So I have an odd question. One of my daughter’s interests is cooking. She watches alot of cooking shows, knows about various gourmet sauces and dishes, and bakes a few goods that look nice enough to be considered gourmet. She is not at the level of the expert teen world-famous chefs I have seen on a few television shows, but I would say she is a much better cook than most teens.
Cooking is ONE of her interests, but probably not her strongest one. (I think her biggest pros are her intense interest in academics and sports.)
My question is: if we dropped off a sample of her baked goods at the admissions office to schools such as Deerfield, Andover, Brooks, etc., would that be too pushy and weird, or would it make her stand out in a positive way? We would package them nicely so they look professional as opposed to a paper plate with saran wrap on it.
We are in close enough driving distance of these schools that I could drop off the goods several days before the interview. We feel if she brought the sample to the interview, it would be too bulky, awkward, and feel like bribery. I would probably do the dropoff myself, since I don’t think she has the time to drive 1/2 hour plus each way for this. I figured I could just leave the package at the reception desk with the Admission Counselor’s name on it, and try to leave quickly and quietly.
DS is similar. He likes to cook/bake and is pretty good. I would suggest she discuss it in the interview, and perhaps write about it in an essay but wouldn’t suggest bringing food to admissions. She could do a portfolio of some sort - photos, short video - if you think that could work with her skills/interests.
My vote would be to do it as a follow up with the thank you note. It will make them remember her and be more impactful. She could talk about her love of cooking during the interview. Plus beforehand you likely won’t know which admission officer you will get. Fwiw, Deerfield had a scratch kitchen, I think Andover is outsourced, and I know nothing about Brooks. I read on here that NMH has the best food. Good luck!
If the thought is no to the food drop off, maybe a photo of a nice baked good in the thank you note? If she’s talented at say cake decorating schools might be interested in her artistic talent.
How about her finding ways to channel her passion for cooking/baking into some demonstrable benefits to others? Bake sales to benefit a favorite cause? Cooking/nutrition lessons at a program that services underprivileged youth? Food security concerns at food banks/homeless shelters? Something at a senior center or the state run nursing home? Think about ways to turn a hobby into an EC.
IMHO, cooking as an interest for the consideration of BS admission is trivial. It essentially tells AO that you “have a life”. Mentioning it somewhere is fine but anything beyond that is overkill.
@panpacific - if cooking is a passion, how is that “trivial” in the school’s understanding of the child? How is it different from a passion for wood making, or mountain climbing etc? I agree with post 7.
The point is that there’s a difference between an “interest” and a “passion.” Interests are things that you should just list somewhere in the application materials. A passion – no matter how off-the-wall or weird-sounding to some particular person – should be documented more thoroughly for the admissions officer, so they can understand that this is something that makes the applicant who they are. Cooking dinner for your family once or twice a week, or baking cookies for bakes sales is an interest. Doing that, plus taking cooking classes, auditioning for cooking shows, keeping a blog, publishing a cookbook, working with a food bank, or the like shows that the “interest” is really a “passion.”
the key to me is whether cooking is an interest or a passion. But I agree with others no to food before the interview. However, if in the interview there is a lot of discussion around some key recipe or product then I think there is potential of sending some along to the AO as a sort of “I thought you might want to try what we discussed”. But this is very gray based upon the length and depth of the discussion of a certain food product
Friendlydaughter’s favorite activity at BS has been the Food Committee. The students have gained much better understanding of the considerations that go into food choices and have become seriously invested in the food itself and meal experiences. The whole school community is very appreciative of their efforts! I gather that competition is fierce to get a slot on the committee next year, and the current committee members are taking the duty of passing on their mission VERY seriously.
I have a child who is very passionate about food and cooking. They are also very interested in film and media to promote this interest… but that’s their own initiative, be sure your kid feels like they have a chance to celebrate this outlet rather than package it. Whether it’s photography, writing or community… support your kid in finding a way that feels sincerely appropriate to document their skills/interests (and show it off
@KathyAd I’m just brainstorming, but would there be any connection between ur D’s cooking/baking and her athletics? For example a good recovery snack or pre-workout mini-meal? Has she ever brought food to her current coaches/teammates? Our teams love whenever food is brought for after practice! Maybe the food topic would be interesting to bs coaches and maybe they would appreciate a sample of something that might be mentioned in conversation/email beforehand.
More generally speaking, how does your D feel about this? What does she think and what does she want to do? If she is eager to share her cooking/baking, I wouldn’t necessarily discourage her. If done in a sincere spirit I think there is something sweet and genuine about sharing food and it is a gesture that could reinforce a connection within a prospective bs community.
Thanks, @AppleNotFar Yes, my daughter has brought food to her sports teams (although it’s never healthy! lol). Thank you for your input. Huge help. We are still mulling it over.
I think you said one of the schools you were looking at is Brooks. Brooks offers a Winter Term course on food/baking; details on the website. In your daughter’s interview and/or essay she could mention her interest in baking and how she looked forward to taking this class. That would show she’d done some serious research into the school.
Winter Term itself is a fairly unusual program. You take only one course, pass-fail, for three weeks when you return to school in January.
