4.0 Asian Girl Does....Freelance Makeup Artistry! Does this make me unique?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Okay so I posted a thread regarding what should be considered my safety schools…but I thought putting this aspect about myself would bring a little more juice into the responses I’m getting… haha :slight_smile:
Background: I am THE typical Asian female…Seriously…2360 SAT, top 1% of a (not so highly ranked high school) 4.0 GPA, Full IB Diploma Candidate, lots of AP’s, 3 1st place wins in SYMF Piano Competition; you get the drill…You really don’t get more Asian than that.

Extracurriculars are definitely not bad…but nowhere near extraordinary: 500+ hours volunteering at my church’s ministry for the disabled; 50+ hours volunteering for an organization for disabled children; president of CSF, Science Olympiad, and Academic Decathlon Unfortunately I didn’t start a charity organization that raised a bazillion dollars so…yeah…

Okay, amidst this conventionality, there is one “unique”…uhh…obsession…that I have. I love collecting makeup and applying it on others for prom, weddings, etc. (I’m not so good that I do backstage work or professional shoots for Vogue so…nothing THAT exciting though). Now before you leave this thread thinking that I’m some crazy superficial teenager who needs to get a life, please hear me out. This addiction is NOT simply materialism…I literally daydream about how I can improve a certain makeup application technique or drool over the myriad looks I can create out of a palette of colors. If I highlight this so-called passion of mine in a college essay, do you think it will be a TOTAL FLOP or something that might actually be interesting in an essay? For me personally, if I did end up writing about it I would talk about something along the lines of how it got me out of my rigid left-brained focus(because before it was all about science, math…and more math), allowed me to appreciate the beauty of others more, and helped me develop more confidence about my uniqueness in the midst of feeling so unoriginal among a sea of SUPER competitive college candidates. Yeah I guess this isn’t as impressive to a place like Stanford as writing about winning a Google competition or discovering a cure for cancer as a 7 year old…but do you think this will give me an “edge” in my application. Yay or Nay? If you have any other ideas about the direction I should go with this PLEASE tell me!!!

2

No, I don’t think it makes you unique

3

Actually I think this would make for an interesting essay if worded properly. However you need to make it more involved than simply loving makeup. WHY exactly do you love it? Link it in someway to your academic interests.

4

Hmmmm…you do have a point sgopal2. I guess the challenge will be just finding a way to tie it to my academics but…oh geez this can be a total mess :frowning:

5

I personally think it is an excellent topic for your essay. I’ve never heard of anyone writing about makeup art (which is a good thing) and it is clearly something that you are passionate about. Please ignore @PassionatePoet because he or she had no reason as to why makeup art is not unique. Btw, makeup artistry is far more unique than poetry!

6

Do you think if I were to use makeup art as an essay topic I should say it as it is(a passion and just that) or find some way to tie it into academic interests like sgopal2 has mentioned before?

7

You clearly love it and it is interesting. Just start writing a bunch of stuff about it and I think a good, unique to you angle will emerge. Once that emerges, capture and refine it.

8

You can write about anything you want.

And adcoms at a most competitive can ask, “What was he/she thinking??”

This isn’t about picking a rare topic or “passion.” You don’t want them to see your stats and then question your judgment. Tying it to academic interests is a stretch. See what the adult educators around you think of this.

9

How is it that you don’t consider yourself good enough to work on student or community theater crews? It might add a little extra dimension to your ECs, and you could write about the passion with proof of involvement.

10

I don’t think you should tie it to your academics if it sounds contrived. It’s okay to be passionate about something that is just fun, and not going towards your future. What you’ve already said about why makeup artistry is meaningful to you says a lot about your character, and if you feel that you would be leaving out a huge part of your life by writing about something else, go for it!

11

Thanks for your responses everyone!