Crafting Your Elevator Pitch

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how to Craft an Elevator Pitch for college apps

Objective:

An elevator pitch can help you stand out in the application process. Create a compelling elevator pitch for university admission by reflecting on your strengths, passions, future goals, and unique qualities. Practice delivering your pitches and receive feedback to refine your pitch.

Introduction:

  1. Definition and Importance:
    • An elevator pitch is a concise and persuasive statement or “pitch” for why you should be admitted to a university.
    • Why an elevator pitch? Having a strong elevator pitch is essential: it helps make a memorable impression and clearly conveys your strengths and aspirations concisely for college applications.

Self-Reflection:

  1. Activity:
    • Reflect on the content from your initial slides: about me, criteria slides, careers, strengths/weaknesses and character traits, etc.
    • Jot down your strengths, passions, future goals, and at least one unique aspect about yourself.
    • What do we need to know that hasn’t been shared elsewhere in this slide? Or is there anything unique about your high school experience that needs additional explaining? Is there anything that you feel you should share? Note these items down.
    • Bonus: Use the self-reflection template HERE if you want to answer these questions in one place and have them in a ‘worksheet’ type format.
  2. Use these prompt questions to reflect further:
    • What are my greatest strengths and skills?
    • What am I passionate about?
    • What are my future goals and how do I plan to achieve them?
    • What is one unique quality or experience that sets me apart?

Structuring the Pitch:

  1. The Structure:
    • Introduction: Briefly introduce yourself.
    • Strengths and Passions: Highlight key strengths and passions.
    • Future Goals: Explain your future goals and how the university can help you achieve them.
    • Unique Aspect: Share what makes you unique and why this matters to the university.
    • Closing: End with a strong, memorable statement.
  2. Activity:
    • Create sentences based on your self-reflection to structure your elevator pitch. Remember your “pitch” should only be a few minutes (3-4 minutes), about the time it would take for an elevator ride, to “pitch” who you are. (Example: imagine you are in an elevator with an admission officer and you have three minutes to tell them who are and why you would like to go to their university.)
    • Add a slide to your presentation with your pitch sentences and/or copy the “worksheet” template content.

Practice:

  1. Pair Up:
    • Pair up and practice delivering your elevator pitches to another student, peer, friend, or adult.
    • Encourage your listener to give constructive feedback on clarity, persuasiveness, and engagement (and length!). Give them the focus points below to help them focus their feedback.
  2. Feedback Focus:
    • Was the pitch clear and concise?
    • Did it effectively highlight strengths, goals, and unique aspects?
    • Was the delivery engaging?

Use ChatGPT:

  1. AI Feedback:
    • Input your pitches into ChatGPT (or a similar AI model) for additional feedback using the following prompt:
      • I am a high school senior, and you are a professional marketer. Generate an elevator pitch about me as a college applicant using the information drawn from the information provided below. Focus on alignment with my character strengths in particular. The pitch should be brief, professional, and compelling, it must be written in the first person, and it should be no longer than 6 sentences. (Include items from the self reflection section above as part of your prompt or copy your worksheet template answers.)
    • Analyze the AI’s suggestions and refine your pitch accordingly, to match you and your voice.

Finalizing your pitch:

  1. Finalized Practice:
    • Select a few volunteers to present your final pitch to.
  2. Encouragement:
    • Refining your pitch is an ongoing process. Keep practicing and adjusting based on feedback or situation you are using your pitch for.
    • Keep in mind your pitch is a great way to “introduce” yourself in other situations as well: interviews, transition to college, and even meeting new people.