Extracurricular activities & Essay---does this count? or will it hurt my chances?

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

<p>I do archery. I’ve been shooting since about 8th grade, but not competitively. I have great equipment, but I am not able to go to the range every week due to the distance it is from my home. Recently, we set up a target in the backyard, and I shoot mostly for fun, but I have improved a lot since we set it up. </p>

<p>There isn’t an archery club/team at my high school…but I wanted to include it in the commonapp…so what should I put it under, J/V Archery? Or under </p>

<p>I want to use that as my EC essay, because it is something different, not a lot of people do archery. I feel like I can write a nice essay, but I’m worried it might hurt my chances at some colleges that do not have archery clubs/teams like Williams College, Pomona College, Swarthmore college, UMich…however, it may help a lot when I apply to Stanford/Harvey Mudd/USoCal (if I decide to apply there), because they have teams/clubs…</p>

<p>I also play piano and am part of the school orchestra (violin), but I feel like a lot of other people are too. There are a lot of pianists/violinists much better than me. I will submit an arts supplement for piano to schools that accept one. I have been playing piano for about 10 yrs, and I have received 3 consecutive Unanimous Superior Ratings at Music Festivals. I don’t compete in competitions because I am not actually able to go to them, and even though I play advanced music, it’s not anywhere near what those competitions require. I LOVE piano, but there are a lot of people out there who will probably write an essay about it and how good they are. </p>

<p>Orchestra…well I’m a first violin now, and I have never really taken formal lessons…I’m the only 1st violin who isn’t currently taking lessons. (I did only take 6 months of lessons, but it wasn’t much for a significant improvement). I like orchestra, and I’m the secretary currently…I could maybe write an essay but lots of others may too. </p>

<p>I also used to work at the library shelving books and helping patrons…I don’t work there anymore, but I learned a lot there and found a lot of books I didn’t even know existed…hehe</p>

<p>Bottom line, </p>

<p>how do I put archery in the commonapp? (I try to shoot @ home about 1.5 a week AT LEAST, usually more if I can. )</p>

<p>Should I write the EC essay on archery even though I don’t compete and it may hurt me when I apply to colleges that don’t have archery?</p>

<p>Should I write about piano/violin instead?</p>

<p>Should I make separate applications (diff. copies) and write 2 different EC essays…and check off ‘I plan to continue in college’ when applying to Stanford/HMC, but not check when applying to the others?</p>

<p>I don’t work at the libary anymore, but should I write about that?</p>

2

<p>If archery is your passion, write about archery. It is different. The school wants to get to know you, even if they do not have the program. As a female, maybe you are good enough to give an archery scholarship (even if they do not have a program, you might be able to be a one person team). A lot of schools that give out a lot of athletic scholarships need females to balance out for Title X purposes.</p>

3

<p>ok thanks :slight_smile: I might also write a few…and see which sounds nicer…</p>

4

<p>if archery is what makes you <em>you</em>, then absolutely write about it! here’s the thing - and you know this - there are SO many pianists and violinists and volunteers and whatever else out there. go for something that makes you unique - and if you can write passionately about it, all the better! hell, I’m writing mine on weightlifting, and it’s not even something I do competitively. colleges want to know who you are as a person. :)</p>

5

<p>im still a bit stuck with how to put it on my common app</p>

6

<p>Writing your essay on archery is a fine way to talk about it but remember, the essay is about YOU, not archery. It should be about how archery affects you, makes you who you are, how it has helped you grow. </p>

<p>The same is true if you write about playing piano, it is what piano does for you, not a list of what awards you have won.</p>

<p>So if you decide to write your essay on piano, then list archery on the EC list. You can certainly continue it in college even without a team so that should not matter in checking that box.</p>

<p>Writing about archery for your essay sounds more interesting and different than playing piano . I think you can describe some very strong visuals about how archery relates to your life.</p>