It's both the name of a great book, written like a memoir of Ross Douthat's four years at Harvard, and an idea I am coming up against on a daily basis.
I highly encourage anyone to read the book, of course. But start with this in mind: is privilege something that should be painted across one's college application? Is it something that one wants as an identifying characteristic of his/her life? Privilege, inherently, is not a problem. The problem arises when those with privilege don't realize it.
With two months to go before the college application season begins anew for the senior class of 2015, let's reflect on the type of qualities which OUGHT to be portrayed in an application. Let's not write about the French program in Switzerland or the house-building in Costa Rica. You can do these things, of course. Just don't do them with the intention that they will strengthen how someone sees YOU in an application or essay. You would never mention the hours in time and money you spent with a private SAT tutor, right? Let this be the same idea for the other activities and experiences which only those with privilege can afford.
