As we all know, Ivy League schools love to see a “big spike” on college applications.
They love students who are absolutely great at one thing. They love students who show true passion on one thing.
I’m an upcoming at a high school in rural Indiana. Our school is ranked pretty low, but I do good academically.
My biggest interests are finance, economics, and politics. I spend a lot of my free time learning about these topics.
How do I show colleges that I’m truly great at these subjects?
Our school has no clubs related to business or politics. We don’t have a debate team, FBLA, etc. Even if I did start a club related to business/politics, no one would join.
I need some advice. How do I show a “big spike” on my college application? How do I show colleges that I’m not a well-rounded student, but rather great at one thing? What programs are there that are related business/politics that I could join? What else could I do?
Get internships in those areas, shadow any political figures (if you live near the state capital then this might be ideal for you), work/volunteer for a campaign. See if there are any scholarships or competitions in those areas. Self study AP’s in that area that aren’t offered in your school (my recommendations: macro, micro, stats, comparative gov, us gov) and score very well in them. If you would really like to tie it in then make your essay topic about those subjects. If you can afford it, take summer camps in those topics.
Volunteer for political campaigns! It’s the perfect time to do so considering that the election is coming up this November. I myself will do some in October.
Internships can be great. Many large companies love slave labor… I mean… high school volunteers. These fill up pretty quickly - summer only ones typically get full before February.
I’m officially volunteering for a political campaign. Should I mention this on my college app? What if the adcoms reject me because of my political views? Could I mention that I volunteered for a Senate campaign on my college app without mentioning the name or the party of the candidate I volunteered for? Thanks!
Colleges legally cannot turn down a student because of their political views, race, sexuality, etc. You shouldn’t be worried. Might be good to mention if that candidate is running for US or state Senate or if they are well-known in their party/state but you don’t have to write down the candidate’s name or party in the application.