Unverifiable ECs?

Applying to College
1

<p>I have had my own small business (I make customized pin-back buttons) for around 2 years. I spend about 2 - 3 hours each week managing orders, designing pins, and making pins (I hand-press them). I haven't made a very big profit (my net profit has probably been $250 - 300 or so), and there is no verifiable proof for my business. I do have an instagram and a FB fan page for my business, but because I sell mostly to students at my school, I haven't created an official domain. </p>

<p>I'm applying to Penn (Wharton), and this EC is really important to me. Would I be able to list this in the activities section in the Common App? My concern is that because it's unverifiable, the adcoms won't take it seriously.</p>

<p>I am also planning on sending an art supplement, so I would really appreciate any feedback on my portfolio. I don't think we're allowed to post links on here if I'm not mistaken. So, please PM me if you're interested in looking at my portfolio, and I'll send you the link.</p>

2

<p>Try reporting sales rather than profits. The numbers will be more impressive and indicate the interest in your product. It will also indicate the scale of your operation. After all, if you sold $100k worth of buttons, that would be impressive even if you broke even.</p>

3

<p>@MrMom62: How would I report sales? Do I just list that under the description of the activity in the Common App?</p>

4

<p>If there is room in the activities section, you can indicate sales there, or you could say “See Additional Information” and include a two or three sentence explanation in that section.</p>

5

<p>Don’t ask people here to evaluate your art portfolio. Ask an art teacher. People who don’t do art are easily impressed and don’t know what to look for.</p>