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

[Anonymous]

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

Well, DC wrote about their video game. They got in HYPSM. They just wrote why they felt like writing.

[Anonymous]

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.

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

Truth

[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.

Long island area. Even though there are literally thousands of players right here, they make all the kids buy fancy uniforms and then travel all over creation to play other teens from really far away that are no better than the teens around here. Go figure.

[Anonymous]

Is ballet a rich kid activity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Is ballet a rich kid activity?[/quote
No. Ballet is a highly regarded sport. Colleges really respect the discipline and dedication.

[Anonymous]

My daughter got her private pilot’s license. Darn straight she’s including it in her activities. She wants to be an engineer, most likely aerospace. The girl loves flight. Straights As and in advanced classes and very strong in STEM. And feels most fulfilled in flight. And we’re fortunate to have a lot of money and to have been able to pay for flight lessons. Now she she’s starting to give back to through volunteering to fly for causes she believes in. It’s great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Squash has historically been a private school, privileged sport. However, public school squash leagues are on the rise. It’s a growing sport, respected by AOs. Many schools have club teams

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

They play with pads and a helmet in boys lax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

They play with pads and a helmet in boys lax.

Which your public school team will give you if you need it.

[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'.

And the same one who said her dd applied for ED1 and ED2 at the same time.

[Anonymous]

NRA Assistant Instructor

[Anonymous]

Omg. Lacrosse is the oddest sport IMO. But I have seen its rise in popularity since my kids were born. But I totally think it reeks of white privilege.

IMO, PAID jobs is what schools should be interested in. What actual skills do your kids have that someone would pay for. McDonald’s / food baggers at grocery stores/ referees making unpopular calls = hardest jobs out there. LAX players ?? I mean that is solely what parents will pay for.

But I’m not in college admissions and honestly have no idea what they are looking for and why.

[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.

It also shows strategy -- which many kids seem to lack.

[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.

That's how I feel about hockey. Where I'm from (Minnesota), tons of kids play hockey, and it is not a rich-kid sport. Here in the DMV, where hockey is such a small sport (at least compared to Minnesota), it seems like a rich-kid sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

LOL, you must not know what goes into earning a private pilot's license.