I’m not certain that going into depth about the etymology/description of Weltseele is that crucial to your application, although what you do with your interest in this specialty area is. For the activities section, it’s good to focus on action words, focusing on your role in the project – words like develop, create, maintain, etc. You probably don’t even need to use the words Weltseele at all, although you can include the url if you have room. It’s also good to include stats, if they are compelling, such as number of views, etc.
I have to keep reminding myself that your use of the word, "unique* in the subject line is not an indication that you are looking for “fit”. Your ultimate goal, which you kind of revealed as an aside, is to attend law school which, generally speaking, doesn’t require a whole lot of prerequisites and as one of our colleagues (I won’t say his name three times) is fond of saying - the T10 law schools draw from every single college that’s been mentioned so far. And, of course, from dozens that haven’t been.
That’s my roundabout way of saying, “You’ll be fine at Chapel Hill.”
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Not an expert by any means as I have a sample size of 1- my kid who was able to snag a few acceptances from T10s or T15s, depending on what rankings you are looking at.
What I have learned from last year’s admissions cycle is that you can only be yourself. If you were to ask me what got my kid into those schools, I would say is that he really presented an authentic and consistent version of himself, notwithstanding his academic stats which is more than likely similar to 99% of the applicants. His EC’s (which weren’t really exceptional but rather something he truly enjoyed and put some time in) reflected who he was in his essays.
There were many more “interesting” topics about him that I would have preferred he write about but in the end, he wrote about what was interesting to him. Mundane probably to most of us but he was able to convey that little piece of himself. In this case, he wrote about what interested him rather than telling the reader that he was interesting.
When I asked him how he chose to write his essays, he simply said that he wanted to show himself and not sell himself. What he truly wanted was a school that was a good fit for him and while he had an idea of what schools those were, he also wanted the school to recognize that he was a good fit for them. And to achieve that, his only choice really was to just write about what speaks closest to his heart rather than write about what he thinks an admissions officer may like.
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@national_delivery what a great post, and great kid (and parent for recognizing all this):
In this case, he wrote about what interested him rather than telling the reader that he was interesting.
he simply said that he wanted to show himself and not sell himself
his only choice really was to just write about what speaks closest to his heart rather than write about what he thinks an admissions officer may like.
@EclaireurTirailleur after reading your various posts I would suggest that you make sure to show that your interest and activities are genuine, and not motivated by admissions concerns. Many students are now doing websites, self-publishing, starting non-profits, and doing research in order to increase their chances. Volunteering at the history museum is great. Not saying you aren’t genuine, just referring to impressions.
The other thing is, stay modest. Touting yourself and the specialness of your interests is not going to be helpful. You can describe them but don’t evaluate them, as said before. Not saying you aren’t modest, just referring to impressions.
Finally find a school that fits you rather than trying to fit yourself to a certain set of schools. Wiliam and Mary is great for history. The director of the steeple restoration project I volunteered on got a master’s degree there. You might want to focus on schools with excellent public history and preservation programs, rather than Ivies.
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You need to assume that everyone that reads your application is a college graduate. Many of them are graduates of the actual college you are applying to. Most of them majored in history, literature, languages, Renaissance studies, art history, etc. And 100% of them are capable of understanding even an obscure historical or literary reference in ten words. I promise you. And furthermore- many of these folks wrote an undergraduate thesis, senior project, or similar-- and went through the exercise of having to explain to Aunt Matilda what their topic was and why it was interesting or important.
If you are the only person in your HS or circle of friends with your kinds of interests, I can relate to why you are concerned about not being understood. But that is not who will be reading your application. 100% of them have taken some sort of European history class, 100% of them have visited museums, historic sites, monuments. 100% of them have at least a rudimentary understanding of current debates in historic preservation circles about Colonialism, the tensions between indigenous and newly arrived cultures, etc. Pare your application down to what is really meaningful to you without worrying about being special or unique, or having to talk down to your audience, and you will land somewhere great.
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You run a webpage on the Napoleonic wars and are fascinated by under-recognized people who were swept up in Napoleon’s adventures. AO’s don’t need to be schooled on Nunzio Othello in an Additional Information write up. They probably won’t care. What they will care about is why you care about him, and what you’ve learned about yourself and your interests, and that passion is something that should be coming through your essays and recommendations already. You don’t need to school them on every detail of Napoleonic history, you need to make sure they get you. Show, don’t tell.
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I think I do pitch them that way, especially with Otello who’s the highlight of my personal essay. At the end, I really say I chose to do Otello because I thought he was interesting and I found it sad that no one had talked about his story. I did flaunt a bit at the end that I was ‘the only person in the world to do it’ and I think that’s a bad to way to pitch it. I do want to seem genuine to AO’s at the end of the day.
In terms of my other EC’s, as of now they’re really just me talking about what I did in more detail. I’m going to add a section why I talk about why I chose to do what I did rather than just telling AO’s I’m a good fit for history. I feel like it sounds like I’m begging rather than showing…
Georgetown fits me the most. I’m familiar with UNC and they have a strong history program, and I like the school. I also want to aim high and miss high, if that makes sense.
Thanks. I just want to make sure AO’s understand what I’ve done and and know I do truly care about my activies, while they understand the depth of what I’ve done. I feel like its hard to convey that sometimes. But there’s no need to talk down to them, you’re right – they’re qualified enough to become AO’s in the first place.
I’ve just finished my rewriting of my essays and I’ve gone from bragging about my achievements to telling a story of why I chose to do what I did. I think it sounds better overall and is more genuine. Thank you for all your advice 
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I find the way that @metawampe summarized this very compelling and they had no need to mention obscure terminology. Is the above summarization accurate? If so, you will probably find it useful to write include something like that as a theme for your essay,focusing the rest on why you find it so interesting and how your personal experience on developing the website and related activities will be reflected on campus— both in and out of the classroom.
You can also use a variant of that type of sentence for your activities list.
You’ve got this! Just try not to get too much into the weeds and, as others have said, don’t condescend to the readers.
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Thank you! I’m trying my best to be authentic and organic rather than roboting my achievements.
To some degree. I feel like there’s more to me. If I wanted to describe my Napoleonic Wars research outside of Weltseele (since Weltseele is more army/state focused rather than people focused) in however many words that is, that would be a very accurate way to put it.
Maybe a way to think about it is WHY you are interested in this history vs what you’ve done
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Exactly!!
Then you can add an “as well as….” clause to the suggested summary template sentence.
You may find it useful to sign up for CC’s free essay review/help service, run by several members of the CC community.
I can’t find the link. Can someone else post it ?
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I can give an example. My son was president of the investment club at his school. Nice, but who really cares. Boring. AOs see thousands of club presidents.
When I pressed him to tell me WHY he was fascinated with investing, he told me it was because he was a news junkie, that he read the BBC, Al Jazeera, NY Times and Wall St. Journal websites every day and was really intrigued by how world events affected markets. And how he was obsessed with wikileaks and loved talking about current events.
Who is more interesting (and therefore an AO is more likely to want on campus and in class)? The president of the investment club, or an engaged kid who was extremely knowledgeable about current events and was wanting to share that knowledge?
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I was just skimming this thread, so maybe I missed it, but are you still planning to REA to Harvard? Why not EA to Georgetown instead of Harvard? Just curious.
Also, I wanted to reiterate the point that the strength of a university’s law school is not relevant to choosing your undergrad.
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Exactly! Having a niche historical interest is, in and of itself, not that interesting. The drive and intellectual curiosity behind the interest is what is important.
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One way to think of it: Your goal is not to get the AO’s (or anyone else) to share your interest, but for them to recognize and share your enthusiasm.
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They don’t need to share every applicant’s interests and enthusiasm… just recognize that it would add to campus life (whether in the seminar room, historical archive, on the playing field/gym, performing arts center, sculpture studio, lab, etc.) in some way!
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Good point. I should have said “recognize and appreciate your enthusiasm” rather than share it.
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