I started a "company" last year. Beneficial for admission?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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<p>Last summer I had an idea of starting a marketing company that helped iPhone developers get their applications noticed. The cost of starting it was extremely low and I had moderate success. Since I couldn't handle school and running a business, I put the project aside. This was a solo project and the company I helped had great success with their application. What could I tell colleges about this?</p>

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<p>600+ views but no replies?</p>

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<p>“Beneficial for admission?”</p>

<p>NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO</p>

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<p>@starktony, stop being a sarcastic a$$hole. I think what you did is really cool. You shouldn’t just tell colleges about it - write it as your common app essay! Its pretty unique</p>

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<p>lol @starktony</p>

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<p>Did you start a “company” or start a company?</p>

<p>If you’re incorporated (or have filed to be a different business entity) this could make for a great focus on your app. What’s your revenue/profits? How many customers? Do you have employees?</p>

<p>If you answered no to all of these questions, it seems like this is more of a hobby than a business. Definitely mention it on your app but it won’t get you in.</p>

<p>It may hurt you (more than it helps you) if you talk about how you didn’t have enough time to run with it. You don’t want to present yourself as someone who couldn’t handle multitasking or was too busy with school work to pursue other passions.</p>

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<p>Don’t make it the focus of your app or assume that it is good/unique enough to automatically get you into any school–but definitely include it! It’s a relatively unique and interesting thing (though as cc123sb says, don’t call attention to the fact that you chose to discontinue it!)
I recommend listing it, and then writing about it in the ‘expand on one of your activities’ question, as it is quite interesting (unless of course you have some other passion that you’ve been doing forever and want to write about). I wouldn’t write your common app essay about it unless you really can’t think of a better topic, in which case it could make an interesting essay. I just don’t recommend it being your #1 choice because it is only something you did for a summer and doesn’t really reflect as much of your personality than just being an impressive thing you did.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>