When colleges are considering which applicants to accept, those that they feel can make a difference to the world will have more of a chance than those that look bland and safe. By traveling, you might have already made an impact on the global community by doing community service work abroad or volunteering to help out those less fortunate. Don’t worry if your travels have been purely about holidaying, such as interrailing across Europe – that looks good as well, showing you to be open minded and willing to connect with the global community.
