I have one big extracurricular and adequate grades. At heart I am really a bookworm, however, and spend most of my free time at home reading books (and sometimes even journals) in such topics as demography, anthropology/sociology and history. I have a number of very specific interests in the social sciences… but I am wondering how to actually communicate this to colleges I will be applying to. I feel like its not enough just to say I spend a LOT of time reading these books and too much to just list every single journal article I have ever read. Where is the appropriate in-between?
Unless this acquired knowledge benefits your classmates, your employer or your community – how can it assist you? Indeed, what if someone were to compare it to someone who compulsively plays video games? That person could be an expert on a variety of games – but what does that do for him/her as a collegiate scholar if the knowledge isn’t transferrable and does not lead to better performance in the classroom?
It’d be one thing if your vast reading is allowing you to better synthesize your assigned readings and classwork or to allow you to write/persuade more cogently. But you say you only have “adequate” grades. Do you excel in your humanities and history classes? Are you taking the AP courses in those realms? Regardless, the most important things for you is to a) improve GPA across the board (and to decrease your outside reading if it’s interfering) and 2) prepare for ACT/SAT.
Doing Algebra p-sets may not be your cup of tea but if you’re getting Cs because you’d rather read the Economist, then you’re actually hurting yourself.
Yes, I am taking as many AP courses as I can. Last year as a sophomore I took AP World History and got a 5. This year I am doing APUSH, AP Lang and AP Physics 1. (Also taking the Microeconomics exam) Next year I plan on taking 4. By adequate I mean A’s in all courses except for AP physics and Algebra, which I have B’s in. (3.75 GPA, expecting a 28-29 when I take the ACT in April)
As for the use of such knowledge… I am hoping that this will prepare me for success in courses and in research later on. Obviously that is not the reason that I am interested in these things presently, but hopefully I will be better prepared when it matters. That point does hit home though… obliviously I do need to make sure I am not just compulsively doing something that I like. Certainly not my intention, but I have been known to do it from time to time.
Essays in some applications ask for a list of books/reading material. Others do not specifically ask but the topic lends itself to literature (fiction and nonfiction). For the schools you are interested in look for this fit since it seems important to you.
Sweet, that is really encouraging to hear! I will keep my eye out for that.
It’s good to have interest/passion for something, but it’s hard to convey in an application which generally asks you to list activities that you were involved in. IF you were somehow able to convert that interest into something more concrete, then you could score some cred. I’m not as familiar with opportunities in the social sciences, but maybe you could try reaching out to professors at a nearby university? Or get involved at a museum? Or if there is a local paper/newsletter, you could try writing an article? Just throwing out some ideas…
I definitely have tried looking into any and all opportunities for work with local professors. Unsurprisingly, they only have enough enough resources for undergraduates to help out. I am working on an short article about religious youth programming for an undergraduate anthropology publication, so I am hoping will count for something.