It seems the purpose is defeated if we are asking others to choose our passion…
I have mixed feelings about this “passion project” stuff. There’s one admissions podcast where it’s counselors from what appears to be a very expensive admissions advising service, and at first I found the whole thing absurd (I still do, mostly). One episode had an advisor who appears to tell most of his clients to start a podcast, because it’s low-effort but also provides something that college admissions people can listen to to see evidence of the applicant’s “passion.”
It sounds ridiculous on it’s face, but he did mention how he had one kid started a BS podcast and then realize as he was interviewing his friends (mostly athletes) that he really loved talking about sports, which pointed him to a potential future in sports journalism.
So, I think “engage in an inauthentic passion project so that you look good for colleges” is terrible advice, but “go out and try new things, because you may discover interests you never knew you had” is pretty good.
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I could not agree more.
I think the sad thing is a lot of kids have internalized this mindset that everything they do has to be “impressive” in some ways to colleges, and if they get no validation from some supposed authority–even though a lot of such “authorities” are no such thing–that an activity will be “impressive”, they see it as “worthless”.
Real college AOs have made it very clear that is not how they actually think.
And generally I think kids should understand that the process of exploring different activities that are not on some popular list of “impressive” activities can still be INTERESTING to colleges.
And I don’t think they quite grasp how when tens of thousands of applicants are all trying to be “impressive” in the same few ways, all of those sorts of applicants are going to struggle to be interesting. And the kids who actually do their own things can end up standing out.
That said, if you also find yourself mostly exploring your interests through, say, conventional school activities, that is fine too.
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A friend hired the counseling service Crimson and told me they encouraged her daughter to do a passion project. The daughter didn’t engage much with the process, and I don’t believe she did a passion project.
I would add: be interested. In turn, that makes you interesting.
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The senior project option that our HS has is optional, not a requirement. However, most of the seniors end up doing a senior project anyway because they want to, not because it’ll look good on an application. And, honestly, by the time they’ve secured a placement for their senior project, all of the college apps are already in anyway. And if 1 or more of the schools you applied to required an interview, you’ve already had the interview before you figured out what you’re doing the project on.
1 of the 2 school counselors is the main senior project coordinator person. She encourages the students to pick a topic that they’re really really interested in. She’s even told us parents that her advice to the students is “You have your entire college career and the rest of your life to do career-related internships & project work. This is a good opportunity to learn more about something just because it sounds like fun to you EVEN IF it has nothing to do with your preferred college major.”
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Same advice in our HS. People do things like build furniture, create cookbooks–I’m kinda sad for the kids who do career-related internships, as it feels like a missed opportunity for me.
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Disagree on the career internship.
D24 did a KPMG summer internship and she loved it. They focused on career development, networking skills, professional attire, setting up a LinkedIn profile, difference between audit/tax and advisory. She went to an actual office, did some projects, and experienced working in a well respected firm that’s also great on her resume when she looks for internships in college,
Most importantly, none of the people there had graduated from a T20 University so she really does believe you can go anywhere and still be successful. D24 had great mentors and she’s now connected to multiple people at various levels within their local office.
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re: projects & internships - there’s definitely room for more than 1 way to do it. If your kid wants to do a career-related one, then go for it. Or if you really want your kid to do a career-related one, then encourage them to pursue that. Or if they want to do a project involving something else, then that’s fine, too. Or if your kid doesn’t want to do a special project in high school, then that’s also totally fine.
There’s more than 1 way to skin a cat. There’s room for lots of diversity in thought & ways of doing things on the topic. 
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You hit a nerve with the mention of cookbooks. 
I love the kids that use the time creatively (like art and music or coding) or to get a certification/training (becoming an EMT or scuba diver). But some of the buddy projects, like the cookbooks, just seem to be a way to get out of class and hang with a friend. Does it really take a month to create a smoothie recipe book?
When S24 wants to push my buttons he says … “I’m thinking of doing a cookbook for my senior project … or maybe my project will be putting together a weight training routine.”
Aaargh - something you do already (working out and making a smoothie afterwards) is not a senior project!!!
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@Momof242729 , Unfortunately colleges are not realizing this. I know many people in our community start non-profits in 4th or 5th grade. there are kids who got Prudential awards and big big awards but all the work behind the scenes is done by parents. They even coordinate with local agencies to raise funds, train other youngsters for kindness etc. It’s something definitely unbelievable that a 15-16 old kid can get such ideas when they don’t even know what is working with corporates.
I wish colleges soon realize this and change the process. Many of these kids went to Harvard.
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I kind of love the idea of an athlete sharing his workout regimen and smoothie recipes as a senior project. While it might be something they already do - that just shows it is something they really value and in which they have some measure of experience and expertise. They could also expand the project in greater depth.
It is also something they may never have actually ‘professional-ized’. And I think there is value in writing and producing video that will give the student more insight into what they do and its value as well as share it with others who may have no experience with either thing (working out or smoothie making).
Frankly, I’d rather see that than some “impressive” project which has an inch of depth to it because the student has no real knowledge or is parent produced/orchestrated.
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I’m the total opposite. My kid has chosen for her senior project to get certified as a Doula (she ultimately wants to be Nurse-Midwife–AT THIS POINT in her 17 years…things change especially in college). Now that I’ve read the “cookbook”, I’m going to suggest it when she gets home from school. She has worked SO hard and been SO stressed… I desperately want her to have fun this next semester. She’s EARNED it. And she has 5 more months of being a carefree child…forever.
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Just to be clear, I am not against career internships in general, quite the opposite.
I was referring to the Senior Project, which for us is about a three-week experience they can do at the end of their senior year. For that specifically, I think doing something completely unrelated is a good idea.
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You say that like it is a bad thing . . . .
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I have never heard of a Senior Project. I live in Chicago suburbs. Is this a regional thing?
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That is definitely my wish for my kid too.
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Honestly, I knew this existed at our HS by name, but until recently I had assumed it would be more like an independent study, senior thesis, or capstone project. As usual I was not paying close attention until it became relevant, and that is when I learned it was supposed to be an off campus experience of some sort over a short duration that need not be particularly academic.
I have no idea how widespread this sort of thing might be, although I have quickly learned it is not at all unique to our HS.
I’m not sure they don’t realize it. After all, isn’t that kind of why the Stanvards of the world exist – to cultivate students who can and will leverage their resources/contacts to accomplish whatever purpose they’ve got? Not to knock such schools – I’m sure they also provide a good education, but I’ve always worked under the assumption that the point of a brand-name school is to emerge with bragging rights and a full rolodex.
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I agree with you! Unfortunately many of these kind of kids, don’t probably don’t even donate a single penny after they get the degree.