Hi, I’m a current high school junior, based in Hong Kong, aiming for a business (or Econ in some colleges) major. I’ve been having some trouble sorting out my activities and honors - I don’t know what to report to colleges (whether it’ll build up a positive image) neither do I know what to engage in this semester/throughout summer holiday. I feel like I have quite a few elements embedded within my list of activities, but I’m not sure if they can link to each other. It would be amazing if I could get some suggestions, or if you could point anything that seems out-of-place.
Here’s a few elements I want to include:
Fangirling - I’ve been running a fanclub for my idols. This includes regulating a forum, selling merchandise (we earned a revenue of about 100k) and expanding our community (we grew by a ten fold, from 50k to 500k, within a year). I’m also currently working on another organization that advocates for fangirls against society’s stereotypes (e.g. mad women) and encourages girls to learn from the experience (e.g. I learnt how to use the adobe suite)
Business/Marketing - I’m currently working for a student-led organization that provides authentic internship opportunities to secondary school students in my local community. I also joined a few business pitching competitions. I’m considering taking some extra calculus/statistic classes and thinking about joining some economics essay competitions (I really don’t know if I should)
Refugee Support - I’m working with the local refugee union to support the refugees in our community as they are often overlooked. This includes providing COVID-19 support kits and tutoring for children there.
Language - Huge fan of language. I did public speaking competitions and submitted writings (in Chinese) to some local competitions. I am planning on working on a linguistic project this summer with a local university.
Leadership - other in-school roles such as student government and other interest clubs/societies. I have memberships in other leadership programs hosted by our local university (something equivalent to honors societies at a state level in the US??)
Other Stuff: I have a part time job in the food&beverage industry (I actually got a referral from one of my customers from my last job); I’m currently offered an opportunity to join a social science research program which I don’t know whether I want to join or not; I have a very complicated family background (biracial, divorced family, domestic abuse) that I hope to mention as well (I personally think that it had a lot of impact on me, especially my relationship with my parents)
Really appreciate any comments/suggestions on my application!!
Why do you “hope” to mention this? A college application is not a confessional. This will sound harsh, but I am trying to give you some context. You are selling yourself to a college. Abuse and divorce are not selling points. Being biracial is not a hook.
These things are important to you, but may not be as important to others. If you want to incorporate some of these elements into your personal statement to show how you’ve overcome adversity, that’s fine, BUT remember that your application and essays are a way to show your attributes.
Colleges want to see what makes you a good addition to campus life. They want to know you will succeed at their school. So proceed with caution when considering how much you want to reveal, and what your motives are for doing so.
As for your activities, they seem fine. Just keep your grades up and keep doing what you’re doing.
Make sure you get some sleep and have some down time
Just do what you authentically are interested in doing, apart from college admissions concerns, and you will end up in the right situation. Are you planning on applying in the US? I know that international students face tough competition for admission, but you seem to be doing fine.
Your ECs are good, I think they come across as interesting and they come across as things you do because you are passionate about it (not just it will look good on a college application). Before you start on your applications and essays, take some time and think about the thread that ties them together and tells the AO who you are. One idea is to think of three words to describe you then weave that into the elements of your application and essay to really showcase what makes you, you!
Agree with the previous poster is to use caution in incorporating your “complicated family background”.
Focus on the truest thing to you, not to some image of the The Perfect Business Major.
All the parts of your application don’t have to link up to form a single, consistent, straight line (& imo they shouldn’t- a one-note song gets old quickly). It is appropriate and normal to have more than one interest. You use your essays to pull together the narrative arc, to color in the picture, to show the person beyond the ‘numbers’ that qualify you academically.
A little context about myself: my family was very big part of my education in a way that it impacted my personality, academic performance (I would need it to explain something within my transcript) and other aspects of my life. It was a big change for me and I wanted to point that out. At the same time, my family circumstances are a little different from the typical ones - I come from a divorced family, but I have an amazing relationship with both my parents and it has been a better living for my entire family. Not all tragedies lead to worsening circumstances. Completely aware that I have to be very careful when depicting something like this, and choosing between stuff I want to tell and those I want to leave out of my application;))
I am. I literally just made up my mind on applying in January, so my activities weren’t very much planned for college (if this makes sense) Thanks for the positive feedback though, really needed it
You are making wonderful contributions to your community. I also love that you have a job.
By the way I think it is fine to write about your family, whether in a main essay or a supplementary essay.
I help with student essays and many young people write about their families. You mentioned a more positive outcome and the support you receive from parents, as well as divorce and abuse.
It all depends on how you write it.
If your family situation resulted in anything that needs to be explained by the guidance counselor (absences, course withdrawals etc.), let the GC know.
What’s a typical family? Every family and every person is unique in their own way. Many kids of divorced parents get along with both parents.
I’m not saying don’t tell people about these things. I’m suggesting that you want admissions officers to know what makes you, you, and why they should want you on campus. Highlight your personality, not just your circumstances.
Also, if you’re planning to explain something very private that perhaps impacted grades in a negative way, or whatever the situation might be, tread carefully. I have no context for what you plan to explain on your transcript, but sometimes it is better for a GC to mention any unusual circumstances in their letter of rec. They can do so without a student inadvertently appearing to be making excuses for lower grades, as an example.
If your goal is to get into a US college, then you need to ensure you are using terms that a US college or business would find useful to them. Fangirling sounds like a self centered term.
Perhaps describe as “Online forum moderator for a club of over 500k members”. Then focus on learning of adobe suite, membership growth of xyx percent in 1 year, revenue of $abc.
You will get into a US college. You just need to find one that isnt a T20 and one you can afford.
The term “fangirling” actually caught my attention. I had no idea what it was and had to google it. I imagine it would catch the attention of many admissions readers.
OP: are you a male or female? it might come across as creepy for males to create fangirling websites.
Your fangirling activities are interesting, and I know how much work is involved in running and moderating a large online community and how many real world skills can be developed in this type of role. I would, however, think carefully about the language you choose to describe it and how it fits into the overall application package you present. You have likely learned some wonderful skills but the term fangirling can have frivolous connotations and may even devalue your contributions for some readers of your application.
Think about the various “hats” you are wearing as an influential fangirl and what skills (technical, interpersonal, logistical, advocacy, etc) you have learned from this activity. For example, would a term like “online community manager” describe the varied roles you had with the fan forum?
I do think this EC in its various forms and what you learned from it could potentially make a very interesting essay.
I am here for the fan-girling, in an Elle Woods, stereotype busting way! Particularly b/c even in a summary post the OP noted the larger context (as suggested by @classicalsaxmom) taking the stereotype of the teen girl crushing on random famous people and turns it on the head, making something substantial out of it. I see initiative, creativity, hard work, commitment over time- and a sense of fun to go with it. There is also an interesting cross-cultural piece, if the OP chooses to include that.
