<p>My daughter is a junior in HS and has dedicated her life since first grade to an unusual sport: competitive jump rope. She has been to many National and World Championships and practices 4 - 5 days a week. In addition to practices, she has taught at least two after-school elementary school classes per year since 4th grade and is currently the one of lead coaches of her team’s junior team. She and her world-recognized team also perform at university/professional basketball half times, Jump Rope for Heart school assemblies, and she travels around the US teaching jump rope workshops (including this weekend).</p>
<p>Other than NHS, she doesn’t have time to do a traditional HS sport, drama, or clubs and keep her grades up. But, she has gained tremendous leadership skills, a real passion, and an activity that is different. What would be the best way for her to let prospective colleges understand what a challenging, interesting, and unique skill set she brings to her “resume”? Should she include a video in her college apps as many people have no idea what’s involved in the dynamic sport of jump rope? Thanks.</p>
<p>Can’t it be the subject of her common app essay? It’s definitely unique and should be an interesting topic. She ought to be able to spin it so it fits one of their prompts.</p>
<p>Thx for the response. She’s going to have her coach write a letter of rec explaining what a cool and difficult sport jump rope is (combines gymnastics, dance, speed, power, hip hop in crowd pleasing routines). Three of her teammates performed at 28 basketball halftimes at the london Olympics including the gold and silver medal games. Does anyone include a video cd with their app? I guess a YouTube link would work too.</p>
<p>I have a similar issue, my sport of freestyle mogul skiing takes a lot of training and is all consuming in the winter, not to mention all the summer training and aerial camps. I’ve been very successful (junior Olympics), but i feel like it’s hard to convey my love and commitment in a relatively unknown sport. I mean not many people can do a backflip on snow in a mogul course, but an adcom will have no idea what “freestyle mogul skiing” is… You guys have any ideas?</p>
<p>What a great way to have your application stand out. I can think of several ways your essay can talk about your competitive jump roping. First, there is the commitment that leads to perfection, then there is the give-back and leadership required to teach and coach, and then there is the many human interactions you have when you go to competitions, meet new people, see new sites and learn to live with the same people over a long period of time (that is not your family). </p>
<p>All great ideas that I will share with D. Thanks. The real question is how much does the essay or an unusual activity/sport really matter? Do private schools value great essays and EC more than large OOS schools? Will a kid with a really dedicated passion trump a superstar high SAT/ACT, but dispassionate, only-doing-it-for-the-resume kid? She wants to go to a big school far away from home.</p>
<p>It depends what level schools she’s looking at. For very selective schools, it can differentiate her among thousands of kids with similar scores/GPA. As you go down the list, ECs will get less and less important. Regardless, it won’t help her get accepted to schools that she’s otherwise unqualified for, unlike being a recruited athlete (since the jump roping won’t directly benefit the school). SAT/ACT scores will always trump ECs/essays.</p>
<p>Quick update: D just came home from staffing a jump rope workshop in Texas and reiterated what a great weekend it was for her. Getting to see competitors from around the country who are now friends and representing her team in another state is something she wouldn’t trade for anything. After reading many (too many?) post on CC from students with a very long list of activities, I was concerned that my D wouldn’t “measure up” when it came to applying to colleges. Now I realize that she’s doing what she loves and has made a lifetime of memories traveling around the US and globe (she’s planning to lead workshops in Kenya in December to kids from some of the poorest slums in the world). She’ll get into the colleges that admire her passion and realize that she’s not just an SAT/GPA score, but a dedicated human being that has/can make a real difference in the world many years from now. I will stop worrying and be excited about what the future holds for my child.</p>
<p>In response to your original question, Kees, I’ve seen students with highly unusual extracurriculars use the “Additional Information” essay in the Common Application for this purpose. The prompt for this optional essay is this: “Please upload a document here if you wish to provide details of circumstances or qualifications not reflected in the application.”</p>
<p>There are two other mandatory writing prompts in the Common App: one is known as the Activity Essay and is very short (1000 characters). This is where most students explain their involvement in their sport, music, leadership, etc. She could use this essay to provide an overview of her jump rope activity, and then state she’s including is a complete jump rope resume on the Additional Info page.</p>
<p>The other mandatory essay is the Personal Statement (500 words). You might be tempted to have your daughter use this essay to tell all about jump rope, but really, this essay should be used to reveal more about her character, motivations and personality. I’d advise her to write about anything except jump rope if jump rope shows up in the first essay and on her list of activities. </p>
<p>For those students involved in an activity that has components like a list of events, community service, awards, and possibly a link to a youtube video illustrating the skills involved, the Additional information option might be a good idea. </p>
<p>Caveats:
Don’t duplicate information found anywhere else in the application.<br>
The Activity Essay could introduce the activity, and then the Additional Info can be a concise resume plus link to SHORT youtube video.
Make the Additional Info page as tight as possible- just because you have a new whole page or more available, doesn’t mean you should use it.
Stick to one theme. Don’t pile on other activities that don’t seem to fit anywhere else.</p>
<p>withoutausername, I’ve seen competitive skiers (freestyle and downhill) use this format as well. Your competition schedule is so completely different from a high school varsity athlete’s that it is worth explaining you must train and compete away from home frequently and that your grades should be viewed in the context of that schedule. Not that you’re making excuses, but just to point out that you’ve balanced your sport and your academics.</p>
<p>Thanks for the wealth of info re: essays, etc. This is our only child and we are unfamiliar with the whole application process. What a difference 35 years makes. Back then I took one test once (ACT), got some brochures in the mail, applied to a in-state university that offered me a scholarship, and that was it. No essays, comparison shopping, campus visits, or grade stress because a 2.8 was actually decent when there was a bell curve for grades. My parents, who both went to a large out of state univ., had almost no input re: my college choice. They were busy with other kids, life, health issues, etc. HS kids were mostly on their own in selecting a college. Times have changed…</p>
<p>Today’s over-involved parents put so much pressure on their kids to go to the “most prestigious” school not necessarily the “best fit” school. I know that well, since many of my foreign-born clients begin pushing their children at age 1-2 with flash cards, piano/violin lessons, Kumon, etc. A B+ is just not acceptable to them. I vowed not to become that type of parent, but the pressures to compete are everywhere.</p>
<p>My child is who she is–a smart, feisty, independent thinker who can do or be whatever she puts her mind to. She has good grades (3.5 at a competitive school) and is OK with not getting in to a prestigious school. Life is what you make of it–not the undergraduate school you went to.</p>
<p>Yes, it can be a great platform for an essay, and a short note with a short tape or reference to a Youtube might be in order too. I"ve seen some kids who were national jigsaw puzzle winners and other unusual pasttimes get some interest from admissions and really a lot of people. So, yes, the fervor and accomplishment she has had in this activity may well give her app an interesting slant.</p>
<p>As for getting a “hook” or special tag for this—highly unlikely from a national school unless some celebrity status has been reached. The schools reserve that category for students who have something that the school specifically wants. Even excelling in sports doesn’t do it, unless the kid is a recruited athlete for the NCAA team of that school and on the athletic manager’s list for special consideration.</p>
<p>An idea about tying this into how this will benefit the school would be for your student to mention how she would love to incorporate thi activity in fundraisers and events at the school, especially if she can show that she has seen what the school does in that area, and how she can add a whole other dimension.</p>
<p>This past Sat. a local Texas TV station filmed the entire jump rope staff show that my daughter was in and posted it on youtube. The quality is excellent and we noted the times she performs on the video. She can reference this on her essay so admissions officers can watch if they choose. D is excited with the prospect of being able to stand out among a sea of “soccer/piano/baseball is my life” essays.</p>
<p>Although jump rope is big in urban East Coast cities and the South (the National Double Dutch championships are held at the Apollo Theater in NYC in December to huge crowds), it’s not as well known in other areas of the country including the Pacific NW and West Coast. </p>
<p>Some of D’s former teammates have introduced the sport and started jump rope classes for elementary students near their colleges. They also have worked with the PT departments at a variety of colleges because it is the very best exercise known for conditioning. The Seahawks have, in the past, used our coaches to help their athletes beef up their strength and endurance by adding jump rope to their training.</p>
<p>Fun update: D was just awarded this morning “PE Student of the month for December, 2012” in her large HS. So, while she may not have earned a varsity letter or won a regional/district/state championship, she’ll know that her efforts in her unusual sport have been noticed by her school PE teachers and peers. And, this Sunday, she and her team will be performing at the UW Husky Basketball halftime in front of 5,000. </p>
<p>Hopefully in the future, jump rope will be an Olympic sport so the world can see what a dynamic, difficult, fun, and impressive sport it really is.</p>
<p>My advice to all the kids who are doing an unusual sport–follow your passion because you never know where it will lead.</p>
<p>Our DD was a licensed falconer already in her teen years and was hunting rabbits with her trained (wild-trapped) red-tailed hawk when applying. Falconry is a totally consuming sport that leaves no time for conventional, organized extra-curriculars. DD did as several people have mentioned here–she highlighted it in the main essay and/or in some of the Additional Info areas provided. </p>
<p>The pursuit of falconry defines her and it takes true grit to make a go of it; she highlighted the single-minded determination and precarious balance of obsessive control and risk-taking required to train and fly a bird of prey. The fact that she was a teenage girl finding success in an ancient, rare sport–practiced almost entirely by men through the ages–really made her stand out. It also showed Adcoms that she could take on a huge challenge and see it through (becoming a falconer takes years and is a grueling undertaking in the US; she briefly explained the process in her app). Your daughter can use her unusual and intense pursuit in the same fashion, to great benefit. Depth is often better than breadth, in these cases. </p>
<p>I believe DD did include a link to a pic of her with the hawk in the field.
Best of luck!</p>
<p>Wihoutausername–
Briefly describe your sport & tell them what’s involved. Falconry, like your freestyle mogul, isn’t understood in the least by <em>regular</em> folks. DD educated the adcom by capturing her sport’s exciting, unique essence in active language. DD stated explicitly that it was a huge daily commitment (hunting with the bird in the field, 2 hours a day, often 5 mornings a week, at dawn…hawk is treated as a performance athlete. Falconry is an adrenaline-fueled sport balanced by the need for consistency and extreme precision on the part of the falconer (the polar opposite of keeping a ‘pet’.) </p>
<p>Your active language below captured my imagination and is a good start. </p>
<p>Falconry–what an interesting sport. As an avid birdwatcher, I admire your daughter’s choice of sport. We have many red tails in the Seattle suburbs and they are majestic and intelligent birds. </p>
<p>I’m always saddened when I meet kids who’ve been forced to do an activity by their parents with no say in the matter (ex:piano and violin are acceptable, but drums, saxophone, or jump rope is not). Our world needs individuals who are creative, interesting, and not afraid to take risks.</p>
<p>Kees4me, if your daughter gets into range with her SAT/ACT, her jump roping will be an asset. Not only for the uniqueness, which is something. but because she has a passion for it and is competing on a national level. And through her jump roping she is also doing community service. These are the kinds of things sought out by highly selective schools. Years ago the schools were looking for lots of kids that were “well-rounded.” Now, especially at the top schools, they are looking for kids that are “pointed.” In other words, that really excel at something. And collectively, the student body is “well rounded.”</p>
<p>As for how to bring it to their attention, I would be careful about sending stuff. Lots of people want to send stuff and it can really turn off an admissions reader. AO’s can be funny about that stuff. Usually the best way to tell them about herself, her passion, is through the essays, as someone mentioned. Jump roping is such an integral part of your daughter’s life that I can’t imagine not being able to incorporate the jump roping into an awesome essay.</p>
<p>I know this thread is kind of dead but I just randomly found this post. I’m also a competitive jump roper that’s been jumping since the beginning of elementary school and all the way into high school. I’m in college now and still jumping at the moment but I definitely remember going through the college process while having a “weird” extracurricular that basically encompassed my entire application. DEFINITELY make sure your daughter writes an essay about it (preferably the common app essay) because that really will show how important jump rope is to her. I don’t think including videos of jump rope is completely necessary if it will take extraneous efforts. A few colleges I applied to allowed me to post a video or a youtube link so I took advantage of that. Other than that, just apply and really showcase jump rope! If you have awards, list them (don’t be afraid to use an extra Word Document to list your awards, workshops, and volunteer work with jump rope and submit it as the extra document the common app allows!) Colleges LOVE the sport! Many jumpers I know have gotten into extremely selective schools and I truly do think jump rope helped! It certainly sets you apart. If you have any other questions or whatnot, just message me and I’ll try to get back to you. Good luck in the application process and keep jumping :D</p>