Last updated on July 12th, 2023 at 11:31 pm
A Revolutionary Plan to Get into College by Standing Out (Without Burning Out)
Rating
3/5
Five Powerful Quotes from the Book
Quote 1
“The Interestingness Hypothesis, Part 1: When admissions officers say they’re looking for students who show “passion,” what they really mean is that they’re looking for the type of student who would appeal to an NPR talk show producer. That is, a student who could sit down and chat about a topic for thirty minutes and hold an educated audience’s rapt attention.
“The Interestingness Hypothesis, Part 2: Interestingness cannot be forced or planned in advance. It is generated, instead, as a natural by-product of a “deep interest,” which is a long term pursuit that a student returns to voluntarily and eagerly whenever given a chance.
“If you want to attract deep interests, and therefore maximize your chance of generating both interestingness and a happy life, then, according to Professor (Linda) Caldwell, you should do the following:
- “Leave plenty of leisure time in your schedule.
- “Use this time to expose yourself to lots of different things, even if you’re not sure in advance whether they’ll interest you.
- “Leave some of this time free to relax and reflect “without something in your ear.””
Pithy Summary
Quote 2
“The Failed-Simulation-Effect Hypothesis: If you cannot mentally simulate the steps taken by a student to reach an accomplishment, you will experience a feeling of profound impressiveness.
“Put another way, you are impressed by things that are hard to explain, regardless of whether or not they were hard to do.
“I can reduce these ideas into three simple insights:
- “Research shows that you evaluate other people by first comparing them to yourself.
- “If during this comparison you can’t imagine yourself doing what someone else did, then you’re left to assume that he or she possesses some ability that you lack.
- “In American culture, impressiveness is tied more to special abilities than it is to persistence or inventiveness.
“These insights combine to an inescapable conclusion: the Failed-Simulation Effect makes perfect sense—we are most impressed by activities that are hard to explain.”
Pithy Summary
Quote 3
“In my first book, How to Win at College, I introduced the concept of the Grand Project, which I described as follows: A Grand Project is any project that when explained to someone for the first time is likely to elicit a response of “wow!”
“In How to Win at College, I advised all students to launch a Grand Project, and I offered two main rationales. First, these projects inject excitement and possibility into your life, thus helping to keep you optimistic through the small ups and downs of the standard student experience—a bad grade, a lost boyfriend, etc. It is the second reason, however, that’s most relevant to our discussion here about exploration. I noted that Grand Projects have a way of attracting other random and cool opportunities. Once you start down the path to building a popular blog, or firing up a student activist movement, you throw open the door to what Ben Casnocha, mentioned earlier in Part 1, called “bulk positive randomness.” In other words, choose a Grand Project because it sounds exciting and will keep your life interesting, but be ready for it to potentially introduce you to a deep interest you had never before considered.
“In the world of extracurricular activities there are three types of communities: open, hidden, and closed. Understanding these distinctions is crucial for fostering innovation… An open community is one that most people know about and understand. School government, for example, is open; you probably know all about becoming class president or class secretary. There is little mystery about how this world operates… Hidden communities are those that are completely unknown to most people… Then there are communities of the third type: those that are closed. This is the sweet spot for innovation. A closed community is one that most people know about but whose operations they don’t understand… The combination of familiarity and mystery that defines a closed community is what makes it a perfect breeding ground for innovation.”
Pithy Summary
Quote 4
“The magic of the Matthew Effect is that once you’ve invested the time required to become good at a single thing, additional rewards come with little extra effort. By spending a reasonable amount of time on just one thing, you can end up with more impressive accomplishments, and less stress, than the student who spends a lot of time spread over many different things. This idea is important enough to merit its own hypothesis:
“The Complementary-Accomplishments Hypothesis: Once you accomplish something that is unambiguously impressive, you’ll begin to achieve complementary accomplishments with little additional effort…
“The Leveraged-Ability Hypothesis: Once you pass a certain threshold of skill in a field, you’ll encounter many opportunities for related activities that will improve your perceived ability without requiring an excessive time commitment.
“Once you begin to become good at your focused pursuit, leverage your burgeoning talent to find the easy opportunities that enhance your image as a star.”
Pithy Summary
Quote 5
“A sloganable project is one that can be summarized in a pithy sentence that immediately triggers the full Failed-Simulation Effect. Not all innovative projects are sloganable. Some require more explanation to trigger the desired effect.
“All things being equal, when you’re choosing an innovative project, the more sloganable the one you choose, the better. There’s no magic procedure for making a project sloganable, but I can offer a few pieces of advice that may help transform an innovative idea into something even better:
- “Strip the idea to its core. When students seek innovative projects, they often settle on complicated assemblages of several related ideas. The mind-set, I guess, is that more is better than less. It’s not! Strip off the superfluous initiatives and actions and get down to a core outcome. If you can’t explain it in one sentence, you need to simplify.
- “Inflate your ambition. Once you’ve identified your core project, perform a simple thought experiment: What would it mean to double the ambition of this project? For example, if you were planning to set up a program with a local school, you might consider inflating your ambition to a program for the local school district, or perhaps for every school in the state. Next, ask whether this inflated version of the core project is still feasible. Often it turns out that getting a project started is harder than growing it once it’s going. And the bigger the scope, the more sloganable the project becomes.
- “Apply the Jaded-Brother Test. Finally, it’s time to see if your efforts have passed into sloganable territory. Imagine that you have a jaded twin brother who is loath to give any sign that he’s impressed with you. If you were to successfully complete your streamlined and ambitious project, how would he react? If even the jaded brother would have to grudgingly admit some pride, then you’re in a good place. If not, consider starting with a new idea and going through these steps again.”
Pithy Summary
About the Book
How to Be a High School Superstar: A Revolutionary Plan to Get into College by Standing Out (Without Burning Out) – Audiobook | Ebook | Paperback – “Do less, live more, get accepted…
“What if getting into your reach schools didn’t require four years of excessive AP classes, overwhelming activity schedules, and constant stress?
“In How to Be a High School Superstar, Cal Newport explores the world of relaxed superstars – students who scored spots at the nation’s top colleges by leading uncluttered, low stress, and authentic lives. Drawing from extensive interviews and cutting-edge science, Newport explains the surprising truths behind these superstars’ mixture of happiness and admissions success.”
About the Author
Cal Newport – “Cal is the author of seven books, including, most recently, A World Without Email, Digital Minimalism, and Deep Work. His titles have cumulatively sold well over 2,000,000 copies, have been published in 40 languages, and include multiple New York Times bestsellers. In addition to his books, Newport is a contributing writer for the New Yorker and is the host of the Deep Questions podcast.”
Additional Resources
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Education | Nonfiction | Study Aids & Workbooks