Activities question

[Anonymous]

I don’t believe these carefully curated lists with clever wording matter much. My kids spent very little time on this section and basically just listed what they did, estimated hours conservatively (did not embellish) and were very successful with ivies and T20 admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t believe these carefully curated lists with clever wording matter much. My kids spent very little time on this section and basically just listed what they did, estimated hours conservatively (did not embellish) and were very successful with ivies and T20 admissions.

I agree. It should clearly show your child’s interests and what makes them “them” and tells their story, but readers spend about 10 minutes on each application. Don’t overthink it.

[Anonymous]

Do students include activities in summer before 9th grade on Common App for school break/9th grade in activities list?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t believe these carefully curated lists with clever wording matter much. My kids spent very little time on this section and basically just listed what they did, estimated hours conservatively (did not embellish) and were very successful with ivies and T20 admissions.

I agree. It should clearly show your child’s interests and what makes them “them” and tells their story, but readers spend about 10 minutes on each application. Don’t overthink it.

I don’t think you should overly wordsmith it, but the order of the ECs matter.

You should have a narrative or theme before you start and make sure there are three or four compelling values you want to convey through your activities. That is what does make a difference.

Nothing weirdly overly engineered, but by focusing on some values, you can convey a commitment to social justice, family responsibility/commitment and/or ambition & drive.

Remember to focus on impact, leadership, introspection, and evolution of your skill set.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do students include activities in summer before 9th grade on Common App for school break/9th grade in activities list?

Yes. That counts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some good examples:

Activities List Example 2: Student Admitted to Northwestern Class of 2028

1. Athletics: Synchronized Swimming, 3x Int’l Medalist, 7x Nat’l Medalist
20 hr/wk, 46 wk/yr. Premiere state team; elite top 3 nat’l team; US Jr Olympics 2022 - Gold x3, Silver; US Nationals 2022 - Bronze; 2023: Silver, Bronze; leadership award

2. Research: Prevalence of Anxiety/Depression in Artistic Swimmers 13-18
2 hr/wk, 36 wk/yr. Study author. Design/analyze survey of medicated depression 8.5% athletes vs 16% gen teens (p<.05); poster presentation; submitted NHSJS

3. Volunteer: Accredited SAT & Math Tutor, Free Online Int’l Peer Tutoring
1 hr/wk, 20 wk/yr. Facilitate critical thinking skills; mentor/enlighten 52 learners, 18 countries; assist in raising SAT scores on avg. by 50 pts

4. Social Justice: Founder & Fundraiser, Paws of Ukraine
1 hr/wk, 26 wk/yr. Aid war-displaced animals. Launch/manage non-profit; fundraise; crochet 100 collars/toys; 3 fairs, feature on UAnimals webpage; raised > $2000

5. Work: Private Artistic Swim Coach/Camp Counselor
1 hr/wk, 40 wk/yr. Coach 12 athletes' skill development up 2 levels; mentor 60 preteens to foster creativity/growth mindset; instill a passion for learning/exploration

6. Tech: Opi-O-Scope Prototype Developer, Stanford Clinical Neurosci Immersion
30 hr/wk, 2 wk/yr. Capstone project of AI injectable nanobot monitoring neurotransmitter levels to prevent opioid relapses; prototype development offer.

7. Career: Econ & Leadership Ambassador, Econ for Leaders 2023
30 hr/wk, 1 wk/yr. Selected to promote econ. education; enhance leadership/public speaking skills; network; integrate econ. analysis/decision-making; social media promotion

8. Academic: Author of Academic Papers on Mental Health
4 hr/wk, 12 wk/yr. Published: [redacted]. Criticize policies on access to rural health care; analyze US history of mental health stigma; explore correlation of social media & mental health

9. Foreign Language: Ukrainian; Ukrainian Catholic University & Duolingo
2 hr/wk, 46 wk/yr. Master Duolingo in 6 months; increasing proficiency with weekly online tutor, including discussions of history, culture, and politics of region

10. Athletics: Swim, Long Distance Free and Relay Athlete, Varsity Swim Team
4 hr/wk, 12 wk/yr. Region champs 2022; endurance specialist; contribute personal best 200(2:10:06) and 500(5:45:40) free; collaborate on relays; inflate morale

Should your sport be number one if you are not a recruited athlete?

My child has a similar nationally recognized sport that is number one (like this example) but is not interested in pursuing it outside of the club level in college.

Thoughts? I thought it shouldn’t be #1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do students include activities in summer before 9th grade on Common App for school break/9th grade in activities list?

Yes. That counts.

Does it mean

Activities done in summer before 9th grade = 9th grade activities

Activities done in summer before 10th grade = 10th grade activities

And so on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do students include activities in summer before 9th grade on Common App for school break/9th grade in activities list?

Yes. That counts.

Does it mean

Activities done in summer before 9th grade = 9th grade activities

Activities done in summer before 10th grade = 10th grade activities

And so on?

Yes. And this is google-able.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t believe these carefully curated lists with clever wording matter much. My kids spent very little time on this section and basically just listed what they did, estimated hours conservatively (did not embellish) and were very successful with ivies and T20 admissions.

These matter more for pointy or niche kids with non-stem interests. Esp for T20 from privates. Our schools shows kids how to do these to highlight the niche.

[Anonymous]

both my kids grouped activities to fit within the 10 slots, eg: "club athletics: soccer, tennis, 3 years"

Volunteering: animal shelter, library, x hours a month

[Anonymous]

This is stressing me out. My kid has pretty good EC’s, or so I thought, but you read these examples and don’t feel it’s enough. Boy, what ever happened to just being a teen and goofing off. Now it’s all about what looks good for colleges. Do kids even care about half these EC’s they do! Sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is stressing me out. My kid has pretty good EC’s, or so I thought, but you read these examples and don’t feel it’s enough. Boy, what ever happened to just being a teen and goofing off. Now it’s all about what looks good for colleges. Do kids even care about half these EC’s they do! Sad.

What kind of schools are you applying to?
This only matters for T20.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is stressing me out. My kid has pretty good EC’s, or so I thought, but you read these examples and don’t feel it’s enough. Boy, what ever happened to just being a teen and goofing off. Now it’s all about what looks good for colleges. Do kids even care about half these EC’s they do! Sad.

All this BS only really matters if you are targeting T30 schools. Below that, no one cares. Focus on one of two ECs - doesn't matter what they are.. could be knitting at home or looking for mushrooms in your backyard- but make sure to show in your essays have that activity impacted you, changed you as a person/enhanced your worldview and what you gave to that community.

[Anonymous]

Bumping up. Are these better descriptions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is stressing me out. My kid has pretty good EC’s, or so I thought, but you read these examples and don’t feel it’s enough. Boy, what ever happened to just being a teen and goofing off. Now it’s all about what looks good for colleges. Do kids even care about half these EC’s they do! Sad.

All this BS only really matters if you are targeting T30 schools. Below that, no one cares. Focus on one of two ECs - doesn't matter what they are.. could be knitting at home or looking for mushrooms in your backyard- but make sure to show in your essays have that activity impacted you, changed you as a person/enhanced your worldview and what you gave to that community.

+1 My son's only activities were a short stint on stage crew (only at-school EC), volunteering at our church, playing guitar (private lessons, playing occasionally at church), golfing. Also listed a 1-week summer data science program he did at a college. He got in to all the big state schools he applied to except for UVA, which I knew was never happening anyway just based on class rank.

He also had a 1500 SAT, a lot of APs, 4.2 weighted GPA with all As in junior year (upward trend, 9th grade wasn't great). He's happy at Virginia Tech.