Submitting a Peculiar Item As Supplement

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello CC'ers!</p>

<p>I have always been a very neat and organized person, an uncommon trait for the average guy. So when my school decided to make homework assignment books non-mandatory, due to budget cuts, I decided to purchase my own planner which I thought would work best for me. Fortunately, my initiative and organizational skills have been extremely helpful to my survival during junior year. I have been utilizing a personal planner that has helped me achieve a balance between my school work and extracurricular pursuits. To put the situation succinctly, my planner is a portrait of my life. </p>

<p>After having many friends commend me on my outstanding organizational skills—one friend even bought the exact same planner as mine—I began to fancy the idea of sending the planner to my first-choice school which I plan on applying to early decision, Columbia.</p>

<p>However, I realize that my idea might be far-fetched, humorous, and even lame. I have no doubt that many others are as organized as I am. Thus, I would like to ask what other people on College Confidential think of my idea; I have already asked my parents and a couple friends, all of who have supported my idea.</p>

<p>I believe that by submitting my planner as a supplementary item, I will be able to convey my ability to handle a variety of responsibilities and activities.</p>

<p>Included are some samples of pages from my planner. I apologize for the poor quality on some parts of the images, and I have blurred out some names for privacy reasons.</p>

<p><a href="http://toastable.com/thecastle/abook/Full%20Page%20Week%2016.JPG%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://toastable.com/thecastle/abook/Full%20Page%20Week%2016.JPG&lt;/a>
<a href="http://toastable.com/thecastle/abook/Full%20Page%20Week%2018.JPG%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://toastable.com/thecastle/abook/Full%20Page%20Week%2018.JPG&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>My honest opinion - as parent and as someone who works in a hs college counseling office - no - don’t send it. Yes, you are very neat and organized - but as you said yourself - so are many high achieving students. Sometimes the weird supplement works when it is unique or quirky or creative. Your planner - not so much.</p>

3

<p>Thank you for your honest reply.</p>

4

<p>Definitely no. You won’t look organized, you’ll look weird. Thats just my honest opinion.</p>

5

<p>Don’t do this. It’s not the sort of thing an admissions person wants to deal with. But you might find some good material for an essay in writing about your planner - your posting here about it was nicely done.</p>

6

<p>I’d advise against it. Having sat through countless college admissions information sessions (Columbia’s included), the general consensus is that adcoms only want supplements if they reveal some rare talent or some trait that can’t be found in the rest of the applicant pool. Your planner is definitely not uncommon and sending it might even lead them to question your judgment. </p>

<p>It’s funny – this Harvard admissions officer made fun of an applicant who had sent in a dead rat the previous year to illustrate his work/research. Clearly a lack of judgment.</p>

7

<p>Thanks for all the replies! The consensus is quite clear.</p>

8

<p>I once read an article about Harvard admissions officers who had supplements of everything from special chile sauce to hand-woven baskets. My personal opinion: sending your planner looks desperate.</p>