I am a very untraditional student. Sure I have my music lessons, and my clubs but the achievements that I am most proud of, the ones that make me stand out aren’t at clubs and really have nothing to do with school organizations.
Because of this the Common App really scares me for I fear that college admissions people won’t really understand me. Especially schools like Georgia Tech that look at no supplemental information. (BTW I am going into computer science)
If you saw my resume you would see that I am a VERY curious person, I dabble and self-study in all sorts of fields. I have not only self-taught and passed two AP exams, but also taught myself how to program advanced things. I am also a moderately accomplished composer (although I have not yet had the time to get up to publishing level).
On my resume I have space where I can put a blurb about the app currently on the app store that I made, and the one that is on the way that I am immensely proud of. About how I figured out how to build physics, graphics, and game engines from scratch in c++ using OpenGL (a complex graphics library) to render everything from mere triangles. If anyone who knew much about computer science saw this, they would know its significance and probably be impressed that I pulled this off without formal training.
On a resume they could also hear see the ensembles, and songs I have written. And all of the music ensembles I have written music for and done improv for.
Not much of this fits really well on the Common App that is focused on “Activities”. I don’t just have activities, I have projects.
I have some gameplay/demos/trailers of my programming projects, and will be uploading some recordings of pieces I have written but how can I get admissions to see them? I realise it’s really not fair to expect them to spend any more time with my application… but still… this stuff is such a big part of what I need to show colleges.
And here’s the thing, I know you have an essay section but I really want to tell an emotional and poignant story about composing music and the death of one of my piano teachers because it shows depth of thought, and I believe it will be unlike anything they have ever read. Sure, this could be a place where I could some information about my programming experience and projects but what is the point? There is really not much of a narrative in that area, I just worked really hard, didn’t give up, did a bunch of research and created projects. It’s nothing unique or emotionally gripping and doesn’t tell them a whole lot about my personality and what I can contribute to the school community. It would just add to my image of being “another smart student”.
How can I show colleges that I have had accomplishments that aren’t just being a part of some club? How can I show them my projects? How can I use what I have created to help me stand out?
Any Georgia Tech specific suggestions are appreciated, they more than any other college on the common app that I will be applying to stifle my chance to show my projects.