Should you really avoid an activity as a main essay topic?

[Anonymous]

I have been following Application Nation and the leader of it is pretty militant that kids should not write about an activity for the main essay. My DC has a very time-intensive activity that is really their passion (100s of hours a year). DC wants to use what appeals to them about that activity to explain their overall approach to life and what drives them. Is this really a no-no?

[Anonymous]

I think the idea is that most schools have a lot of secondary essays and the kid will probably use their activities to fill in those areas.

FWIW, with my older kids I read a bunch of those 'essays that work' from Johns Hopkins and the like and the were never about activities. I was really surprised. To me, they seemed vacuous, but schools were promoting them as what they wanted. That was what told me I needed to get an essay editor for the kid rather than do it myself. I can write pretty well, but I have no idea what these essays are about.

If you don't like that approach, then one thing I'd suggest is that you scope out what the secondary essays will be at a few of your kid's top schools. There's probably a 'Why this school' or 'why this major' essay. So you don't want to cover those topics in the main essay. And in fact, a lot of times kids will use their activities to build out those essays (I knew I wanted to be a doctor when I did my first shift as candy striper at the hospital.). There's often a 'tell us about a meaningful community you belong to' and the kid will probably talk about a team or club there.

So I think that's why people make the main essay kind of generic-- telling some insight about thte person's personality or history or story-- but nothing that will overlap with the secondary essay topics.

[Anonymous]

Last year Application Nation was adamant that you should not reveal your racial/ethic/religious background in your essay. Whether you were a URM or an ORM, they said, schools would throw the whole essay out.

DC submitted an essay that revealed their ORM identity. Got in everywhere.

I would go ahead and ignore their essay advice.

[Anonymous]

Everything I have seen on DCUM about this says it's not the topic, it's the writing. So, if the best essay topic that conveys the authentic voice of your kid will come out in writing about an activity then that's probably the best choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last year Application Nation was adamant that you should not reveal your racial/ethic/religious background in your essay. Whether you were a URM or an ORM, they said, schools would throw the whole essay out.

DC submitted an essay that revealed their ORM identity. Got in everywhere.

I would go ahead and ignore their essay advice.

We ignored their advice regarding no activities discussed and into top school. Some top college advisors say for top schools, you should show your spike and how it makes you you. That's what we did.

[Anonymous]

I think it can be important that the essay covers an aspect of your kid not in the application. That doesn’t mean it can’t be related to an activity.

Maybe your kid loves soccer but isn’t super talented & their rec team loses every game and their essay is about joy of the game, building a community around yourself, or how soccer helps them in other aspects of their life

Maybe your kid is science fair winner & writes an essay about, I dunno, how their first science fair they were unprepared & what they learned from it. Or maybe there’s found memories of their grandparent helping with their 2nd grade project & it science became a thing that they bond over.

So, “about” activities but about aspects not listed elsewhere

[Anonymous]

*fond

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everything I have seen on DCUM about this says it's not the topic, it's the writing. So, if the best essay topic that conveys the authentic voice of your kid will come out in writing about an activity then that's probably the best choice.

I do agree that the applicant should write about what they are passionate about and if that is an activity, go with it. I would think that activities would be a frequent topic as that is often where someone's true passion lies.

That being said, I have increasingly been hearing that "the writing" is actually becoming less important. Between AI and college advisors, essays are increasingly edited to death by outside sources. So the writing style is less important. Which is truly sad, but such is life.

[Anonymous]

I think schools want to hear a strong voice regardless of topic. A good writer can write about anything. My kid goes to a top 10 school now. You know what their essay topic was?

Replacing a muffler on mom's car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been following Application Nation and the leader of it is pretty militant that kids should not write about an activity for the main essay. My DC has a very time-intensive activity that is really their passion (100s of hours a year). DC wants to use what appeals to them about that activity to explain their overall approach to life and what drives them. Is this really a no-no?

AN alum here with our experience.

I think it depends on the activity. Is it #1 on the activity list? How deep are you going into it for the essay? Will it show personal qualities, leadership, community impact, or something else? Have you read through all of the model essays out there - many of them are not about an "activity" - often a narrow moment in time/hobby/event. Is that how your DC would frame the essay? The current approach just doesn't seem memorable or differentiating. What types of schools is your DC targeting?

Our DC similarly had a huge activity: covered in 2 places in EC list, in Addtl Info and in a few honors/awards. Did not write about it in the main essay after thinking about it because it just seemed too one-dimensional and felt like it made DC seem like they had no other interests or sides to them. Had stellar T10/T20 app cycle.

I think you can break the rules if you go in narrowly - "not an approach to life and what drives them" which seems like a sports essay.

[Anonymous]

I think the idea is for the AOs to see the kid as a 'person' and not a resume. So references here and there to activities might be nice to illustrate a point. But make sure it's about the kid's whole person.

[Anonymous]

Look at the college influencer Ivy Roadmap on Instagram or Youtube. He disagrees with the advice from AN and thinks that the activity should at least be mentioned in the main essay so the ad officer remembers who you are.

[Anonymous]

I think the advice between the two is not that different. What they are cautioning against is ‘I am president of student body and here is what I have learned’ yawn

[Anonymous]

I am a high school English teacher and read many essays each year. I think the key is to tell one specific, really interesting story about the activity. Don't let it become a recitation of awards and honors -- make it something that shows your character. Could be how you handled a tough situation, a great conversation you had, how you taught someone about the activity, etc.

There are a lot of pitfalls here. It's easy to veer into cliches. I would avoid "I was bad at this at first, but I stuck with it, and now I'm good." And "I got injured, and it changed my whole outlook on life." But with the right touch, this type of essay works fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at the college influencer Ivy Roadmap on Instagram or Youtube. He disagrees with the advice from AN and thinks that the activity should at least be mentioned in the main essay so the ad officer remembers who you are.

He’s an as*