There is an overwhelming amount of information out there that pushes ideas that colleges only like certain extracurriculars, certain internships, or certain scores. I believe that the amount of incorrect information out there on the internet exacerbates the stress that students face.
I am no admissions expert or admissions officer, I am just a senior who went through the process last year who would like to share their own views about how to approach the process.
There has been an emerging theory about college admissions which suggests that students have a “spike” as opposed to being well-rounded. The main argument is that colleges are looking for students that can create an impact and that students with a “spike,” or a distinct area of expertise or focus that sets you apart from other applicants, are more likely to create an impact in a certain field.
Although I agree that there is a benefit to have a distinct story built on an area that you are interested in when applying to college, I feel that the process of building a “spike” is misunderstood. The key phrase for the definition is “set you apart from other applicants.” A large proportion of students believe a spike to mean that they only do activities that are similar to their “intended major” or “area of interest”.
However, I would imagine that the majority of people applying to be a computer science major would have some of the following:
- Started Coding Club for a specific language
- Taken AP Comp Sci
- Developed an iOS application for their local community
- Taken summer courses at their local university
- Interned at a startup or tech firm
- Serve as a coding instructor at a community service organization
Because these activities are so saturated, it actually makes sense to incorporate interdisciplinary aspects to make your application more unique. Obviously, I am not shaming any of these activities, if you are passionate and interested in these areas you should continue to pursue them but you need to consider how you can make yourself stand out.
Building off of the above example here is a list of ways to branch off from your interest in computer science:
- Taking neuroscience courses at a local college and focusing on the intersection between neuroscience and AI development.
- Competing in linguistic olympiad and focusing on the intersection between linguistics and the future of machine learning
Basically, all I am saying is that you should discount things you are interested in simply because they do not fit your niche. They could help you build an interdisciplinary connection that makes you stand out or display that you have certain qualities the college values (Leadership, integrity). In the end, I agree that building a spike is important but many people are doing it incorrectly. Read more here: https://www.brandonzhang.com/blog/myth-college