Hello everyone,
I’m a conservative and my friend is a liberal, and we were thinking about starting a blog where we’d both write what we think about a certain political issue and post them so people could get a feel for both view points. We’d also have a store and sell shirts and stuff.
Is that a good idea, and if not how should I improve it? Also, does the popularity of it matter to colleges as long as it shows we are interested in the politics?
Thanks
It depends. I contributed several pieces to a politics blog run by a friend of mine (he’s going to Harvard) and listed it as an extracurricular on my application. Yale seemed to be impressed enough to admit me. However, the blog has about 5,000 followers on Twitter, so yes, I would say the popularity of the blog does matter.
Don’t sell shirts. I can tell you have a vision and are excited by your idea, but it’s going to take a lot of work to merely acquire a small following. Stay focused on the writing. In the end, what matters most is the quality of the writing, not whether or not you put in the effort to make some shirts and set up a store.
Finally, I’ll wrap this up with a few things to keep in mind if you do decide to crate this blog. If you truly commit to this, your writing will improve greatly. Since my contributions, the quality of my writing has improved remarkably, so much so that I’m in fact a bit embarrassed of the pieces I contributed. Be prepared to look back upon your old writing and cringe. Also, read up on writing! There are plenty of great online sources that can help transform you into a better writer.
To conclude, remember to have fun. You should do your extracurricular activities because you enjoy them, not because you want to impress colleges. Best of luck.
I do like the idea that you and your friend will present different viewpoints and do it without coming to virtual blows. That will put you way ahead of too many adults.
One thing: do not allow comments. Politics has a tendency to bring out the crazy in people.
@RoundGenius Thank you for your advice! Do you mind giving me the name of your friend’s blog, I’d like to check it out?
@Conformist1688 Yeah, that’s probably a good idea to disable the comments on the website, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do so on the twitter.
I don’t think you should disable the comments. First of all, if you do get a steady stream of comments it would show colleges that you guys have real readers. And secondly, isn’t the point of a politics blog to start conversations about important topics? Why would you take away that opportunity for your readers?
As you are basically a rising senior, this is unlikely to have any traction by the time the common app etc opens. If you are just looking for your “good ec” this is probably is on the nose.
@Sybylla I’m planning to create the blog no matter what, I was really just asking what colleges would think of it.
@bssurly You make an excellent point.
Yes, popularity (and length) does matter to colleges. If you are already a senior, it may honestly not even be worth mentioning. Colleges would only take it seriously if there is proof that you have put serious effort into it (ie making posts and discussions for over a year).
Starting up a blog a couple months before making your application (and while the blog does not have many readers) might even negatively affect you if you do mention it (as colleges might think you are doing it only for admission purposes).
Since you are creating the blog anyways, I would say that you should wait until application time and then see whether the blog is worth mentioning. If it is doing great, it might be a decent EC, otherwise, it could backfire on you.
@RMNiMiTz Yes very true, thank you for your advice!
I think if the blog gained some real recognition in your state, it could help a lot.