Additional Information Common App

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

Hi guys,
So there was this interesting anecdote that occurred to me (not writing about it in essays)- basically I found myself underprepared during at a prestigious university competition (won’t say which) so instead of sitting around I spent the last 30 minutes writing a humorous self-deprecating parody of “The Raven” making fun of my poor performance at that competition. The graders, who were juniors at said university (not that this matters), really loved it and emailed me and stuff (again I doubt this matters). The poem was pretty good- not like “supplemental art” material or anything, but interesting at least. Would this anecdote be something I could place in the Additional Information section of my Common App? I personally think this event might not be that special or interesting and might irritate the already-busy AO’s, but my college counselor thinks it is worth putting.

Also, I founded a nonprofit for teaching following a certain philosophy that I believe is superior to all others known so far, I have like 300-ish students all across the country (and a few in Europe and Asia). Is it worth briefly mentioning this in the Additional Infomration section? It is one of my first in the activities section, but the 150 char really is not enough to describe everything about it (I understand the AOs are busy; I don’t intend to submit like a 50 page information packet or anything and from research it seems not good to put a link to the website, but idk).

Thanks for the help!

2

Would it be weird or potentially harmful if I put “Best Poem at x Physics Competition”? I thought this might be funny but I’m worried it might be too informal or might sound like I’m mocking the system or something

3

The additional info section is not for an extra supplement. It’s for information that would shine a light on something not already in your application that would significantly impact your chances (parental problems, familial status, gender identity, medical problems, unusual school situation, etc). Most of the time students make it a list if there are multiple things. you can write about the situation, but I wouldn’t advise it, especially if you already included it in your activities section.