Im a sophomore going into junior on the East Coast. Freshman year i ended with a 3.75 gpa uw, and this year i managed to get a 4.0 so a 3.88 total now. Im trying to allocate my time best i can
I know its good to be involved in alot of extracerricular activities if youre trying to get into a high level school (as I am). While i am involved in a lot of clubs and honor societies, my main love and hobbies are things like composting and beekeeping. The problem with this is that its not part of an organization or anything so… does it really count for anything? I dont plan an environmental career or similar.
Do NOT give up on your interests just because they might not help in college admissions. I bet that if you write an essay about beekeeping it’ll make you stand out. See if your school has environmental clubs that you could get involved in to combine your interests with academics.
hobbies are something you do for your own enjoyment - not everything needs to be about getting into college to be worth doing - if you like it keep doing it
I don’t think a hobby you’re passionate about is any less impressive on an application than some random school club you don’t care about.
I agree that starting a club related to your hobbies might be a nice way to tie the 2 together. Or a business? Can you sell honey at local farmers markets, etc?
Thanks for the inpute… Im actually starting a vermicompost program for my school that the county is going to use as a template to integrate into other schools in the area… so i guess that counts.
It does! Listen, anyone can be a member of the Spanish Club and NHS. If your activities are interesting and you are passionate about them, you will stand out from some of the cookie cutter applications received every year!
There was a poster on here, Kelsey something, who had a hobby around birds. She got into Haverford, a top LAC. Beekeeping and composting, especially if you get it into your school and others, will be a great thing to write about! Good luck.
Do what you enjoy. ECs DO NOT have to be in the school. Your beekeeping and composting can be included on a college application and may even help you to stand out from the crowd.
After reading hundreds (if not thousands) of the usual and ordinary “sport taught me teamwork and Y club taught me leadership”, I guarantee an admissions officer would LOVE to read about beekeeping and composting. Keep up the excellent work on the vermicomposting. You are going to stand out in a good way!
Thanks for this. I really hope it helps me to stand out enough to get into a prestigious school. You are the type of people that make this site so welcoming to students during a time of chaos.
I smell an essay! Combine what you love to do with your goals at college or major and your golden. My son’s essay was on a Hobby that was a little different also. He was able to combine that with his major and the skills he learned in his hobby to prepare him for his major. I am not explaining it well but those that read it (some college counselor that were friends) said it would definitely standout. After that… You gotta have the goods. ?.
If you think about it, Beekeeping is a volunteer community service activity. It helps pollinate flowers in the community.
It can be a business activity as well if you sell the honey. It can be a charity if you give away the honey.