Marks Don't Build Stories with Aakriti Periwal

Aakriti Periwal:

I'm very well. Soundarya, Thank you so much for inviting me on this podcast. It's absolutely my pleasure to be here today and help inform an audience about navigating this very complex area of college admissions and charting their path ahead for the brighter future and career.

Aakriti Periwal:

So, I feel that when I've been talking to so many students and parents in my last 10 years of doing this, everybody's looking to identify that one formula. So, they look at a formula method. What is the “A plus B plus C squared plus D” that's going to equal an Ivy League admission? Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Not every student needs to have a research programme. Not every child needs to be entering an essay competition. Not every kid needs to be an Olympiad taker, and not everyone needs to start their own NGO. But students are often looking to identify what's that one way that they can actually make it to college.

It's about identifying your own path, exploring, and taking initiative. Students often feel that even though they may be in a rigorous academic curriculum, they should take additional tests from another curriculum. For example, doing the IB and taking AP exams. So that's another very common misconception that I like to debunk and tell kids: use your time to explore your interests and do other things rather than keep taking additional tests that colleges don't want to see.

And another very common misconception that people have is a copycat methodology. So they'll log in and see that, okay, these are the kids who got into these top Ivy Leagues this year. So, if they did X, Y, Z activities, I need to do exactly X, Y, Z. But colleges are not looking to have two of the same person on campus, so we don't need to copy somebody else.

Aakriti Periwal:

Absolutely. So, I think the deemphasis on the SAT and ACT as standardised testing happened only due to the pandemic. But post-pandemic, we have seen certain universities retain their test-optional policies and also use a lot of the other metrics of analysing a student.

So, in the context of this, we've seen a lot of emphasis on the high school transcript itself. How are students performing in their own academic curriculum? Universities go to great lengths to understand the context of your academic curriculum. They know how mark scales are made, they know what rubrics are, and so if you're able to showcase that academic fit through your school transcript, they don't need the standardised testing to showcase that anymore.

There's also a lot of emphasis now in terms of showing your academic fit through Olympiads or by taking initiative. So, all the other metrics, which were part of a holistic admissions review earlier, are still being retained by these top universities.

Aakriti Periwal:

Absolutely. So, I think you plugged in a very beautiful word earlier, which was individuality, and that is basically our approach. It is student-centric. I believe that as a counsellor, I need to know my students. I need to know what excites them. It might even be what's their favourite Taylor Swift song; you need to know that level of detail to understand what makes your child tick.

At UniReach, what we do is actually help them first explore the different fields out there. What are the different majors they could look at? What are the different ways they could explore their passion? Once they explore, then they're able to eliminate and say: “I loved this.” “I hated this.” “I liked this.” “I want to tap into more of some of these types of projects.” “Can I dip my finger more into what you made me briefly touch upon?” So, through conversations, we explore and we eliminate. Once we've narrowed down, we can then elevate. Then, students go deeper, dig in. We create these three-month plans for them, which we pivot and adapt based on the feedback that they give us.

It's all them; what they want to do, and how they want to explore.

Aakriti Periwal:

Absolutely. I think it's very tempting for students. Um, there is basically something out there that can do all the work for you. So, to not tap into that — to actually sit and put in the hours yourself — requires that commitment, requires that diligence, and I think that's where the difference comes in.

Because if you spend enough time on AI today, when I read an essay, I can tell where AI has been used. I'm able to discern the language, the voice of the student, because every human being has their own voice. Every person tells a story in a very unique and different way. They can use AI, but they should use AI as a smarter Google.

It's great to use it for research or brainstorming. You can debate with AI. You can compare choices. You know, I tell them, “Why don't you play devil's advocate with AI? So, if you're confused if a big-fit university is right for you, or a small-fit one, put in who you are, what you've liked in the past, and ask it to present your choices to you.”

But should it make your choice for you? No. It can help you do the work faster, yes. It can help you do the work better, yes. But you still need to do the work, and that's where all the difference comes in, I think, between an admission or a rejection.

Aakriti Periwal:

So, not for admissions review. Universities are not factoring in social media behaviour. I think that if, of course, a student has any reported incidents of cyberbullying or something like that, which goes into the application, that would be a very big red flag for a university. But they're not actually searching for the digital presence of the student and making an analysis of that.

However, with all the news articles that have come out lately, I do believe that for visa purposes in the future, we don't know whether digital monitoring might happen for US universities. And I think, just in general, with the way social media has taken turns, there's no harm in advising students — which we have been doing — to be mindful of what they post.

Most students are into doomscrolling, which can often result in falling prey to peer pressure. And sometimes, many students don't even have very radical ideologies, but just succumbing to peer pressure, they may post some popular or polarising opinions which are not really causing any benefit to the world.

It might just be harming some communities. So, it's better to be mindful of what we post and make sure it's strongly something we believe in.

Aakriti Periwal:

Yes. So, I think it's interesting, and I think many kids are intrigued to know: how do I showcase all that I've done to colleges? But university reps don't have the time, or they don't have the policy, to actually log in and see the social media presence of a student.

That being said, in case I have done a social project which is heavily based on social awareness on social media, and I'm giving an interview to some alumni about it, there could be a chance that the alumni are intrigued by it and might actually be like, “Hey, can you present what you've done to me?” They might actually check up on it and write a comment as feedback from their alumni interview. But the university reps themselves are not going to log in to the different social media handles and check those projects.

Of course, if I have done so much and I've achieved something in a very positive light, I'm able to put that in my application and say, “Okay, this is what I did, and I now have, say, one million followers, and these many people have gone on to promote this awareness and promote this drive.” Those are great. There's definitely good value in using social media for awareness and to our advantage.

Aakriti Periwal:

Oh, most definitely. I think there is greater awareness about choosing the university for the right reasons, which could be the education they offer, the programme, the flexibility of the programme, the environment around, and not just a name.

So, with that awareness, families are way more flexible about also looking at different destinations. We have seen so many children interested in the Netherlands for medicine. We've seen children love to go to Switzerland for hospitality. Milan is a very popular choice for fashion or interior design. And now, especially in the UAE, we have top US universities like NYU, Carnegie Mellon, and Northwestern opening up campuses at Qatar and Abu Dhabi and offering the concept of a liberal arts education and the US style of teaching and analysis, but in an environment which is closer to home.

I also think that a lot of universities, like Hong Kong University, have been travelling extensively now to even smaller towns and cities in India, and that has helped increase awareness about what's happening in these new-age education hubs.

Aakriti Periwal:

Absolutely. So, I think the way we stay current is just by being very, very abreast with the news and what's happening in these particular countries that our students are looking at applying to. Our whole team is very active in making sure that they are monitoring all these areas and fields, whether it's all the news channels or whether it's all the forums that we are a part of; being part of different conferences, networks, WhatsApp groups.

Today, professional development has become so easy. Even the counselling space is a very collaborative world. We have so many forums of counsellors where all of us are constantly updating each other, sharing news that has come out, sharing inputs, sharing our information, and our insights. With current students, I have a deep connect with my alumni on campus.

So actually, what that allows me to do is distinguish between what I'm reading in the news versus what's happening on the ground. Recently, I had so many of my alumni who’ve been on campuses for one year, two years, three years, come back for summer vacation. And when they come back, they like to initiate contact, they like to meet, and I love it. It's my favourite part of the day when alumni come back to meet. So, I was having conversations with them and they were telling me, “You know what, ma’am? What you are reading is not ground reality. We've had a very comfortable semester on campus. We've not been affected in any way whatsoever, and we're quite excited to go back.”

Similarly, yesterday one of my students had his interview. He's headed to Yale, and his visa has been approved without any problem. So, I feel like it's really important to also reach out to people who are there on the ground and get your information, get your validation of what's actually happening, and know how much one should be panicking about it or not.

Aakriti Periwal:

I think that's a very, very valid question and a very valid point because there's really nothing more important than financial planning in the process. Nobody should be burdened by providing this education.

So, when I'm talking to parents about this, I tell them: look at the current year costs of studying at the universities that you're considering, and then increase it by 10% per year for the next four years. That's how you should be calculating the pool of money that you need to set aside from your family funds, or invest and create in terms of planning for your children's education.

It's also important to speak to families and understand if there is a comfort level in doing that, if that's possible. What is the context of the family funds? If that's not possible, there are always alternatives that they could look at. There are scholarships available. We've had so many students that we sent to colleges like Yale, Stanford, UChicago, NYU Abu Dhabi, Brown, and Dartmouth on 100% scholarships because the families came from a background where putting in that money was not a possibility.

There are some students who've gone on 50% scholarships. There are some kids who may have taken a 15% loan. So, there are alternative options that one can look at. It's best to have that financial planning meet with the counsellor and actually start having these conversations so that the entire process can be aligned accordingly.

Aakriti Periwal:

I think that they have definitely not only maintained the quality of education, but they have also enhanced it.

So, from using the funds that they get from alumni for the right reasons — to create better infrastructure, to create start-up incubators, to create research labs, to give funding to students who are needy to come to college — they're actually increasing access to the right education at a very quick pace. I was having a conversation with a student of mine who's gone for architecture recently. She mentioned how they're already teaching them how to use AI in architecture in college. So, upgradation of faculty skills, upgradation of curriculum, all of that is happening at a very, very high level. And the networking that these universities provide helps you create that kind of support group where you're constantly learning for life with each other.

Definitely, I see my students graduating and getting amazing jobs, whether it's with newspapers as a journalist, whether it's with a think tank, whether it's in consultancy, or whether it's someone doing something in climate change. So, I feel like students have really been able to create a path for themselves after getting this education because that Ivy League education stays with you for life.

It's something that shapes you, and you grow with it in intangible ways every day.

Aakriti Periwal:

Very interesting thought. I think that the way I see students interacting with summer programmes at Ivy League campuses, there are so many of these campuses which have competitive summer programmes like Yale Young Global Scholars or the UPenn Management and Technology Summer Institute, which don't remain hybrid.

They are primarily in person, so students have to go. But the same campuses, and even programmes like those at Brown University, they offer you in-person programmes as well as online programmes. Just looking at this as a sample size for, you know, the question that you asked, I feel that I still see a large and a deep preference for being on campus. But I think that's also because of the cost factor.

So, currently the cost factor associated with an online programme is so high that a lot of students don't find it justified, and they would rather put in a little more and be able to avail all the facilities that the college offers. That would be applicable for undergraduate education too. I do think there would be some takers for a hybrid programme because there are some life circumstances and contexts that don't allow some kids to actually travel all the way.

So, I do think there would be some takers for a hybrid undergraduate education programme. But I do still feel that the social quotient offered by being on campus — which is going to be increasingly important in an AI-driven world — the curation of the network that you would have when you're on campus, all of that can't be replaced in a hybrid methodology. The debate, the dialogue, the discourse that you partake in when you're just walking from class and back…It's not just about logging in, being in a class, and logging out. But even, you know, going to a cafe and discussing what you learned about Kafka, all of that makes such a big difference. Sitting with a friend overnight and trying to understand the Iliad… All of that is going to be a big part of college education. And I don't know how that's going to go completely online.

Aakriti Periwal:

I think it's such a relevant question, especially in the current environment that we live in. Fit is extremely important to me. The student has to fit into that university. That right-fit approach comes in here to make sure that the student is set up for success happily. The happiness quotient is also not sacrificed by just chasing a name. There are certain students who would survive in a big college but would thrive in a smaller environment. You don't want to just survive college, you want to thrive. So, where are you fitting in? One needs to understand: what makes me happy, and where do I learn the best?

For example, there are various universities which follow a residential housing system — a very Hogwarts-style approach — where you actually live in your house and you have your own house to come back to and everything. That would work for a kid who really needs that community living, who needs those touch points to feel grounded in the day for their mental well-being.

Aakriti Periwal:

I think it's extremely, extremely important to remember this one acronym that I'm gonna give to all the listeners and viewers today. So, it's GRIT. GRIT itself means being gritty in the process of navigating college admissions; not letting it get to you, not letting it seem daunting, finding that comfort, powering through, pushing through, and embracing discomfort.

The G in GRIT stands for being goal-oriented. What is the career choice I want to make? What kind of job do I want to have at the end of four years of college? I'm looking at pursuing this degree, but am I somebody who's okay to rough it out for a few years? Having and setting that goal is extremely important in the entire process.

Then the R stands for resilience, because there are going to be challenging moments. At times you might hear about a university's acceptance rate — which is your dream choice — dropping from 6% to 4%, or, “Hey, nobody from my school made it to this college this year,” or, “I applied for this particular award and I didn't get it”, “I didn't get the rank I needed in Olympiads.” There are multiple things that life could throw at you during grades nine to twelve, which require you to be resilient. I think being resilient will really help you stay focused in this journey.

Then the I stands for taking Initiative. Oftentimes, students will fall for the slippery slope of chasing the idea that, “What is this one idea that is going to make my college application stand out?” But it's not about an idea, it's about initiative. Just start taking initiative, exploring, dipping your hands into what you love, putting yourself into the line of fire, into something that scares you. Take that initiative, take the leap of faith, and start doing things. That's really, really important.

How to get all this to happen is the T. T for time management, which I think teenagers struggle with the most. I ask all my kids to make a weekly timetable for outside school hours also. Having that weekly timetable helps you plan what you need to do on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday. We see so many successful people who, you know, handle so much more than us. How are they able to do it? It's time blocking. So, having time management as a central focus of your scheduling — of your weekends, where you plan your week ahead — is an extremely key tool in navigating this complex journey.

Aakriti Periwal:

Absolutely my pleasure to be here. Thank you once again, Soundarya, for inviting me onto the podcast.