It’s a distinct smell. It’s a smell that leads one side of the mouths of admissions officers to smirk, a visible sign of disdain. It’s a smell that inspires admissions officers to root against applicants — often with great fervor. It’s the smell of privilege and the applications of so many students to elite schools, well, reek of it. Maybe the student attended a fancy summer enrichment program in a faraway land or at an elite university like Stanford University or the University of Pennsylvania. Perhaps the student interns for a venture capital firm, which happens to be similar to her father’s line of work listed on page two of The Common Application. Maybe the student plays squash, water polo, and/or tennis, though she’s not good enough to be recruited for these sports. Perhaps the student writes about a fancy car mom or dad gave her in an admissions essay. No matter how a student chooses to showcase their privilege, make no mistake, admissions officers will reward their lack of class consciousness with rejection letters!

There Are Ironies in Elite College Admissions

Now, don’t get us wrong. There are distinct ironies in admissions, and this privilege conversation hits at the crux of all of them. Take the existence of legacy admission or colleges offering preferential treatment to the progeny of a school’s alumni base. Or the children and grandchildren of major donors enjoying an advantage in elite college admissions. The great relationships fancy boarding schools like Phillips Exeter Academy, Andover Academy, and Choate Rosemary Hall have with Ivy League and other highly selective universities. The notion that great SAT and ACT scores are often the result of lots of expensive tutoring. And so on. But just because these ironies exist doesn’t mean a student — no matter the privileges they may enjoy — should flaunt those privileges in their activities and their storytelling in their college admissions essays. After all, flaunting this privilege will only inspire admissions officers to root against — not for — them.

Flaunting Privilege Will Hurt Applicants to Elite Universities

And while it may seem obvious that students should not flaunt privilege in their applications, too many students (and their parents) who are aware they shouldn’t do so do so anyway. We suppose they don’t even recognize the extent of some of their privileges. Not everyone, as an example, gets to drive their own car to school. Some students bike, others walk, or even take the school bus. So even that subtle reference in an essay about driving to school, well, it can significantly undermine one’s candidacy — and too many students and parents don’t even realize it. But we want you to understand why in unequivocal and straightforward terms. We want you to know why the smell of privilege can so significantly hurt a student’s case for admission to elite universities. To understand it, look no further than the reader of your application. Below is an entry-level job posting in the Duke University admissions office. Notice anything?

Know Your Admissions Officer

The compensation for this job is between $40,000 and $ 50,000. And while more seasoned admissions officers make more, this starting salary — or not even starting salary — is not unique to Duke. It’s typical at the vast majority of highly selective universities. And, yes, the person who takes this job, or someone like this, will, in all likelihood, be evaluating your case for admission. When the cost of that service trip to Chile or that fancy summer enrichment program is about a quarter of the annual salary of the very person who will be reading your file, and they too wish they could travel to exotic locales or spend a summer learning new things, well, you’ve done yourself quite the disservice. Know thy reader. Avoid the smell of privilege. Ivy Coach’s students, like the students of all college counselors, are privileged. Not everyone gets to work with a private college counselor to improve their case for admission to elite universities. But they never — ever — showcase that privilege in their activities, storytelling, or any other component of their college applications.