If I have successfully organized peaceful demonstrations/protests for an education reform organization, should I include that on Common App? Will colleges instead perceive this an issue and a negative thing, and think that I may bring something like this to their campus?
If I were to include it, then on the Common App, I will say that I “Organized peaceful demonstrations for…”
I think the phrase you are loosing for is ‘student activist’ with a focus on issues of social justice - organized student events to raise public and campus awareness, engage students in lobbying for social change, etc…Then you can talk about specific activities like organizing peaceful demonstrations. If you right start off with ‘organized peaceful demonstrations’ you risk sounding like someone who isn’t interested in engaging with the administration in other, potentially more effective ways of communicating student concerns.
Yes, you should include it. Most admissions officers will view it positively. It’s better if you can find somewhere, such as the essay, to highlight what it is you are passionate about and why. If you aren’t passionate enough about it to devote an essay to it then I’d leave it off. Few schools would want a half-hearted activist.
I wouldn’t worry about needing to devote an entire essay to it – there are an awful lot of applicants who are passionate about more than one thing and have major activities that won’t be the focus of their essay, and that certainly doesn’t negate the value. Basically it sounds to me as if you did a lot of work on something, would like to have that recognized, but are worried about drawing negative attention.
I’d phrase it as suggested by N’s Mom – those are good tips. Also, I’d steer away from the term “peaceful demonstration,” because really, most demonstrations don’t involve throwing rocks, and hopefully there was no risk of it evolving that way, so there should be no need to qualify it as “peaceful.” (An exception could be if you were demonstrating for a cause where protests sometimes turn violent, such as a rally about police brutality. Then you might feel more comfortable specifying “peaceful.”) Instead of “demonstration,” an alternate phrase could be “organized a rally,” or a series of marches, or something of that sort.
On the whole, social activism is a plus. But I’m wondering if the specifics of the cause worry you a bit – for instance, if it involved school management issues (exam results, hiring, etc), or since you said “education reform organization,” if it’s a politically controversial cause that would make mainstream colleges leery. (An example would be an organization that advocates the teaching of creationism, as opposed to, say, advocating for more diversity.) In that case, hmmm, good question! I guess you’d try to find a broad way to phrase it that focuses on your own engagement and organizing skills.
^^ If by "the essay” you mean the personal statement in the common app, I would suggest a different approach. Don’t use that essay to highlight an accomplishment or a passion. Instead, provide an anecdote that helps the reader better understand who you are. Use your voice to provide some background that doesn’t fit under academics or activities and ideally do it in a way that you come across as likable or having good character or both.
@CHD2013 I was going to write about my unique mixed heritage and how that influenced me, but was rather going to do it in one of the college’s supplemental essays. Then, I was going to write about the influence for my main EC and my process of starting it up in the personal essay. Should I flip those two?
It’s hard to tell without more detail. I will emphasize though that the point of the personal essay is to reveal something about yourself that is apart from academics and ECs. If you do that through either topic you are in good shape. If you write about starting the EC in the personal essay, the success or failure of the endeavor should not be the emphasis; instead you should emphasize something about you and describe personal growth you experienced through the event covered by the essay.