<p>Like... its considered a rare enough hobby that colleges would prefer breakdancers to say... swimmers, right? if the ability level of those two are equal.</p>
<p>i am a freshman and im wondering if i should dedicate myself to breakdancing.</p>
<p>Everything and anything depends on your level of proficiency. </p>
<p>Technically I’m a bowler, a ping-pong player, a football player, and a swimmer. Realistically my hamster rolls balls better than I do. :)</p>
<p>Nice to see a fellow dancer.
I’d say yes, if you can develop it.
If you’re just gonna tell college “I enjoy b-boying, and I practice a lot”, it won’t do any good.
You’ll have to be taking initiative and form a crew, performing at your school and possibly somewhere else, taking classes at dance studios, creating a hip hop class for your school, etc</p>
<p>It is a unique talent, but don’t do it as a hook to get into a college. Do it only because / if you are PASSIONATE about it. And then, for it to even come into play, you have to excel…state/national championships, etc. But it could be a very interesting read for hobbies, or your essay, etc. But, unless it’s a varsity sport at your school or college (and I’ll assume it’s not), then NO…it would not put one ahead of a varsity sport such as swimming (which you mentioned). If you truly must search to be involved in something just because you think a college will like seeing it on your application…then look at what that college NEEDS. Example…Crew would be something that is “different” in a lot of areas, yet the Ivies would like an excellent Crew member (of course, with any school, you ALSO need the rest of the stats/application).</p>
<p>Would it be OK if I do not become like reaaaaaaally good at it? But still write about my passion for it in my common app essay?</p>
<p>It’s not unique. It could be interesting, but isn’t a hook since a hook is something that colleges need to have in their student body.</p>
<p>If you like breakdancing, devote yourself to it because you enjoy it. Write about it in your essays if you choose. </p>
<p>Anyway, most colleges use ECs at most for merit aid consideration. Only places like HPYS get such an overabundance of high stat applicants that these colleges factor ECs into admission.</p>
<p>^
I disagree that it won’t be useful for college app.</p>
<p>As I said, if you can pull it off with the examples I stated, it’ll be definitely better to dance than to swim because so many swims, not many dance.</p>
<p>To prove my point, recently I read an essay of a MIT and caltech acceptee who wrote about BMX riding. After reading that essay, it was very obvious that this hobby was a pretty big boost in his application status</p>
<p>Certainly it may be useful in the apps to colleges that care about ECs. It’s not, though, a hook – something that colleges feel they must have in their student bodies. It could, though, help an applicant be remembered in a good way by admissions officers.</p>
<p>Swimming won’t be a hook either.
I’m saying that if you become proficient in either, breakdancing will help more than swimming.
But, “proficient” is the keyword. Practicing and enjoying is not enough</p>
<p>And by the way, as a dancer myself, you do not have to be entering competitions in order to make it useful for college because I know how impossible that is to do as a high school student. (And you’re gonna have to travel since there’s normally no local competition) Just do stuff that are similar to what I said and you will be golden if you can pull that off.</p>
<p>Do what you love. I am the least athletic person you will probably ever meet. But guess what? I L-O-V-E roller derby. Am I any good? Not really. To be honest, I can barely stand up on skates. But I love it, and that showed when I wrote an essay about it - and it was a very good essay if I don’t say so myself. Maybe not in the grand scheme of things, but certainly personally. Do I have any proficiency? No way. Do I have passion? Yes! Did I join the roller girls to write college essays about it? Nope. And I didn’t list it as an activity, either.</p>
<p>How do they judge proficiency?</p>
<p>If I write on my essay that I started a crew, started lessons at school, etc. Will they just take my word for it? Will they ever get me to perform some moves in, say… an interview?</p>
<p>Don’t LIE on your essay.
Start a crew, give lessons.
Then you can write about it.</p>
<p>Don’t just make stuff up, if you do and they find out they can kick you out of school.</p>
<p>they’ll take ur word. no need to really show it</p>
<p>“If I write on my essay that I started a crew, started lessons at school, etc. Will they just take my word for it? Will they ever get me to perform some moves in, say… an interview?”</p>
<p>Again: The overwhelming majority of colleges consider ECs only for merit aid – at most. The colleges that care about ECs are only places like Harvard that have such an overabundance of high stat applicants that the colleges can pick and choose from that outstanding applicant pool to create student bodies that are diverse in all meanings of the word “diverse” including ECs.</p>
<p>For such colleges, your breakdancing may make you memorable to admissions officers because probably not too many applicants to such schools are breakdancers. That may work to our advantage if you also have the high stats required by such schools. Break dancing however won’t be a hook because such colleges don’t need break dancers.</p>
<p>Your starting a breakdancing team would be nice, but again won’t be a hook. They won’t ask you to breakdance during your interview. Interviews for such colleges are looking at things like your intelligence, general knowledge, personality, and critical thinking not whether you can demonstrate some artistic skill. </p>
<p>The colleges aren’t going to bother to check on whether you really breakdance, etc. </p>
<p>When it comes to dancing, for such colleges, you’d be competing against students who are in major cities’ dance companies.</p>
<p>Haha Northstarmom.
Breakdancers(or B-boys) don’t get trained in dance companies. They either dance in studios or just simply dance with their crew.
If you really do want to be a professional bboy, you are starting pretty early so you’re good. And besides, a lot of students do become pros just by dancing as a hobby.</p>
<p>@Northerstarmom:</p>
<p>So what you are saying is… unless im applying to HYPSM i dont need to bother with any service work, school clubs, sports, science competitions, etc. ???</p>
<p>I would NOT make the mistake of thinking that one should not be involved in clubs/service, etc unless they’re looking at HYPSM. For one thing - PLEASE involve yourself in things in which you have a passion. Just as advice to ANY child. DON’T line up your youth in what you THINK will help you get into a college. While planning is necessary, spending 3,4,5 years in an activity you don’t REALLY love, only to possibly find out it didn’t “work” the way you wanted it to, is folly. But also because other schools DO care about your ECs. Do you see TOP students get rejected from schools? Yes. Why? We can only speculate, but…if said student got great grades and tests, then sat in their house every evening and hung out “partying” every weekend…giving no time for WORTHWHILE actitivies…well…that’s a reason for rejection. Lastly, even if a school will admit you without ECs - what about scholarships? My own D was admitted with an easy-as-pie application to our state Uni. BUT…then came the invitation to apply for scholarships, where all the EXTRA stuff comes into play. I’m delighted to say that, in part due to ECs (along with her record of course), she has her COA down by 1/2 and hopes for more this Spring. So…there are a million reasons why you should be actively involved AND be involved specifically in activites that interest you. If you “gotta dance” - DO IT! But NOT because you think it will “help you”.</p>
<p>i like figure skating. i’m okay but compared to the girls i see in the rink i’m really just a mediocre. they skate 6 times/wk, i’m only doing once or twice. I don’t want to do 6 times because i’m too far from the rink and i don’t want the driving and skating to interfere with my straight As. i’m also playing tennis, nothing professional but i’m good in my school’s team, only because i took some lessons when i was little, most of my teammates start from scratch. So far I don’t have any ecs to boast about in school, like anything leadership etc. </p>
<p>you guys seem to have so many things to list but I don’t - that makes me nervous. What should I do??? I tried to run for student council but so far no luck. i’m probably one of the top in my school academically but what the heck, i don’t see they care. I do well just because most of my peers are incredibly… </p>
<p>my relatives told me if i want to have good peers I should go to a super good college like hypsm. my cousin is in P, another one is in Columbia. they’re having great fun time. i envy them and i want to be there one day. i’m a freshman now. Are my ecs okay? I know they’re not, but what should I do to have that impressive list like you guys so maybe one day hypsm will pay attention to me?</p>
<p>"you guys seem to have so many things to list but I don’t - that makes me nervous. "</p>
<p>Unless you’re applying to schools like Harvard, Princeton, Stanford or Amherst, it doesn’t matter. Very few schools consider ECs at admission factors. At most, colleges may factor them for merit aid consideration. </p>
<p>The few schools that use ECs for admission are able to do this because they have an overabundance of high stat applicants that other schools would pick immediately. The most competitive colleges, though, use ECs to pick and choose among the students in their large pool of outstanding applicants.</p>
<p>These few schools also care far more about depth of the ECs – what one has accomplished in the ECs – than the length of one’s EC list.</p>
<p>“So what you are saying is… unless im applying to HYPSM i dont need to bother with any service work, school clubs, sports, science competitions, etc. ???”</p>
<p>No, that’s not what I’m saying. The reason to do ECs and to follow your interest in choosing those ECs is not to impress colleges, but to enhance your life including your social and career options.</p>
<p>Get involved in ECs that interest you because ECs will help you learn about your own interests and talents and develop skills – social, leadership, and academic – that will serve you well for the rest of your life. Your experience with ECs will help you figure out what you want to do as careers and hobbies, and will help you meet people and make friends for the rest of your life. You also will do things that will help you get jobs.</p>
<p>ECs are a way to have fun and to enrich your life.</p>
<p>I happen to have gone to Harvard, and even back when I applied, extracurriculars were important in getting accepted to such schools. I was deeply involved in activities involving music – something I loved. </p>
<p>I did not do this to get into Harvard. In fact, I’d never considered going to such a place until my GC suggested that I apply when I was a senior. I was involved in ECs because I enjoyed the ECs.</p>
<p>Now as an adult, I continue being involved in a lot of activities. For instance, I am active – as an actress and board member – in community theater, something I became involved in a couple of years ago. I also am active in my political party, a spiritual organization, and am active in some social justice causes that I care about.</p>
<p>I’ve made most of my friends through doing such things, and I have enjoyed these things a great deal. Some people my age are miserable because they have an empty nest. I am happy because I’m filling my time with fun and interesting things that I enjoy. </p>
<p>This is why one does ECs: To have fun, to expand one’s universe, to meet people who share one’s interests.</p>