<p>I've gone to camp for 8 years, and the last 2 have been a teen leadership program. I want colleges to know that I haven't been goofing off over the summer. I mentioned it briefly in the activities section. Should I elaborate further on it in the additional info essay? If I do, should I write 2 paragraphs, one for each year of the program? (I wouldn't make this essay as creative as my others, it would be more informative to the program)</p>
<p>Do not write an “additional info ESSAY”. They don’t want more essays than they ask for! But you can put it in additional info if you don’t have enough info to give some brief details in the activities section. Put it in activities, and say “See additional information” in the comment there. Then in the additional info section, have a header for it, then put a few CONCISE bullets with key information about the program under that. Admissions would want the info, but they also appreciate brevity and clarify when they have so many apps to review.</p>
<p>Here’s what I ended up writing, with my camp name edited out. Is it too long for what it is?</p>
<p>"I have attended XXXXXXXXXXX Camp for the last 8 summers. The most recent 2 summers I attended were part of the XXXXXXXXXXXX Camp Teen Leadership program and consisted of 2 years, Pioneer and Staff-In-Training, respectively.</p>
<p>Pioneer Program:</p>
<p>-18 Pioneers lived in an isolated “village” in the woods; we were responsible for “building the village”, including assembling shelter, setting up resources to cook meals and ward off animals, and determining a proper schedule.</p>
<p>-The summer had a strong emphasis on both personal motivation and the team dynamic (if one pioneer didn’t pull their weight collecting wood, the rest would not get to eat as much).</p>
<p>-Leadership skills were tested and developed organically through the tribulations of living closer to the wilderness and having to work together to thrive.</p>
<p>Staff-in-Training Summer:</p>
<p>-This summer consisted of 2 parts: during the first half of the summer, the Staff-in-Training (S.I.T.s) lived together and learned in master classes and seminars. Topics of discussion centered on leadership, education, emotions and maturity, and connecting with children and peers. For the second half of the summer, the S.I.T.s moved into bunks with campers, to apply our learning directly and be hands-on with campers.</p>
<p>-I was involved in planning all-camp programming, including programming events for over 200 people.</p>
<p>-Living with and managing campers (10-year-olds in my case) tested both my leadership and my decision-making skills in new ways.</p>
<p>-As part of the program, we did a S.I.T. project. We designed, constructed, and installed a fishing dock for camp to use for years to come."</p>
<p>yes, that’s too long. Honestly, they don’t need all the details. As long as you listed you attended, they’ll know you did something productive with your summer.</p>