Building a College Portfolio? Here are 9 Things You Should Know
If you’re a high school student about to apply to college, you should be working on a college portfolio! Before we dive into the “why” of a college portfolio as a student, let’s take a look at what a college portfolio means for you.
What is a college portfolio?
A college portfolio showcases a student’s individual accomplishments and capabilities, tailored to align with the requirements and expectations of the desired academic program.
For STEM disciplines, the portfolio typically highlights research experience and/or supplementary materials such as personal projects that demonstrate a deep engagement with the subject matter. In fields like music or art, the emphasis shifts towards demonstrating proficiency and achievements within those domains, encompassing performances, exhibitions, and creative projects. Ultimately, a well-crafted portfolio not only showcases a candidate's academic prowess but also offers insights into their passion, dedication, and potential for success within their chosen field of study.
In this article, we’ll break down the significance of portfolios in college admissions, the main components to include, and 9 things to know as you begin creating your own portfolio.
Why are portfolios important to college applications?
Portfolios are entirely optional — they’re supplemental materials for activities or accomplishments already discussed on your resume or activity list. You might wonder why this is worthwhile — isn’t the description enough?
For students with incredibly high accomplishments in a given academic or artistic field, portfolios can hold a lot of weight, as they include tangible evidence of a student’s exact level of competence. Though colleges will generally be interested in admitting students with advanced skills in STEM or the arts, those with markedly standout achievements may be actively recruited by faculty members in the relevant departments. In short, already impressive credentials can be strengthened by the “proof” included in portfolios.
What should I include in a college portfolio?
Colleges have individual standards on the materials they accept within applicant portfolios; though there are common elements, you’ll likely need to tailor your portfolio to each program you apply to. Never assume that all schools will accept the same portfolio format.
General guidelines for portfolio submissions by discipline include:
Research: Abstract(s) and/or full-text research paper(s).
Technology & Computer Science: Description of and link(s) to web pages or projects.
Music, Film, Dance, or Performing Arts: Approximately 10 minute high-quality video recording.
Creative Writing: Short story or essay and/or brief collection of poems
9 things to know before building your college portfolio
1. Add achievements relevant to your application
Even though your overall goal in a college application is to impress the admissions committee on all fronts, portfolios are intentionally a highly-specialized submission.
Your portfolio should serve a very specific purpose, typically one of the following: research, design, music, creative writing, art, or performing arts. If you have done high-level work in multiple areas, you should submit separate portfolios. If you have strong expertise in one area and a single substantial accomplishment in another, you should stick to your greatest strength.
This is compounded by the fact that portfolios will be reviewed in-depth by faculty in the relevant department at the college. Think about it like this — if you were applying to an engineering job, they might find your performance at a national dance competition impressive, but it wouldn’t do much to convince them you were the best choice for the position.
So, keep the portfolio you submit cohesive. Everything you include should serve as a singular point within a broader argument for your expertise in the relevant area.
2. Be effective, yet concise
If you’ve accomplished enough in high school that you’re prepared to submit an entire portfolio to colleges, you likely have lots to say about your passion, experience, and accomplishments. To put it bluntly, these thoughts should be saved for application essays. Portfolios will be read or viewed quickly during the first round of review, so stick to the essentials — the most important (and impressive) details and relevant contextual information. On the side of research, an abstract or research paper is sufficient; lab notes and presentation posters are extraneous. Attaching scores to music supplement videos is standard, but notes on the program you’re playing is not. Keep their focus on the primary matter at hand — your impressive research or performance.
3. Consider adding links to your complete work
Although colleges might only ask for limited materials, providing easy access to additional content can be useful should they desire more context on your achievements. While you should never directly submit more content than requested, linking to this content is not objectionable, and can potentially work in your favor if an application reader is particularly curious. For example, some colleges only accept research abstracts, not research papers. While you should only submit the abstract, adding a link to the paper is fine. Similarly, a college might request a single short story for a creative writing portfolio, but adding a link to additional publications or a personal website can be a worthwhile choice.
4. Ensure your work is of sufficient quality
Though portfolios aren’t necessarily a “less is more” endeavor, remember that these are optional additions to your application intended to show a high level of achievement. Typically students who submit effective research portfolios have publications, impressive findings, or patents associated with their work. Similarly, successful music supplements are often submitted by students who have studied at prestigious conservatories or music festivals. In these instances, university faculty may specifically advocate for your admission due to the value you can offer the school.
Though it is incredibly frustrating that only the highest of accomplishments can move the needle in your favor, this is important to know before you start intensively working on your portfolio — if it won’t put you ahead of other applicants, your time may be better spent on improving your essays, grades, or standardized testing scores.
5. Don’t undermine your application
Related to the point above, when making your decision about whether to submit a portfolio, consider the content of your portfolio relative to your resume entry.
It is documented that ineffective portfolios can sometimes have a detrimental effect on your application, and that leaving details of your accomplishments slightly ambiguous can be to your advantage. Think about it like this — if your resume states that you won 5 awards for your academic research, this will almost definitely be impressive to a reader. However, these competitions may have had few entries, or hold lower standards than other competitions. If your research is of lower quality than students with fewer awards, this may bring into question the actual value of your accomplishments. In these instances, letting your resume stand alone can be a better choice.
If you’re uncertain of where you stand, asking your research mentor, art or music instructor, or college counselor about the strength of your supplement can help you make the best choice for your application.
6. Have someone review your application
It’s always useful to have someone trusted to review your application and give you feedback. These people could be teachers, counselors, family members and even peers! However, if you want a professional look at your application - consider opting for services such as Early Bird.
At Early Bird, former admission officers from highly selective universities will review your entire application, including your transcript, testing, school profile, supplemental essay, and your CommonApp! It is a solid choice if you’re looking to cement your chances of gaining admission into your dream school.
7. Carefully follow formatting guidelines
Even a beautiful presentation of your work may not be desirable to colleges. As they’ll be reviewing tens of thousands of applications, admissions officers want the materials they review to be in a standardized format so that they can be easily read and compared. All schools that accept supplemental portfolios will provide clear guidelines of what they’ll permit you to submit. (See Yale’s guidelines as an example). If you don’t carefully follow these instructions, you risk alienating your application readers who may find you careless or unable to follow directions.
Though standards may vary between schools, those submitting research portfolios should typically have an abstract and/or full-text paper prepared, and those submitting arts portfolios should be familiar with how to use SlideRoom.
For schools that do not provide specific formatting instructions, you should still follow best practices, modeling the typical structure requested by other programs. Making your submission too “unique” can come off as distracting, and make you stand out in a negative way.
8. Begin well in advance
If you’re submitting a portfolio, it’s likely the culmination of extended participation in a research project, music study, or artistic endeavors. As these will have been monumental achievements from your time in high school, it should earn the recognition it deserves. Starting in advance will ensure you meet all requirements and put together a well-presented portfolio.
If you’re submitting a research portfolio, ensure your abstract effectively summarizes the most important findings of your work and is written in a clear, professional tone. Quickly-written abstracts can leave out key details, and even the most impressive research can be undermined by sloppy writing. For music supplements, familiarize yourself with portfolio repertoire requirements early on, and don’t leave your recordings to the last minute.
9. Confirm references in advance
Even if you’re not required to submit additional recommendation letters, you’ll generally be encouraged to provide contact information to relevant individuals — such as mentors or instructors — who have supported your portfolio work. These references serve to confirm the strength of your competencies, personal character, level of preparation for college-level work, and potentially confirmation of your work’s originality.
Even if they won’t be submitting a letter on your behalf, make sure to ask your research mentor, music instructor, or art teacher in advance before listing them as a reference on your portfolio. You want them to be prepared in case the university gives them a call, and confirming their willingness to serve as a reference is an important sign of responsibility.
One other option – Lumiere Research Scholar Program
If you are interested in doing university-level research, then you could also consider applying to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program, a selective online high school program for students that I founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.
Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students.
Alexej is a graduate of Princeton University, where he studied Linguistics, Cognitive Science, and Humanities & Sciences. Alexej works in college admissions consulting, and is passionate about pursuing research at the intersection of humanities, linguistics, and psychology. He enjoys creative writing, hiking, and playing the piano.