Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been following Application Nation and the leader of it is pretty militant that kids should not write about an activity for the main essay. My DC has a very time-intensive activity that is really their passion (100s of hours a year). DC wants to use what appeals to them about that activity to explain their overall approach to life and what drives them. Is this really a no-no?

Not only is it not a "no-no," it's a good approach to the essay.

Have to disagree. Sounds generic and will be rehashed in the supplementals.

Np::

Depends on the tier of school. Given no Supp for UVA or Tulane could work.

Anonymous wrote:I have read a bunch of "essays that worked" from colleges that publish them.

Some of them completely focus on the kid's activities.

My takeaway is this: let's say my kid was a competitive gymnast and that was their main passion. I would not encourage them to write an entire essay about being a competitive gymnast and what it taught them (i.e. it taught me persistence, it taught me patient, it taught me to rely on myself).

But I would not tell them to shy away from the activity at all. I might have them drill down on one instance of where they grew in one of the qualities like persistence. ("I used to give up easily, but this situation or this coach showed me how to be persistent).

Or maybe there is a unique reason why they love gymnastics.

Something that makes them a whole person and not just, this is what this person learned from gymnastics.

Along this line, a competitive swimmer I knew wrote about what they think about when doing laps (it wasn't swimming), and how this made them enjoy the sport more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been following Application Nation and the leader of it is pretty militant that kids should not write about an activity for the main essay. My DC has a very time-intensive activity that is really their passion (100s of hours a year). DC wants to use what appeals to them about that activity to explain their overall approach to life and what drives them. Is this really a no-no?

Not only is it not a "no-no," it's a good approach to the essay.

Have to disagree. Sounds generic and will be rehashed in the supplementals.

The personal statement is your kid's chance to show their personality. There will be plenty of other chances to discuss their primary activity in the supplemental essays. My kid wrote about the social interactions in a particular class and an icebreaker developed by he and a friend that brought them together. Generally anything that isn't a brag sheet will be a welcome distraction for the admissions officer. My kid got lots of kudos for his story having entertainment value, including in a note from the SCEA school where he was accepted.

I 100% hate all the advice to kids about their essays. It makes me actively angry that we put kids in these impossible positions.

Be different! But not weird!
Don’t write about something lots of people do! But write about something you know! (Which by definition will be something lots of people do for lots of kids).
Show your personal growth and grit but don’t write the cliche essay about how you faced a challenge and grew because of it!
Show who you are but don’t write about the things that are listed on your activities list (even thought that’s basically what you did for the past four years with all your time)!
Tell a good story but don’t feature other people hecsuse we want to know about YOU!
Don’t sound spoiled but also don’t dwell on hardship or really feature any significant challenges that the AO might worry might impact your ability to succeed at the school!


The vast majority of excellent writers and excellent people could not meet these criteria. It’s really dumb we expect 17 year olds who have incredibly limited life experience to do this.

She's full of crap, and so black and white with her advice. I really feel bad for everyone who gets duped by the confidence of her drivel.

My DS wrote about a connecting set of activities, what they enabled him to see about the world and what they motivated him to want to do in college. The essay needs to show who you are as a person, how you've grown, and what you will bring to the world. If that story is best told through one or more activities, then that's fine.

(he got into several T-20s including 2 Ivies, and is at an Ivy now).

The goal is to find something twee and oddly specific so it stands out from other essays and Spielberg's the heartstrings.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the college influencer Ivy Roadmap on Instagram or Youtube. He disagrees with the advice from AN and thinks that the activity should at least be mentioned in the main essay so the ad officer remembers who you are.

AN at least has a former Ivy admission’s officer as the head. Do I agree with everything she says? No. But Ivy Roadmap guy is just an influencer that likes to talk about college admissions, right? Has he ever worked as an admissions officer? Correct me if I’m wrong!

And he’s abrasive and annoying. Feeds into the Ivy fever.

Anonymous wrote:I have been following Application Nation and the leader of it is pretty militant that kids should not write about an activity for the main essay. My DC has a very time-intensive activity that is really their passion (100s of hours a year). DC wants to use what appeals to them about that activity to explain their overall approach to life and what drives them. Is this really a no-no?

Not only is it not a "no-no," it's a good approach to the essay.

Anonymous wrote:Look at the college influencer Ivy Roadmap on Instagram or Youtube. He disagrees with the advice from AN and thinks that the activity should at least be mentioned in the main essay so the ad officer remembers who you are.

AN at least has a former Ivy admission’s officer as the head. Do I agree with everything she says? No. But Ivy Roadmap guy is just an influencer that likes to talk about college admissions, right? Has he ever worked as an admissions officer? Correct me if I’m wrong!

Anonymous wrote:I have been following Application Nation and the leader of it is pretty militant that kids should not write about an activity for the main essay. My DC has a very time-intensive activity that is really their passion (100s of hours a year). DC wants to use what appeals to them about that activity to explain their overall approach to life and what drives them. Is this really a no-no?

Don't do it. Just list the activity on the application.

There are no topics to avoid. (Well, outside of being offensive or something.)

-- have worked as an application essay coach

I have read a bunch of "essays that worked" from colleges that publish them.

Some of them completely focus on the kid's activities.

My takeaway is this: let's say my kid was a competitive gymnast and that was their main passion. I would not encourage them to write an entire essay about being a competitive gymnast and what it taught them (i.e. it taught me persistence, it taught me patient, it taught me to rely on myself).

But I would not tell them to shy away from the activity at all. I might have them drill down on one instance of where they grew in one of the qualities like persistence. ("I used to give up easily, but this situation or this coach showed me how to be persistent).

Or maybe there is a unique reason why they love gymnastics.

Something that makes them a whole person and not just, this is what this person learned from gymnastics.

I'd focus on the kid's personality, thinking and learning, with the activity secondary as evidence of it. The kid should be the interesting part.

The essay should reflect something interesting about the kid’s character and passion. If that is best illustrated through an activity then that’s a good choice.
FYI both of my kids wrote essays reflecting how their activity helped them to learn valuable lessons. My DSs was about being captain of a team and how they won despite their being expected to come in second. My DDs was about how she learned to ski with her cousins and how she looked forward to teaching the younger ones. Both kids got into their first choice.