I spend around ~14 hours a week taking care of my dog, and was wondering if that counted as family responsibility in the activities section of the commonapp or if there was a better category for such a situation. Thanks.
Ah, no. But it could be a subject for an essay. A vehicle to tell a college some things about you. You have to find a questionor topic that works with it.
Princeton and JHU? No. You’re competing against kids with many activities, stretch, some impact and more. Plus top stats.
The essay shoud be relevant to what colleges look for.
@lookingforward have you seen JHU’s essay that worked page? https://apply.jhu.edu/application-process/essays-that-worked/
There is an essay on eating potatoes. I am sure an essay on taking care of the family dog could work if it showed insight in the who the person really was.
I generally don’t trust, “this worked for someone else.” Who knows what went on with the rest of the potato kid’s app?
In general, you want a topic relevant to adcoms, building a class. Traits they want in the class. You won’t have your dog at college, be taking care of it. And far better to show peer engagement, not pet engagement.
Tricky.
Yes, but the example given was from the university itself, as an example of what they look for in an essay.
I think it is safe to say that it’s not the actual topic in an essay that matters, rather it’s how you write about it and what you say. An essay about the family dog could be dreck, or killer-- for a kid who wants to be a veterinarian and uses the topic of family dog to explore their motivations, things learned etc.
That said, a bare bones “family responsibility: caring for family dog” isn’t very strong. Aren’t schools using this question to find kids who have to babysit younger siblings after school every day, or care for a sick parent etc?
There are a million life lessons -about oneself - learned from caring for an animal, and any one could make a great essay. It’s not really an independent EC, but could show an interesting side of the applicant. (And it doesn’t have to do with anything they want to study.)
I agree that it looks a little week/stretchy to put this in family responsibilities. I also think putting 2 hours a day on it might be doubted (I am doubting it, myself). I believe that the intended purpose for this question is babysitting/elder care/family businesses although the latter could also go in work experience.
If it’s truly 2 hours a day, it is a significant part of your life, so maybe there is some way to fit it in the app. Is it some sort of special circumstance? Are you doing classes or shows with the dog?
But schools like P and JHU are looking for what shows them you should be in their class, college-relevant. Th topic may be “interesting” and reflect this writer-- but does it make her wanted for the class?
That’s the challenge.
People tlak about topics- what their kid wrote- forgetting it’s what’s in the delivery and content. Look at the comments about the potato essay:
"Madison’s fun writing style left the admissions committee entertained, but more importantly gave us insight into her outlook and personality. The essay illustrates her joy in trying new things and having diverse interests. This helps us understand how Madison would thrive in a liberal arts academic setting with lots of flexibility where she can find the unique cross-sections of her interests
That’s a lot more than 20 hours/week caring for her dog. Note how the potatoes may start the essay, but it swings full into change, diversity, and other interests. It’s multi-dimensional.
Yes the potatoe has little to do with the essay plus it was a clever insight into the applicant. You can write about anything as long as they get a feeling of who the applicant is at the end. If this is an older dog maybe. It seems to be a normal responsibility and I would think someone applying to college might have something more to write about. But… Do an outline and see where it goes. Remember the essay is about you not the dog per se. Maybe you can turn it into something clever?
Plus, as someone said, 14 hours is a lot. Are there other, important ECs to show, the right depth and breadth? And if this dog is old or needy, a miswritten sentence or two can imply you really don’t want to leave home, the dog needs you. (Silly, but watch out.)
It’s P and JHU, highly selectives, I’d worry about, not other colleges that just want to see a kid can put thoughts to paper, reasonably.