I’m involved in several sports at once but to prevent my college essay from being scattered and non-specific, I will try to emphasize only one of the sports but its difficult because I devote my time equally to several.
- Marathon running
I ran my first half-marathon at 15 and ran my first full marathon on my 17th Birthday. I do a lot of running but I'm not on an official high school varsity team (or whatever its called), instead I run for a local club in my community to help raise money for non-profits.
- Aerial Acrobatics
I've been doing aerial acrobatics since I was eight years old. Basically its gymnastics but 10 feet above the ground on a trapeze or lyra, and I have performed at a few circus shows, so I guess that would be something that would make me unique.
If you were the admission officer, which would you be most impressed with?
Aerial Acrobatics because it is less common, the only hard part is it’s hard to numerically determine how good you are.
For example, as a marathon runner, you could easily list your time and that may or may not impress them
but as an acrobat how would you numerically describe it?
I mean you don’t have to describe your “stats” but it’s good to…like saying football player wouldn’t help but saying how many touchdowns you scored on average during the school games helps.
Why not write about both? It sounds like you enjoy pushing your limits and testing your physical boundaries. Both of these ECs are impressive examples of this. The performance aspect of arial acrobatics is also quite unique. You don’t need to prove anything, by the way, or describe it numerically. Just the fact that you can talk credibly about your ECs and the amount of time you put into them will suffice.
I think aerial acrobatics and performing at circus shows is pretty unique. Not many teens can say they have done that! It’s not so much about being impressed as it is about being intrigued and making a interesting story to read
Can’t you list both? I think they’re both great.
If a college wanted to verify them, could they do that? For example, do you run in a club with a coach or do you have some kind of show manager responsible for minor health and safety when you perform?
List both! They both sound good
Any extracurricular to which you devote significant time and attain a high level of proficiency is a plus. I would include both, but probably give higher emphasis to the aerial acrobats because it is less common, and it sounds like you have achieved a higher level of proficiency (public performance). Unless you run an insanely strong marathon time (sub 2:45 or better for a woman, as a random guess).
I’d also go for both, but aerial acrobatics over the marathons. It’s not only less common, but also it seems more important to you/more of a lifetime commitment, which is cool.
They could contact the leader of my running club or the owner of my aerial acrobatics studio, yep.