Activities question

[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

See 1 for examples.

[Anonymous]

DD spends 32+ hours outside of school on five activities and has for at least 4 years:

1. Dance - training, rehearsals, performances (20 hrs/week 45 wks/yr)
2. Music - band and private lessons (5 hrs/wk 36 wks/yr)
3. Club - vp for school club (5 hrs/wk 36 wks/yr)
4. Volunteer - nonprofit doing art therapy with kids (3 hrs/wk 14 wks/yr)
5. Sport - recreational (2 hrs/week 36 wks/yr)

She doesn’t want to dilute the impact with lots of one-offs but she could break these up if necessary (training/rehearsals/performances). But isn’t it better to show deep engagement versus quantity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD spends 32+ hours outside of school on five activities and has for at least 4 years:

1. Dance - training, rehearsals, performances (20 hrs/week 45 wks/yr)
2. Music - band and private lessons (5 hrs/wk 36 wks/yr)
3. Club - vp for school club (5 hrs/wk 36 wks/yr)
4. Volunteer - nonprofit doing art therapy with kids (3 hrs/wk 14 wks/yr)
5. Sport - recreational (2 hrs/week 36 wks/yr)

She doesn’t want to dilute the impact with lots of one-offs but she could break these up if necessary (training/rehearsals/performances). But isn’t it better to show deep engagement versus quantity?

Major?
Types of schools applying to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD spends 32+ hours outside of school on five activities and has for at least 4 years:

1. Dance - training, rehearsals, performances (20 hrs/week 45 wks/yr)
2. Music - band and private lessons (5 hrs/wk 36 wks/yr)
3. Club - vp for school club (5 hrs/wk 36 wks/yr)
4. Volunteer - nonprofit doing art therapy with kids (3 hrs/wk 14 wks/yr)
5. Sport - recreational (2 hrs/week 36 wks/yr)

She doesn’t want to dilute the impact with lots of one-offs but she could break these up if necessary (training/rehearsals/performances). But isn’t it better to show deep engagement versus quantity?

Major?
Types of schools applying to?

Double majoring in dance and biology. Or minoring in dance and majoring in biology. Reaches are T20 and safeties are T100. Targets are somewhere in the middle. All either have audition-based dance programs (T100) or consider strong arts supplements for admission (T20) and offer dance as a minor. If she had to choose, she’ll sacrifice dance for athletics, but she’ll be competitive for school sponsored companies. Her arts supplements will have way more detail than her common app activity list about her dance life.

[Anonymous]

PP here - I meant dance for academics, not athletics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here - I meant dance for academics, not athletics.

I would break these up then, calling out training and rehearsals/performances separately. Any summer intensives? Those get a separate activity.

[Anonymous]

My kids paid no attention to strategizing activities. They just listed them. One had just 3 activities and all pretty minor. My other had tons of activities but only 1 was major. The others were a variety of volunteer roles. He just listed in chronological order and I can’t remember if it was most recent first or last. Both went to UMD CP. You really only need to agonize over this stuff if you’re looking at the most competitive schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids paid no attention to strategizing activities. They just listed them. One had just 3 activities and all pretty minor. My other had tons of activities but only 1 was major. The others were a variety of volunteer roles. He just listed in chronological order and I can’t remember if it was most recent first or last. Both went to UMD CP. You really only need to agonize over this stuff if you’re looking at the most competitive schools.

Need to get that $450K HHI to be comfortably middle class. UMD isn't a safe bet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here - I meant dance for academics, not athletics.

I would break these up then, calling out training and rehearsals/performances separately. Any summer intensives? Those get a separate activity.

i

This is a great point. PP, dance intensives can be described by quantifying how competitive they are as well. Describe the number applying or auditioning and the number attending. Some AOs won’t know how elite certain programs are and you should explain it .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here - I meant dance for academics, not athletics.

I would break these up then, calling out training and rehearsals/performances separately. Any summer intensives? Those get a separate activity.

i

This is a great point. PP, dance intensives can be described by quantifying how competitive they are as well. Describe the number applying or auditioning and the number attending. Some AOs won’t know how elite certain programs are and you should explain it .

Sep out different dance companies and any clinics, along with # of years and # of performances. I'd include awards in honors sections if any are national/international (seperately)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids paid no attention to strategizing activities. They just listed them. One had just 3 activities and all pretty minor. My other had tons of activities but only 1 was major. The others were a variety of volunteer roles. He just listed in chronological order and I can’t remember if it was most recent first or last. Both went to UMD CP. You really only need to agonize over this stuff if you’re looking at the most competitive schools.

i think the people like me, focused on this strategizing, is bc our kids are applying to a lot of T20 reaches.

my older kid is at Ivy and there was definite strategy involved with what was included, omitted, highlighted etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So there are 10 slots. What happens if your kid has a very defined main activity like a varsity sport they do 40 hours a week during the season, and then every year tries different things: a different fall sport, different little jobs, volunteered a lot but not this past year due to sports...? How do they even weigh all this and do they view it negatively?

What activity is 40 hours a week?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here - I meant dance for academics, not athletics.

I would break these up then, calling out training and rehearsals/performances separately. Any summer intensives? Those get a separate activity.

i

This is a great point. PP, dance intensives can be described by quantifying how competitive they are as well. Describe the number applying or auditioning and the number attending. Some AOs won’t know how elite certain programs are and you should explain it .

Sep out different dance companies and any clinics, along with # of years and # of performances. I'd include awards in honors sections if any are national/international (seperately)

Thanks so much! DD broke up a couple activities so she could provide more detail and it’s way stronger now. Love DCUM!

[Anonymous]

Is there someone you can hire to help you revise these descriptions to make them sound so polished and impactful? Any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Crimson has good templates/examples. Another one:

Activities List Example 1: Student Admitted to Stanford Class of 2028

1. Volunteer: City Department of Sustainability (only youth member)
16 hr/wk, 24 wk/yr. Developed cultural food distribution strategies for the city’s first Food Plan. Built 2 cultural gardens with 12 types of crop, 50+ Ibs food harvested

2. Capstone: Founder & President, SmartSustainableCities
12 hr/wk, 40 wk/yr. Nonprofit w/ 6 intl. chapters, 90+ members. Spoke at 3 UN conferences about smart transit equity; created 2 city plans promoting walkability.

3. Cultural: Youth intern, National Museum of Asian Art
8 hr/wk, 10 wk/yr. Learned x-ray based analysis and paper conservation techniques w/ archival records. Studied Japanese art curation methods.

4. Research: Student Researcher, George Mason University
30 hr/wk, 8 wk/yr. Researched relationship b/w freeway capping & gentrification through statistical modeling; paper under review at Transportation Research Board.

5. Student Govt: Elected Chair Ambassador (1 of 32), City Youth Council
6 hr/wk, 36 wk/yr. Rep’d 200k+ youth. Directed policy initiatives on homelessness; Curated national workshop for BIPOC-owned businesses: 70+ attendees

6. Volunteer: Intern, Asian American Resource Center
6 hr/wk, 24 wk/yr. Curated youth program on cultural education w/ 16 participants and 3k in funding. Led an intergenerational storytelling event w/ 80+ attendees

7. Debate: Co-Novice Coordinator, Speech & Debate Team
12 hr/wk, 36 wk/yr. Ranked top 5 LD debaters in state. Created/ taught 1:1 curriculum w/ 6 students; debated Asian American critical race arguments

8. Research: Student Researcher, UC Santa Cruz Summer Internship Program
20 hr/wk, 8 wk/yr. Developed code book from 11 interviews w/ members of Black nonprofits. Presented impact of land-based, Black resistance on contemporary racial justice

9. Research: Student Researcher, UT Austin
4 hr/wk, 26 wk/yr. Researched the impact of China’s Belt and Road Initiative on 8 Indigenous communities in the Pacific; published 3 Op-Eds on Indigeneity in geopolitics.

10. Other: Photographer
2 hr/wk, 40 wk/yr. Curated 5 photo-essays w/ 10+ pictures each; created online exhibit w/ 80+ views on involuntary displacement, urban sprawl, and parking in city

This is really good.