What extracurriculars would you *not* mention, because they reek of privilege/other negatives?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like there is a subtle or not so subtle troll on today.

Yes, probably the same one 'in tears about her daughter'.

Also, women in their 50s who think they look younger than they are are pathetic and delusional.
And, using mouldings on walls to make house it look nicer is hideous and people who do it are also delusional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like there is a subtle or not so subtle troll on today.

Yes! So many threads.

Exactly. And the troll is definitely NOT so subtle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the OP - not a troll. My child does an activity that I mentioned, and another mom told me not to report it because (and I quote) "it smacks of privilege." I don't agree, but I wanted to get a sense of what other people think. And yes, I agree with the poster who said they know my address and such and can make some reasonable assumptions based on that.

m
My kid is an equestrian. She mentioned it. It’s her main activity. Otherwise, it looks like she does very little. You want to go somewhere that accepts your child as is. Why omit accomplishments?

+1
My child is also an equestrian. She has spent countless hours at the barn and in competition. Of course she included that on her application. She was accepted almost everywhere she applied (not to a big reach, which we expected).

[Anonymous]

Pilot's license seems marginal (unless kiddo is winning aeronautics competitions). All the other ones mentioned by op are fine, as is equestrian. Real talk: ad coms don't care about class based equity, so show off what you got.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting, I don't think of lacrosse as a rich people sport, but I'm from upstate NY where every public high school has a team.

Same. From a middle to lower middle class area of Pennsylvania where all the public schools have lacrosse teams. Learned how to play as a 10th grader, played varsity by senior year and even was able to play on my college team.

No one saw it as a rich kid sport.

Lucky you. Close to major metropolitan areas, the lax clubs have tried to figure out to suck the maximum amount of dollars out of lax family wallets. In those areas, it's generally played by students with plenty of disposable income.

I'm not even close to DCUM rich and club lax is easily affordable for me. Most of the other parents struck me as regular folks, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting, I don't think of lacrosse as a rich people sport, but I'm from upstate NY where every public high school has a team.

Same. From a middle to lower middle class area of Pennsylvania where all the public schools have lacrosse teams. Learned how to play as a 10th grader, played varsity by senior year and even was able to play on my college team.

No one saw it as a rich kid sport.

Lucky you. Close to major metropolitan areas, the lax clubs have tried to figure out to suck the maximum amount of dollars out of lax family wallets. In those areas, it's generally played by students with plenty of disposable income.

I'm not even close to DCUM rich and club lax is easily affordable for me. Most of the other parents struck me as regular folks, too.

Same. However, the sport does still have that reputation. Poor kids tend to do sports that don't require a lot of equipment (basketball or soccer).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Had no issue with my DD letting colleges know that she’s a nationally ranked equestrian. She got in everywhere she wanted to guess it wasn’t the problem you think it is.

But is she a horse dancer? I think horse dancing might be the answer. I think it's going to be the next thing to be un-pc.
Décolletage? No. Dressage?

Yeah, I wouldn't mention décolletage. Unless there's an evening dress section on the application.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting, I don't think of lacrosse as a rich people sport, but I'm from upstate NY where every public high school has a team.

It is viewed as a preppy sport full of "lax bros" by some.

Sigh. Only by people who don't understand the geography of lax. The DMV is the only area where lax is a private school thing. Everywhere else it is all public. Long Island, Atlanta, New York, etc, all publics. Some people in this area don't "get" that the DMV isn't on most people's horizon.

Even here in the DMV, it's not a "private school thing." I believe most/all public schools have both boys' and girls' lax teams. It's become very ordinary.
DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I forbade DS from mentioning his extensive video gaming time, unless he could somehow write a great essay about it. He couldn't, so that got shelved. It's not like he won a gaming championship, or was a YouTuber with millions of followers.

Anything that get you noticed is worth mentioning, but only if there's a measurable achievement you can point to.

All my kids have ridden horses, but again, it's just a hobby, no eventing or anything.

I am the first videogame PP.
so what do I do if my DS has a measurable achievement in about nothing?
He draws and wrestles but it’s all recreational. He is passionate about videogames though lol

Recreational drawing and wrestling are fine to mention, if that is all he has. At least it shows breadth of interests.

Regarding the video games - you may be able to put a spin on it depending on what he plays and if he’s involved in online communities. My DS used it in his personal statement for Pitt (accepted). Talked a little about the pandemic and virtual year which cut him off from several activities. For one of the games he enjoys playing a lot, he also spends time leading groups of new players to teach them how to play the scenarios, so they can join more experienced players. He spoke about how it was hard for him to get up to speed (and experienced players can be mean), so he wanted to help others. Video games seem pointless to a lot of adults, but they can involve communication, planning, leadership, and programming. This generation has grown up with them - it’s going to be more common that it is a main activity.

100% agree. People think it’s silly but it involves all those skills you mentioned. Schools are giving scholarships for esports and it is a varsity level sport at some schools as well.

Does your child’s high school have an Esports team or club? That would obviously be one way to include it in an application.

Also, fyi, here is a recent study released:
“Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children”
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/video-gaming-may-be-associated-better-cognitive-performance-children

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting, I don't think of lacrosse as a rich people sport, but I'm from upstate NY where every public high school has a team.

Same. From a middle to lower middle class area of Pennsylvania where all the public schools have lacrosse teams. Learned how to play as a 10th grader, played varsity by senior year and even was able to play on my college team.

No one saw it as a rich kid sport.

Lucky you. Close to major metropolitan areas, the lax clubs have tried to figure out to suck the maximum amount of dollars out of lax family wallets. In those areas, it's generally played by students with plenty of disposable income.

I'm not even close to DCUM rich and club lax is easily affordable for me. Most of the other parents struck me as regular folks, too.

Same. However, the sport does still have that reputation. Poor kids tend to do sports that don't require a lot of equipment (basketball or soccer).

Lacrosse doesn’t really require a lot of equipment. Just a stick, which can be issued by the public school if you don’t have your own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do you draw the line at reporting something super-expensive (sailing, pilot's license, climbing internationally, equestrian)?
Or other things that just say "I'm rich" (unpaid internships, especially ones where you have to be connected -- banks, senators, etc.)?

Sailing rowing squash equestrian lame AF

[Anonymous]

Anyone who thinks squash is a sport dominated by white kids hasn’t been to a junior squash tournament lately. Asian and middle eastern kids dominate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting, I don't think of lacrosse as a rich people sport, but I'm from upstate NY where every public high school has a team.

It is viewed as a preppy sport full of "lax bros" by some.

Sigh. Only by people who don't understand the geography of lax. The DMV is the only area where lax is a private school thing. Everywhere else it is all public. Long Island, Atlanta, New York, etc, all publics. Some people in this area don't "get" that the DMV isn't on most people's horizon.

It’s a public school thing here too. It’s an east coast sport.

It's an Indigenous sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do you draw the line at reporting something super-expensive (sailing, pilot's license, climbing internationally, equestrian)?
Or other things that just say "I'm rich" (unpaid internships, especially ones where you have to be connected -- banks, senators, etc.)?

Sailing rowing squash equestrian lame AF

Squash is actually a tough sport

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting, I don't think of lacrosse as a rich people sport, but I'm from upstate NY where every public high school has a team.

pls lacrosse is the worst - u drive around the highest median income zip code neighborhoods in the DCUM territory and there’s a rebounder in every other yard