Is Magic an Interesting Extracurricular? Also, chance me?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>I’ve been an amateur magician for a few years, but I’ve really started taking it seriously and performing for the past year or so. I founded a club for it, and a performance group that does local shows at like senior homes, or birthday parties, but I’ve also done one individually for a crowd of 1000+ people. I’m probably not good enough to be paid for my magic, but it is one of the things that I really love to do, and I spend most of my time out of school either practicing or performing. </p>

<p>I’m wondering, for the kind of schools I’m applying to, would it be an interesting extracurricular to mention in an essay or something?</p>

<p>Most Likely Majors:
Political Science
English</p>

<p>The schools I’m likely applying to are:
Williams
Georgetown
Rice
Claremont McKenna
Vassar
Grinnell
Hamilton
UT Austin
UCLA
UC Davis
USC
Iowa</p>

<p>So these are my stats:</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
State: California</p>

<p>GPA: 4.94 weighted, 3.9 unweighted
Class Rank: N/A (School Does Not Rank)
SAT: 2270 (760 Reading, 710 Math, 800 Writing)
PSAT: 228
ACT: 34 Composite (35 English, 35 Math, 35 Reading, Science 32, Writing 9)
SAT II:
English Literature:740
American History: 730</p>

<p>APs:
9th Grade:
World History (4)</p>

<p>10th Grade:
European History (5)
Spanish Language (4)</p>

<p>11th Grade:
Spanish Literature (4)
Chemistry (4)
English Language (4)
U.S. History (5)</p>

<p>12th Grade (Not Taken Yet):
Government
Economics
American Literature
Biology
Calculus BC
Comparative Government
Human Geography</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>3 years volleyball (1 on varsity)
1 year basketball
2 years yearbook (1 as Senior Editor of Sports)
4 years Junior Statesmen of America (2 as boardmember)
3 years Science National Honors Society (1 as boardmember)
3 years Academic Decathalon (Team Captain)
4 years Quiz Bowl (Founder and President)
2 year Magic Guild (Founder and President)</p>

<p>Job Experience:
Freelance writer published on Bleacher Report 22 times
Staff writer for animation review website
In the process of publishing a light novel with a Japanese publisher
Internship with California State Assemblymember, worked in PR and media
Volunteered on a campaign for a candidate in a local city council election
Hired as a stage magician for birthday parties, bar mitzvahs, etc.
Was chosen to be part of a group that went to Sacramento as lobbyists on behalf of my school district</p>

<p>Volunteer Work:
100+ for local volunteer organization</p>

<p>Awards:
Boys State Delegate
Leading Scorer for Academic Decathlon, 5th highest score in school history
Scholar Quiz Champion
Harvard Book Award Winner</p>

<p>I am family friends with the former Deputy District Attorney and a current California State Assemblymember, so should I try to get a letter of recommendation out of him? The internship I mentioned above was with him, and I’ve known him personally for my entire life, so he would probably have a lot to say about me.</p>

<p>Please, any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>Williams: Reach
Georgetown: High match
Rice: Reach
Claremont McKenna: Reach
Vassar: Reach
Grinnell: Match
Hamilton: Match
UT Austin: Low match/Match (would have been better if your school ranked, and you were in the top-7%)
UCLA: Match
UC Davis: Low match
USC: Match
Iowa: Safety</p>

3

<p>I would edit the above post to say CMC might be a low reach. You have a better chance than most due to your extensive leadership plus activities in the political world. </p>

<p>By the way, magic is an awesome EC. Definitely put it.</p>

4

<p>If you actually knew magic, you could probably use an Imperius curse on the admissions officers to compel them to accept you. </p>

5

<p>@sirswish7 But that would bring the Ministry into the problem. Try a love potion to persuade an admissions officer. </p>

6

<p>Pfft I’d go back to Azkaban. But yeah, a love potion might be a bit better. </p>

7

<p>This is very old, but still might interest you:
<a href=“Math Jams”>Math Jams;
“I had one fantastic interview with a very nervous kid who spent a lot of time doing card tricks for kids in hospitals. I got a deck of cards and we had a great time”
So magic could be an interesting activity, but it depends on how you frame it.</p>