<p>Hey I was checking out the online application today for Georgetown and like most college applications, there is a special talents section. However I am not very artistically inclined (more of an athlete), and arts are all of the "special talents" I can think of off the top of my head. Any Suggestions?
Also, does Georgetown consider this as a major factor in their admissions process?</p>
<p>i don't know what other colleges you're looking at but i'd never seen a "special talents" section before georgetown's app... it really isn't common.</p>
<p>i think it's basically just a way for them to get to know the quirkier sides of you that may not show in the extracurriculars, essays, etc. i know people who have put down basic things like art skills, languages, vocal skills, intramural athletics, awards won, etc. but also people who took it less seriously and put down their rubik's cube solving times, baking prowess, can tie a cherry stem with tongue, etc.</p>
<p>it will in no way hurt you but it won't make the decision either; if you have some huge unique talent they might like you more, otherwise it just lets them know of anything that you couldn't put anywhere else.</p>
<p>but that's just my opinion. i mixed and matched serious talents with goofy trivia and got in so i don't think it matters.</p>
<p>I put my sense of humor, along with my favorite joke (which I've been telling since I was 2 (really)).</p>
<p>Put anything, really, they want to be entertained if possible. An admissions rep I met said the one she encountered that the adcom had liked best was the ability to make 20 minute macaroni in 10 minutes (or some such).</p>
<p>I put that I can fly (jk, though my friend's dad wanted my friend to do it because he didn't think he had a shot. I laughed when he told me)</p>
<p>In reality, I put that "I have been taking piano lessons since I was six years old. I passed the Certificate of Merit Level 6, and I currently enjoy playing for the patients at an Alzheimer's Center." Generic, I know - it just felt weird leaving it blank.</p>
<p>I wouldn't leave it blank, but I don't think its a big part of the application. I think aot2007 has is right on by saying its a way to see the quirkier side of you. You say you're more of an athlete, but athletic things can be special talents (although I would stay away from talking about your sport if you used it for you activity essay). I think I talked about skills I've learned at my summer job (in construction).</p>
<p>I left my section blank EA because I didn't know what it meant. I guess I thought it was for people who were contortionists or could walk on their hands. I didn't even think that it could be anything else...Luckily, I still got in.</p>
<p>I had no idea what to say... but I told them I had the ability to do mental math (up to roots to the 9th power, as well as converting any fraction to a decimal), so I put that down... I still don't really like to use a calculator... I think anything goes, they just want to see something that makes you special, and perhaps something non-academic is better, but that you developed or have pursued yourself. Just try and give them another side to your application.</p>
<p>I think it's the perfect opportunity to list the kind of strange things you couldn't place in an essay, but show that you have a personality and something outside of school. As risa shows, not filling it out won't kill your chances, but why leave it blank? I say, fill it up with all the normal/strange things you do.</p>
<p>Mine was about sudoku puzzles. I'm not a super math genius or an accomplished pianist, so I decided to be humorous. Who know if they'll appreciate it. I'll find out soon, I guess...</p>
<p>I took it to mean only VERY serious extentuating circumstances that weren't mentioned anywhere else. Stuff like "I am the #1 ranked debator in the world" or "I wrote the score to an Oscar-nominated movie" or "17 pieces of my art are on display at the Met". So I left it blank, and got in anyway (EA).</p>
<p>I wrote about my involvement in theater. It wasn't terribly riveting, but it seemed to work well enough.</p>
<p>I'm a transfer applicant. Among other things, I wrote that I can make noises high pitched enough to detect enemy submarines in the Potomac, and that with my martial arts training, I can apply a choke that can make a man go unconscious in 3-5 seconds...if he doesn't resist.</p>
<p>I said that I rescued Japanese tourists from an anaconda, got offered a full ride from Harvard, can run up Mt. Everest, hurdle semis, dunk on Shaq, listen to "Stairway to Heaven" for 2 days straight and hold intellectual conversations with Ozzy Osbourne.</p>
<p>I got in EA.</p>
<p>But can you play "Freebird" frontwards and backwards with your toes?</p>
<p>My D wrote about a one-time reality TV show she did in which her bedroom was transformed into a 50's diner theme, that aired nationwide.</p>
<p>Lynard Skynard sucks. The Doors, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath rule all.</p>
<p>No denying that Lynyrd Skynyrd is mediocre, but your inability to play "Freebird" with your toes makes you an inferior human.</p>