@doschicos That’s great news! My parents will be happy to hear that my ambition to study-abroad (well, depending on how things go back home) may save them money! Yes, I will make sure not only to meet the grad requirements, but go above and beyond! I think you’re right about independent study; if I spend enough time on any one college’s website I’m bound to find out something about it, under some fancy name.
@WWWard Interesting. Italy’s been near the top of my list for a while, right below France & Japan… but studying in China would be most beneficial, as I am working towards fluency in Chinese (Mandarin). Count me in!
On a slightly unrelated note:
I sort of mentioned this in my original post, but not really. How much do things that I did before high school play a role in college admissions? First, like I said, I performed as the title role for probably around 30k people total during a 2-month run at the oldest theater in the USA (and the most prominent in Philadelphia) – but in 5th grade. The middle school I went to also held an annual school-wide public speaking competition, which I won 3 years in a row (I was the first to do this, ever). Lastly, I performed with London’s Royal Ballet in 6th grade, but only as an extra. How would I go about including any of these on my common app, and should I even bother? Thanks!
How much theater/speaking experience do you have form high school? If its predominately middle school stuff, it might be hard to include it as it will seem too dated IMO. If you have high school stuff, perhaps an arts resume is warranted.
Italy was amazing. Using it as an 11 month base of operations by which to tour many other countries in Europe/Afirca was an added benefit. As I said before… best year ever.
If you did apply to JHU, you could clearly mention that specific BA/MA program and your work towards fluency in Chinese (Mandarin). It could clearly help seal the deal, as you would have a great “Why Hopkins” reason to detail within the Common Application. I do not know if it remains the case, but back then, Hopkins was the only American university with a graduate program in either Europe or Asia. Many colleges of course have study abroad programs, but these were graduate school programs. In the case of SAIS Bologna, I also began there as just a 19 yr old. So basically my junior year abroad was also year one of grad school. It is something to consider if you are really looking for an unique college experience. It was certainly hard in my case to get bored as I was moving from city to city to city while in college. But I was looking for a real Renaissance type college undertaking. All that being said, I was still disappointed not to get in to Brown.
You can always try to find a way to submit a Creative Portfolio List / Resume, but the majority of its items should be, as @doschicos mentions, while in high school to carry the greatest merit for consideration.
@doschicos@WWWard Due to time limitations and how much school I would’ve missed if I had taken up theater opportunities during the year, I only participated in school show. However, our school does both a play (non-singing) and musical (singing) every year, and I have been part of every single production. Additionally, I’m on the drama board, so I help lead rehearsals sometimes and help out with Middle School shows. As I listed on my original post, I am the president of our a capella group too, and we sometimes will learn a song from musical theatre, so I’m definitely keeping up the singing too.
In terms of public speaking, I have been on my school’s first mock trial team for 2 years, and have to speak often on the witness stand in front of judges, my peers, and others, while also thinking quick on my feet. I also tried my luck with FBLA Public Speaking last year, but I got 2nd out of around 15 kids in our region and only 1st place makes it to states, so that isn’t really interesting (that’s what happens when you begin writing the speech 5 days before you present it). Additionally, my interest in theatre, which began at the age of 6, has made interacting with others much more enjoyable and easy for me, which I think played a big role in why I am so interested in new cultures & languages. So, I do feel like there’s sort of a “narrative” I can lay out, using the years before high school as a foundation.
If I did choose to submit an arts resume (only singing and acting), it would look like this:
15+ roles at my local theater; which I later gave back to through a fundraiser and 6 week unpaid internship
2 roles at the oldest theater in the USA (one title, opening night role)
Extra in the London Royal Ballet’s production of “Swan Lake”
2nd place at a local singing competition, and 1st place the next (still like 5th-6th grade)
2nd place at a Philly-based singing competition
6 roles in middle school shows (2 title roles, 2 leads, 2 meh characters)
ACDA national honor choir member, in 8th grade (went to TX for it)
6 roles in high school shows (3 leads, 3 meh characters)
PMEA Regional Choir (12th chair) - sophomore
PMEA All-State Choir (4th chair) - junior
I know that only the last 3 items happened in high school; however, given that I can tie in my acting to the other things I do extracurricularly, would it still make sense to submit? BTW, I am not looking at all to go to arts school. Thanks!
Do you wish to continue to dabble in theater/public speaking in college? If so, don’t hesitate to include a an arts resume laying out all you’ve outlined above. I don’t think anyone would look askance at it so there for it would be neutral to possibly helpful by setting you apart from other candidates.
Perhaps you can also work your narrative about theater leading you to interest in cultures/languages into essays somewhere.
Lastly, make sure you interview, even if it is optional! With your public speaking background, I’m sure you make a very strong in person impression and would handle yourself well.
I agree. It is clearly important to you and should be included as a strong component of your application package to colleges, either as part of an essay or a short answer or maybe even with a supplemental Resume. And I echo the sentiment about interviewing… both on campus, if possible, and by way of requesting an alumni interview.
Just remember to conduct thorough research about each college and university and endeavor to find a way to tie your diverse interests and goals back to each individual school. All of these colleges want to know & understand you, but they also want to feel that you have an answer related to “Why ________?” CC is a great place to explore your uncertainty and possibly discover new programs to research. But colleges are going to prefer, most likely, if you can pinpoint something there that attracts you in particular.
@doschicos I definitely plan to participate in theater as an extracurricular activity during college and maybe even beyond that. I also hope to be involved with something public speaking related, whether that be mock trial, debate, or something like that. I’ll certainly submit my arts resume to the schools that allow it.
I’ve been thinking of rewriting my Common App essay completely; while my current one is well written and talks about something significant to me, I feel that shaping my story and forming my seemingly unrelated interests into one cohesive narrative may be more important.
Would it make sense to reach out to schools before applying or right after applying and ask for an interview? I was under the impression that you receive an e-mail after you’ve applied to a given school asking about interviewing, but I think that if I reach out first, I would not only come off as proactive but also very interested in the school and eager to know more about it.
@WWWard Some colleges on my list are a bit too far away to interview on campus… but I’ve also heard that many of the more selective colleges don’t offer on-campus interviews due to too many applicants. Could you elaborate on what you meant in the last sentence of your first paragraph?
The bottom paragraph sounds exactly like what my dad told me, as well as my GC. It’s really excellent advice and makes perfect sense. It’s also one of those cases where it sounds simple, but is much more difficult to implement in practice. Then again, why am I applying if there isn’t something specific about the school that draws me in? Hmm…
Understood. And many colleges do not even make the alumni interviews available. It can depend on the availability of alumni in your area, the # of applicants overall, etc. I just meant that you could make an extra effort to request one, if possible, or at least agree to one, should they contact you. Some schools make it a link on their websites that you can select after you apply and check on the status (like UChicago), but most colleges simply email you later after you apply. Sometimes it is the alum themselves that will reach out to you by phone or email. I would just take advantage of the opportunity if it is afforded to you.
Yes… it seems simple and logical, but you would be surprised how many applicants cannot really answer the “Why Brown?” question, for example. In fact, a # forget to properly proofread their essays. I remember that when we were at a Yale event, the speaker emphasized that when writing an essay… remember to spell Yale Y - A - L - E and not S - T - A - N - F - O - R - D. It must occur quite a bit if they are emphasizing the importance of paying attention. But such are things now with the ease of the Common Application.
So start the process early and proofread every many times before submitting. My younger daughter has applied to 5 colleges already this month (USC, Stanford, Yale, UTexas and FSU) and plans on applying to at least 8 more (Brown, Northwestern, Duke, Vanderbilt, UMiami, UTampa, UVa, Rice). So who knows, your paths could be crossing…
Most of the LACs do offer interviews prior to submitting an application so I do think it would be good to reach out proactively. You should be able to find each school’s interview policy/procedures on their websites. Williams is one of the exceptions as it does not interview.
I’ve heard many of the Ivies don’t interview until after but I’m no expert on their processes as it wasn’t a route my kids chose to pursue.
@WWWard I see, thank you for clarifying. I will make sure to take advantage of any interviewing opportunity offered to me. It’s kind of incredible how a "Why " could be simply copied and pasted; if you’re speaking generally enough that what you’re saying could be applied to multiple colleges, then are you really answering “Why _?” I’m intent on directing all of my focus towards each and every app, whether the school be a reach, match, or safety. Seems like a waste of time, money, and opportunity to do anything else.
Like I said, I’ve already written my common app essay. However, I am thinking of rewriting it to fit my narrative a bit more. I’ve also started on the Princeton supplement and have looked at a few others. Congratulations to your daughter, I do not have the aptitude to plan that far ahead and apply this early… maybe our paths will indeed cross!
@doschicos Awesome! Once I finalize my list of colleges I’ll look at each interview policy and find out what is the best course of action to take with each. Do interviews really make a huge difference in the admissions process, anyway? I heard that many of the alums rave about a lot of the applicants, so it really doesn’t say much to the admissions committee. Just a thought.
I think for the LACs (which you should try to do on campus to the extent you can) a great interview can help. Less so for the Ivies from what I’ve heard. Section C7 on the school’s Common Da6a Set will indicate the importance of an interview.
The Common Application Essay is quite a challenge, especially since that one single essay gets disseminated to so many different schools potentially. And to draft a personal statement within 650 words that adds significant value to your overall application package… well that is a task that can stress out almost any applicant. My only advice would be to read your entire application packet in its entirety without considering the essay and then ask yourself what may be missing. In other words, what might a college need to know about you or what info may you need to clarify further in order for them to have as complete a picture of you and/or your aspirations as possible. There is no question that this is difficult to accomplish. Some applicants approach the task with humor. Some just try to demonstrate their writing ability and creativity. The key thing to me is to complete the packet. Is there something that if left unsaid about you would either sway them or that you feel they need to know? In your case, it may be the range of interests or desire to experience and compare various cultures, etc. Whatever is missing may be what you want to include. Good luck with that challenge. If you are thinking about rewriting it, you likely should. You do not want to hit submit with lingering doubts about your essays…
Man! Those stats are amazing!! I am more than sure that you are a great fit for almost any college you apply to. You deserve that. Your ECc show that you have worked insanely hard and at the same time kept awesome grades! Way to go man! Congrats!!
@doschicos I had no idea that there are colleges out there that allow you to interview before even applying! I feel quite uninformed about the whole college admissions process now… better schedule one early (demonstrated interest ftw!) Seriously though, I feel like nobody knows about that.
I’ll make sure to go through my list and look at each college’s data set. Quite helpful!
@WWWard Thank you; I believe that is an excellent way to approach the Common App essay, and it is definitely the way of thinking that I will employ when coming up with my new topic. I also agree that I would never forgive myself for hitting ‘submit’ if I’m not 100% sure that it’s the darn best essay I have written in my life.
@WWWard I will make it as great as it can be. On an unrelated note, since you and I seem to think sort of similarly, did you ever consider a career as a consultant (at least to start)? Apparently, it requires a lot of travel, long hours, and good people skills, as well as critical thinking. I’ve read that a lot of people major in something non-business related, get an MBA, specialize in consulting for companies in the field they studied in college, and then after 5 or so years, stop consulting and begin working ‘in industry.’ This seems like a path that fits most, if not all, of my criteria. Have you any experience with consulting, and do you believe that it would be a good fit for me, or is there something big I’m overlooking? Thanks!
Yes… very good speculation. I am now currently a consultant and have been such before in three other industry arenas. So I have been a consultant in four separate areas of operation - with some but not too much overlap. I do not want to be too specific within this forum, but yes - you have accurately speculated where someone wired like us may end up over time. In my case, I did not pursue an MBA, but that would be an excellent option. In my case, what initially attracted me to international relations as a graduate level field of study was the inherent diversity within that program itself… politics, comparative government, diplomacy, int’l organizations, int’l business, economics, travel, etc. The widely diverse paths taken by some of the people that I went to graduate school with is truly amazing. Some did get an M.A. in International Relations and then an MBA too. Some went to law school. Our final destinations were too many to detail. Back then, it was simply the closest thing that I could find to a renaissance style educational offering. Plus, I was inspired by travel and cultural diversity. Fast forward… and I have done a # of different things, have been rarely bored and have been to 34 countries, etc. My biggest fear at your age was the notion of being tied down to one particular path… a job tree within one company, one designated cubicle or office, etc. I get bored easily and chose to even alter my career paths over time to try new things and take on new challenges. I simply wanted to learn more, see more, experience more and dabble in more career paths until the right fit found me. And who knows, I may change paths again eventually…
But the potential path that you outlined above is a well-tested one that could be very well-suited to someone like you.