2 Possible Responses to EC/Work Experience Supplement

College Essays
1

Hi!

I’d love to get some advice on what topic I should elaborate on for the following question:

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences that was particularly meaningful to you. (Response required in about 150 words.)

I have two main possible options on what to write about

  1. A summer job (one that is kind of unique) I can elaborate through PM that has taught me maturity, responsibility, it was working with children
  2. A long time extracurricular (I can talk about 1) volunteering (making a relatively small impact in my community) or 2) my contributions at an internship)

Boils down to–should I talk about a short term experience that has made a big impact on me or a long time sustained comittment and impact. One thing to note: my internship is in relation to my major (asian studies which I have EC experience) but not directly connected. If I write about my internship, advice about how to incorporate my planned MAJOR into it would be readily accepted!

I know @gibby has examples of supplements about ECs, they were good because they showed contrast (cheerleading vs STEM). I hope create some sort of similar interesting juxtaposition (the problem is I don’t know how I can with my ECs)

Thanks!

2

Pick the one that most allows you to show the attributes this college wants to see. (Try to understand what matters to them.) Sometimes, working with children may not show them how you interact with peers or adults. Otoh, it could show all sorts of traits. Sometimes, one topic is just brighter written than another, regardless of duration. When we say, “Show, not just tell,” it partly also refers to showing them your match. I think all supp questions are a bit of a test to see if you understand the college’s wants in the class.

Of course, you could adapt either to show the right things.