I’m an electronics hobbyist. I build drones and various other things (see here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Electric-Arduino-Go-kart/ ). I feel like this is my defining skill- I can build almost anything, from scratch, and bring it to completion. Specific skills I have obtained from this hobby include: circuit design/analysis, soldering, coding, understanding of physical computing, etc. A massive amount of my time has gone into this hobby and I want to make it clear to colleges when I apply how important this is to me. However, I don’t have any actual verification (as one would with a school club or other organization). This is something I do by myself when I’m free- so how would I make it more legitimate? The only proof I have is the skills and the various projects I’ve done. Since I’m a rising junior, I figure I have time if something needs to be done. Any advice is welcome. Thank you!
By the way, I’m not in the robotics club at my school- it sucks and they treated me pretty badly for offering my advice as an underclassman. I tried to explain that I actually know a bit because of the above mentioned hobby but they didn’t take it too well, so I quit.
It’s enough to state it, but it’s too bad that you haven’t entered your work in any competition to get outside recognition.
ETA: Is that your kart project?
I think it’s enough to just write it - you’ll also have a bit of space to explain what you do and how much time you spend doing it in the Common App. For MIT specifically (if you apply), you can submit one of your projects as a Maker Portfolio.
You don’t need any proof of legitimacy on a college app. They take you at your word. If you say that you spend say 20 hours a week on electronics projects, they’ll believe you. You sign on your application that everything you said to truthful.
@OrchidBloom MIT is my top choice, so that’s really good to know.
@JustOneDad Yeah, that’s mine. Do you know any good competitions? The things I do aren’t geared towards science fairs (which are more focused on experimentation).
Maybe you could have a teacher write about your hobby in a letter of recommendation?
Yeah, I was thinking of starting a club and eventually getting the moderator to write a rec. Anyone know of any contests which show individual accomplishment, though?