I have sort of a dilemma. I’m a chairperson at a nonprofit organization(not disclosing for privacy) and we have a mission trip in Haiti in November of this year. Problem is that I will submit my Cornell application before the trip occurs and I have to talk about are my leadership position on the board and how i impacted on a local scale and not an international one. When I go to Haiti can I send cornell an update or will it not be worth their time or should i just not list the ec all together? Thanks
I’d list the EC since it seems important to you. You can send a brief update after you complete the mission trip.
Why don’t you let them know you will be going to Haiti? You don’t have to wait to tell them if it’s already scheduled.
Agree with the others. I don’t see why you can’t list it; it’s obvious you’re very passionate about it. And in the rare event that it somehow doesn’t happen, you can explain it to them after you submit your application, as you’ll know by November.
You can list the EC AND send the update after the trip. If, say for some weird reason, the trip doesn’t happen, you can explain to Cornell later.
You can talk about the upcoming trip, all the prep, and your expectations.
UPDATE: The trip was moved up to July so I’ll to write about it and even have the possibility to use it as the topic for my essay
fyi: mission trip to an undeveloped country is a textbook example of a cliché essay topic. I would avoid writing your main essay about the trip if you can.
If it’s something that’s really important to you, at least make a draft and get some people to make sure it doesn’t sound too cliched. Just don’t use the phrase “passion for helping others.” At all. If you encounter people of lower socioeconomic status, don’t say that you’ve never realized that there are people who live like this. Don’t say that you realize how lucky / privileged / blessed you are to have what you have. Don’t be surprised if they are still capable of being happy. In fact, you get bonus points if you don’t make poverty a focal point in your essay at all. Get creative; maybe the most resonant part of the trip had nothing to do with the actual mission trip portion.
Overall, try not to write about the trip like your service is an accomplishment; rather, it’s an opportunity to listen, learn, do things that challenge you, and relate to people as equals, not as their superiors. I’m sure you know all this, but you have to be able to translate these things to paper. It’s too easy to sound overly entitled or naive when writing about things like this, which is why it’s not recommended.
I disagree with dblazer… to a point.
Yes, there are some types of essays that may seem more cliche than others. But if this is something you are very involved in and are passionate about, then you should write about it, if you wish, rather than a topic you may be less interested in.
Still, to somewhat deviate from the “trip” idea, as the above poster touched upon, include a lot more details about your role in the organization as a whole. By doing this, you can elaborate on both your leadership potential and the trip itself.
Writing about your mission both in your community and its logical expansion to Haiti makes sense but it’s also a risk. Adcoms don’t like kids who need to be in an exotic locale to do good or discover poverty… but had never thought about it before. While it’s true most of us never think about poverty in Haiti and it may be unfair to college applicants to expect more, spending tons of money to discover poverty exists doesn’t appeal to colleges.
In your case you’d have to make clear if you and your group raised money vs. Parents paying, what you did, what issue you’re going for and how you became aware of it.
If your mission trip’s goal is to convert people then it’s even riskier.
@MYOS1634 My nonprofit has raised around 90k for our trip and we’re going for 3 weeks to set up a community center to teach kids who to read and write. If it sounds cliche I have a few other topics to write my main essay about it so that isn’t a huge deal but I will definelty list it as an EC.
No, that’s not cliché - most kids who go on misson trips buy the trip. Clearly, for you, it’s not a one-shot thing spearheaded by your parents. Raising that much money to help set up a community center is awesome. Congratulations for this action and I’m sure you can write about the whole process eloquently (not just “being in Haiti, seeing poor people with my own eyes, feeling sorry for them even if they often laughed and smiled”, just quoting the typical awful-cliché essay.).
OP said. “Have to talk about are my leadership position on the board and how I impacted on a local scale…” He or she can go ahead and do that. On a local scale, you led, inspired, managed and raised funds. Presumably, you grew from that.
It’s a mistake to flat out pronounce certain topics cliche. I don’t get why so many try to discourage a kid from good deeds when the project is substantial.
This project sounds different than the usual where mummy and poppy pay up 8k to luxuriate in a needy country and then spend a few hours with AIDS babies.
OP, it’s up to you to find the right written delivery here, avoid cliché phrasing.
But yes, we hope you are also rolling up your sleeves for the local community, not thinking one big project is all it takes.
I was a little blunt so let my qualify: I did not mean to suggest that it can’t be done, but as the other posters suggest, you would have to go through extra efforts to ensure that the essay is not ‘another one of those.’ For an adcom who reads thousands of essays, you may be putting yourself at a disadvantage in terms of being memorable if you write about a topic that has been written to death about. But I agree with the others, talking about your role and raising money is a completely different topic that’s worth exploring.
Talk about the fund raising portion. How did you figured out the trip’s costs. How the heck were you going to raise $90,000?! and finally, how did you do it and what was it like when you finally realized your trip was reality? I would end the essay with the mission trip departure.
First, you should definitely put on your Cornell application (Im assuming ED since you are going to be sending it before November?!) that you are going to the trip to Haiti. But second, don’t do or not do something because you wont be able to put it on this one application. This is because if you don’t get into Cornell ED, you would still want to be able to put it on your other applications for other schools.
Does the phrase “mission trip” now apply to all work in another country that’s intended to help others? Because to me it only seems as if it should be appropriate if it’s church-connected. Otherwise, isn’t it a nonprofit trip or a service trip, and not a mission trip? But I don’t know; maybe it’s the term of the day. (FWIW I live and work in an aid recipient country targeted by a lot of missionaries, so around here it would definitely be assumed that “mission trip” meant conversion-related, whether the work was ostensibly something else or not. But am curious to know if it’s also seen as a catch-all term by college admissions.)
@MomOnALaptop Now that you mention it… it isn’t supposed to be called a mission trip haha. Everyone on the board at our non profit calls it a mission trip. Thanks for telling me so I don’t seem silly. I’ll relay the message!
If it’s NOT church-related, don’t call it “mission trip” (or even “reverse mission trip”). Call it “service action” or something of the kind.