Break the rules

What does it mean when you’re following the rules as closely as possible? When you’re walking down the sidewalk, following all its directions? It means you’re copying. Not copying a specific person, but copying a model about how things are supposed to go. There’s a model in college admissions, and the model can hurt you if you get too close to it.

The model can get dangerous because humans want variety. Surprises make their job more pleasant. We know this because if the variety was viewed as a bad thing, we’d just have computers look through your application. And the way you add variety when you’re applying to the most selective schools is to break the rules. The most selective schools attract the most competetive students, and competition is the simple act of following the rules as best as possible. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just how competition works. So the majority of applicants have a death grip on the rules, following them since the first day of high school. Break the rules you and you’ll expose something about yourself. It's one of the paradoxes of applying to the most selective schools.

But breaking the rules is an art. Those admitted into the most selective schools are engaging in a dance—the dance of breaking and following rules.