Since preschool, students have progressed through school and life as part of groups, amongst same-aged peers, taking similar classes, choosing from overlapping activities. However, in planning for college, each student is now confronting something fundamentally different: choosing a path based on who they are becoming.
And yet, “group think” doesn’t simply disappear. Many students continue to compare themselves, subtly or overtly, with peers, friends, family, while also carrying the weight of expectations (their own, their families’, their communities’), often hoping for the moral validation of the most “elite” admissions outcomes.
Thus, deliberately creating space to reflect on one’s own experiences, to identify one’s own aptitude, is complicated, to say the least. But such self-discovery is necessary. Thus, what looks like hesitation or uncertainty is often the first real moment of independent thinking.
As AI continues to advance, the ability to know what is distinctly one’s human-ness: how you think, what you value, what draws your curiosity, will only become more important.
So instead of asking:
👉 “What are others doing?”
Begin asking:
👉 “When have I felt most engaged, and why?”
Then, students can slowly learn how to stand as oneself within the group think.
Creative Marbles Consultancy helps students and families navigate the college admissions process with clarity and purpose. Through a student-centered approach, we guide each students in discovering their unique strengths, values, and direction so their path forward reflects who they are becoming.
