I hate to say it, but to many adults teenagers tend to look like a homogeneous group of people with similar styles and interests. Sports, music, art, dance and things like that are critically important to teenagers and incredibly important to an individual’s development, but they don’t show true differentiation between people. An NTA, on the other hand, will allow an adult (in this case an admissions counselor) to see one teenager as distinctly different than another teenager.

Admissions counselors are dying to find students who differentiate themselves from other students. An NTA does just that. The winner of the April 30^th College Peas Standout Student Scholarship is Jasmine Roberts who has a killer NTA- she conducted a study of the safety of ice in fast food restaurants. This study gained her national attention and landed her on Oprah.

To understand why this person was chosen take the following quiz:

• It is typical for a teenager to love and play music (Y/N)
• It is typical for a teenager to play sports (Y/N)
• It is typical for a teenager to volunteer for good causes (Y/N)
• It is typical for a teenager to have artistic talent (Y/N)
• It is typical for a teenager to conduct scientific research that as national implications (Y/N)

Clearly the last one is an “N” and the activity is an NTA. That’s why Jasmine won the scholarship. It wasn’t because she is a hard-working, talented, passionate, responsible and smart. I’m sure she is all of these things. However, in the context of applying to college none of her attributes will differentiate her as much as her NTA.

It is easy to confuse talents, hard work and passion as NTAs. The truth is there are lots of teenagers that do similar things that exhibit these qualities. Only and NTA will set you apart and really make you a standout student.

So, please join me in congratulating Jasmine Roberts, the winner of the Spring 2011 College Peas Standout Student Scholarship!

Retrieving the Tips (easy, free, anonymous)

These tips are better known as “Carrots” and they are supplemental information found throughout the book and the DVD. However, we’re going to tell you how to get them.

Here are the tips:

NTA

How something we call a Non-Teenager Activity (NTA) will give you a huge admissions advantage over other students. This is one of the best tips.

STRANGER

Why asking a complete stranger to write your college recommendation can give you a serious edge.

BACTERIA

How a high school student used an NTA to really stand out from the competition.

CDS

How to find a vast amount of obscure data about the college of your choice.

These are just a small smattering of the plethora of tips in the book and the video.

Now, buy the book. You can click here to find it on Amazon.com.

Or, buy the DVD. It’s expensive because it’s awesome. However, just because you downloaded these tips we have one more tip on how to get the DVD for 70% off (that’s right, 70% off). Just enter the following coupon code during checkout:

TIPSHEET

Ok, now scram. Enough free tips and awesome discounts. This is a business, not a charity.

If you would like to see Mike’s “Future You” application send us a note through the Contact Us form…