Cultivating Core Values for College Admissions & Beyond.

borgeset
Jul 15
3 min read

Updated: Jul 30

Embarking on your college journey is thrilling, however daunting. Luckily, if you know your unique set of core values, you understand how these principles help shape your decisions, aspirations, and ability to overcome challenges. Core values serve as an inner compass, guiding you through life. For example, the central values in your late teens and early twenties will hopefully change with every decade of your life — this means you're growing! In this post, I'll provide two dozen values to see if any strongly resonate with you, and share practical tips to cultivate one or two throughout your high school and/or college career. Your foundational values have already been set, but this doesn’t mean you can’t add others or discard ones you know are holding you back from your best self. Welcome to adulting, my dears. It's hard.

List of Core Values:

Identify the ones that speak to you deeply.

Integrity
Respect
Responsibility
Empathy
Excellence
Creativity
Innovation
Perseverance
Courage

10. Community

11. Honesty

12. Gratitude

13. Compassion

14. Learning

15. Diversity

16. Sustainability

17. Authenticity

18. Collaboration

19. Service

20. Fairness

21. Joy

22. Growth

23. Kindness

24. Leadership

Knowing your core values is a highly personal process, tied to your life experiences, relationships, and aspirations. Consider which ones align with how you hope to design

your future. Mindfully considering new values will best serve you during the college application process and especially through future life transitions. If this is the first time you've felt uncertain, like you're feeling your way in the dark, please know that you are not alone; it's all part of the process of growing up.

Think about nurturing your best self:

Which values excite you the most?
How do these values connect with your intended academic program and life goals?
In what ways might these values shape your daily decisions and interactions?

Cultivating Your Chosen Values

After you have chosen five or six, narrow down to two or three to integrate them into your daily life seamlessly. For example, if you choose "Integrity," you can apply this principle by committing to honest behavior in your studies, such as avoiding plagiarism and being transparent with new friends and roommates.

Here are some practical steps to help cultivate your core self-awareness.

Set Clear Intentions: If "Creativity" is one of your values, you might express yourself through weekly artistic projects or collaborate with like-minded peers.
Engage in Activities: Join clubs that align with your values. For instance, if you value "Leadership," look for roles in student organizations, or volunteer for community service that allows you to guide others.
Reflect Regularly: Evaluate how you live into your values on a seasonal basis. Consider moments in the recent past when you acted in line with your values. You may already be nurturing new principles without knowing it. This reflective practice helps gain emotional flexibility and self-awareness.

Eye-level view of a college campus with students engaged in discussion — EAE Helps You Get There

Your Roadmap to Self-Awareness

Cultivating your core values extends beyond self-reflection; it is an essential aspect of making meaningful and deliberate choices guided by your inner compass. By choosing values that truly speak to your soul, you create a purposeful roadmap for your academic and personal life. Embrace these values as guiding principles that empower you to reach your best self.

As you navigate college admissions and beyond, remember that growth is a process that continues to expand as you trust your decisions, begin to shape your moral character, and design your life.