<p>___that he is skilled with a gun on his EC list. He has the evidence and won some local awards. Will adcoms view that negatively or positively?</p>
<p>If he has awards and shoots competitively, then they'll view that pretty positively. If he's just a crazy kook who has a bunch of guns... not so much.</p>
<p>One of the nicest, sweetest, most soft-spoken gals I've ever met won a LOT of riflery awards as a kid. Beat out all the local little boys, who I'm sure were a little perturbed about this gorgeous little brunette winning top honors over them in deer hunting... She's about to go into her pediatrics residency in a couple of months.</p>
<p>Guns don't make you a nutcase. Being a nutcase with a gun makes you a dangerous nutcase. There's a big difference, and the adcoms will understand that (unless they're nutcases).</p>
<p>are you kidding me? does Virginia tech ring a bell? bad move I would say, even if he has won awards and such, it would definitely make adcoms wary. not worth the risk at all</p>
<p>I doubt anyone would dock the guy points if he participated in shooting competitions. It's a normal hobby anybody could pick up. Just make sure he's actually gone to competitions and scored well. It'd be the same as listing any other sport.</p>
<p>This is obviously JUST MY OPINION, but as soon as I read the word "gun" I had an immediate very negative and fearful reaction. Put the words gun and school in the same sentence and it conjures up bad things. Obviously your friend has a legitimate hobby, but he should carefully consider the potential effect of that word on college administrators.</p>
<p>They teach us how to shoot in Boy Scouts. If Boy Scouts are lauded with Shotgun Shooting and Riflery merit badges, I don't see why winning prestigious awards would be a bad thing.</p>
<p>saying he should not put it down is ridiculous. people who have prior gun experience are actually less likely to go an rampages and in reality know a LOT about gun safety.</p>
<p>I also got my gun experience from Boy Scouts. To say that will disadvantage me is absurd</p>
<p>IMHO: Definitely have him put it down.</p>
<p>I asked a question about extracurriculars not too long ago, and one of the responses that I got was that colleges want to see it if its legal. Obviously, what he's doing isn't illegal, AND he's excelling at it, so why wouldn't they like it?</p>
<p>Colleges are always saying stuff about how well-rounded their students are. How many people, depending on the college, do you think put down that they are skilled with a rifle? It's less normal than everything else the adcoms are going to see, which will even make him stand out.</p>
<p>Absolutely put it down.</p>
<p>put it down, quit worrying.</p>
<p>
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are you kidding me? does Virginia tech ring a bell? bad move I would say, even if he has won awards and such, it would definitely make adcoms wary. not worth the risk at all
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<p>I think it really matters what colleges you are talking about. Admissions officers at liberal colleges in the Northeast may well have the same reaction Heron did. My wife, who is from Long Island, would have the same reaction. If you are talking about schools in the South, or in the West, it is probably a different story.</p>
<p>I grew up in a college town in the northeast. My high school had a rifle team; there are pictures of them in my yearbooks.</p>
<p>I gew up in a gun-free household, but all four of my grandparents had guns. My maternal grandmother won dozens of trophies in shooting competitions.</p>
<p>I work for a Fortune 100 corporation in a major city that has a target shooting club.</p>
<p>If your cousin is interested in continuing his hobby in college, he might want to look into the question of whether guns are prohibited on campus.</p>
<p>And if he has devoted considerable time to the hobby, I see nothing wrong with mentioning it in an application.</p>
<p>It's an Olympic sport, folks. </p>
<p>OP, your cousin should keep it on his list of ECs but so long as he doesn't frame his entire existence (eg, essay, recs, etc.) about a "passion for guns" or anything, it'll be <em>fine</em>... </p>
<p>And if it isn't, does he really want to go to a school that's intolerant of something that he identifies with?</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure MIT and quite a few other colleges have active target shooting teams. Some colleges out west would have many, many hunters in attendance. The college context will establish how unusual this is, but applicants should be free to mention their personal activities if they are legal and licit, as target shooting definitely is. It may be a good idea to contact the target shooting club on campus or near campus before applying, just to mention that the applicant is already trying to be connected with people who share that interest.</p>
<p>how many of you want to bet that the Korean guy behind Virginia Tech <em>wasn't</em> a competitive shooter?</p>
<p>All of you make a good case for putting it down. But keep in mind that PERCEPTION is often as important as reality.</p>
<p>Heron: You're assuming that an adcom would be ignorant that people hunt and do competitive shooting. </p>
<p>While possible, I don't think it's anything to worry about</p>
<p>(I have a good friend who got a 4-year free ride because he was the captain of his high school JROTC Rifle team and the college he attended wanted to start an NCAA Rifle squad and recruited him -- how about 'dem apples? ).</p>
<p>It's a freaking olympic sport. MIT even has a shooting team.</p>
<p>Hello....</p>
<p>I think it depends on the school. If the school offers ROTC and/or has a shooting team, I would put it down. If the school is religious and/or conservative, or has been the site of campus gun violence, I would omit it. I would look at the culture of each school to which your cousin is applying and make a case-by-case judgment call.</p>
<p>Schools have gun clubs. Theres no harm in putting it down.</p>