ECs - the most unusual or memorable ones

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I kept wondering, how easy it is to fake these nonsense ECs. All you need is just writing this bs in your essay. A short order cook? A sailor? A bunny raiser? I can walk on the moon! It’s not like AOs will actually verify that you have done all the bs!

Brown and Stanford do "audits". I am sure others do as well:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/vej3ya/psa_brown_and_probably_other_schools_are/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kid who started a beekeeping initiative (already was certified master beekeeper from Cornell) with a local jail, and eventually inmates mastered beekeeping and made honey.
Kid packaged and sold the honey for them. Think inmates created a garden too and kid did same with that.

There's more to it, but that's the gist.
At Stanford.

That’s funny because I live on the west coast and kid beekeepers are kind of a dime a dozen out here. That and selling eggs from backyard flocks are both common crunchy educated kid activities in my area.

Once it worked once for someone, it's out there and is getting replicated a million times.

Truly unique ECs: no pain, no gain. The kid really had to go through a lot to accomplish something amazing.

The best thing is just to make sure your kids have enough free time to think, create and master something.

The reality is that most kids don't have that talent. The discussion here really is focusing on how to manufacture one. If the kid truly has talent, they won't be here asking ... But they still want to send the kid to a T20.

You mean like winning a robotics or math competition they've been prepped for since they were 5? That kind of talent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not in this year. There was a student who went on a journey of being a sailor. Then "wrote" a book about that experience, published. Got in stanford.

Risky, but worked.

omg. sounds amazingly fascinating. like the kind of person you'd love to talk to.

Keep in mind that it's difficult to manufacture this. Minors can never being allowed to be a sailor, it means that the family has resource to make this happen, either they own a company or have connections that take the kid.

I saw this happen live on a Maine Windjammer cruise. It was 2021(late Covid-era) and a divorced dad and his high school son were on our boat. The dad obviously loved the boat. He had been on it many years before as a cruise customer.

The captain was kind of shorthanded with crew so had distant family and friends helping out on our cruise.

The last day of the cruise, the Captain offered the kid passenger a crew job. Kid and dad conferred, kid agreed within a few hours, and last we saw of them at debarking, they were off to find the kid some work pants before dad went home without the kid.

I told my kids...that kid just had a college essay topic fall into his lap, lol.

At my freshman's university, they recently had a talk from a woman who sailed around the world solo as a 16 year old. And when she grew up...she became a Deloitte consultant.

https://michiganross.umich.edu/news/sailing-around-world-jessica-watson-handleman-lecture

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of these ECs listed are called "texture". Have you heard of it?

It is texture (term was coined by a former Stanford AO: https://www.instagram.com/admitium/). Texture appears VERY important at Stanford.

Texture = "your personality pops off the page through novel interests and endearing personal qualities that show you're humble, authentic and have moxie" (source: admitium Masterclass - no the MC wasn't worth it.)

What the hell is moxie?

in addition to hook, narrative and packaging, we need to add texture or moxie?

[Anonymous]

My son wants to get a pilot's license. Any thoughts on that? His target major is aerospace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been harping on my sophomore for 1.5 yrs to join something at school. Keep telling her on paper she looks like not that interesting. Then I was so ashamed that I told him kid she wasn't interesting! She is in almost year-round club sport and piano lessons and other than that, she seems to only care about her hair and makeup - no cap as the kids would say.

But, she works hard at her grades and I've decided to leave her alone. We will just try to ensure her essays convey a sense of her quiet confidence and creative interests. I've actually really come around to deciding that -screw the resume-building - I think it is cool she is happy opting-out. And now we have peace in the home. I've told her some doors may close but if she doesn't have the drive rn to jump through hoops for other ppl, a non top-tier school will be just fine.

She is smart and creative and has nice friends... She will get a part time job this summer and at least get some real life skills and have her own Starbucks money. As for the college stuff, we are just going to roll with it and see how it all pans out. I'm sure it will be fine.

For your wonderful makeup-loving daughter, a gift, courtesy of this college counseling guy I see everywhere!
https://www.tiktok.com/@tineocollegeprep/video/7423531655656230186

I love this, thank you!!!!

[Anonymous]

My kid (last year) included his skills as a beekeeper among his ECs (My spouse had started keeping hives in our yard and more or less mandated DS help him, so DS learned the basics and yes, wore a full bee suit multiple times).

I don’t know if it helped with admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid (last year) included his skills as a beekeeper among his ECs (My spouse had started keeping hives in our yard and more or less mandated DS help him, so DS learned the basics and yes, wore a full bee suit multiple times).

I don’t know if it helped with admissions.

But what was the impact with beekeeping? Or was it just included in the ECs to show personality?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid (last year) included his skills as a beekeeper among his ECs (My spouse had started keeping hives in our yard and more or less mandated DS help him, so DS learned the basics and yes, wore a full bee suit multiple times).

I don’t know if it helped with admissions.

But what was the impact with beekeeping? Or was it just included in the ECs to show personality?

Primarily to show personality and also demonstrate contribution to the “family business” (we did make and distribute some honey—well I guess the bees made it). Additionally he looked up whether there was a beekeeping club at the schools he applied to and then mentioned his interest in joining the club in the “why this school?” essays.

Couldn’t really tie it to major since he was applying to engineering. But also he was not applying to top schools so—I’m not sure how important unique ECs are in schools with a 50%+ acceptance rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid (last year) included his skills as a beekeeper among his ECs (My spouse had started keeping hives in our yard and more or less mandated DS help him, so DS learned the basics and yes, wore a full bee suit multiple times).

I don’t know if it helped with admissions.

But what was the impact with beekeeping? Or was it just included in the ECs to show personality?

Primarily to show personality and also demonstrate contribution to the “family business” (we did make and distribute some honey—well I guess the bees made it). Additionally he looked up whether there was a beekeeping club at the schools he applied to and then mentioned his interest in joining the club in the “why this school?” essays.

Couldn’t really tie it to major since he was applying to engineering. But also he was not applying to top schools so—I’m not sure how important unique ECs are in schools with a 50%+ acceptance rate.

lol

In this chamber, only sub-10% acceptance schools are of interest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid (last year) included his skills as a beekeeper among his ECs (My spouse had started keeping hives in our yard and more or less mandated DS help him, so DS learned the basics and yes, wore a full bee suit multiple times).

I don’t know if it helped with admissions.

But what was the impact with beekeeping? Or was it just included in the ECs to show personality?

Primarily to show personality and also demonstrate contribution to the “family business” (we did make and distribute some honey—well I guess the bees made it). Additionally he looked up whether there was a beekeeping club at the schools he applied to and then mentioned his interest in joining the club in the “why this school?” essays.

Couldn’t really tie it to major since he was applying to engineering. But also he was not applying to top schools so—I’m not sure how important unique ECs are in schools with a 50%+ acceptance rate.

Yeah. It doesn’t matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid (last year) included his skills as a beekeeper among his ECs (My spouse had started keeping hives in our yard and more or less mandated DS help him, so DS learned the basics and yes, wore a full bee suit multiple times).

I don’t know if it helped with admissions.

But what was the impact with beekeeping? Or was it just included in the ECs to show personality?

Primarily to show personality and also demonstrate contribution to the “family business” (we did make and distribute some honey—well I guess the bees made it). Additionally he looked up whether there was a beekeeping club at the schools he applied to and then mentioned his interest in joining the club in the “why this school?” essays.

Couldn’t really tie it to major since he was applying to engineering. But also he was not applying to top schools so—I’m not sure how important unique ECs are in schools with a 50%+ acceptance rate.

lol

In this chamber, only sub-10% acceptance schools are of interest.

Actually I just checked and 2 of the schools he was admitted to had <50% acceptance rate for men (but higher than 40%). I’m sure it was the beekeeping that made ALL the difference there!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been harping on my sophomore for 1.5 yrs to join something at school. Keep telling her on paper she looks like not that interesting. Then I was so ashamed that I told him kid she wasn't interesting! She is in almost year-round club sport and piano lessons and other than that, she seems to only care about her hair and makeup - no cap as the kids would say.

But, she works hard at her grades and I've decided to leave her alone. We will just try to ensure her essays convey a sense of her quiet confidence and creative interests. I've actually really come around to deciding that -screw the resume-building - I think it is cool she is happy opting-out. And now we have peace in the home. I've told her some doors may close but if she doesn't have the drive rn to jump through hoops for other ppl, a non top-tier school will be just fine.

She is smart and creative and has nice friends... She will get a part time job this summer and at least get some real life skills and have her own Starbucks money. As for the college stuff, we are just going to roll with it and see how it all pans out. I'm sure it will be fine.

For your wonderful makeup-loving daughter, a gift, courtesy of this college counseling guy I see everywhere!
https://www.tiktok.com/@tineocollegeprep/video/7423531655656230186

Okay, that's actually pretty cool!

more positive and helpful posts please.

[Anonymous]

I’ve got a car mechanic kid with excellent grades/rigor/scores who decided to Ed to a top 50 rather than a top 20 because he didn’t want a school that wouldn’t allow him time for his car-mechanic-y pursuits. We were thrilled to be done and have him someplace that’s a good fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son wants to get a pilot's license. Any thoughts on that? His target major is aerospace.

Of course that's great.