<p>So, as a rising senior, I am going in to my 9th year of band, and my 4th year of winter color guard. Both of these activities, which are very closely related, have been a huge commitment for me, and they are essentially the bulk of my time/EC's. Of course, I have other volunteering activities and clubs, but these two activities have been a major time commitment for me, and then mean quite a lot to me. </p>
<p>My question is, is it a bad idea to write my Common App essay about how these two experiences have taught me some of the most important lessons I've learned in high school? I think I can write the essay fairly well, but I'm wondering if I should focus on something else? I mean, clearly ever admission officer is going to understand that when I have 12+ hours of rehearsal a week, for four years, that this is a big deal to me. It is redundant to write an essay on this? Will it be a 'waste' where I could focus on something else about me?</p>
<p>I agree with @maddsm, since you seem to have a lot to say for these activities, you can save it for the longer essay. & like ^ said, the EC essay is only 150 words … DEFINITELY not enough to elaborate on specific things. So it’s best to save it for the longer one :))))
PM me if you need anything else</p>
<p>Well, I disagree a bit. Adcoms know what hours band requires, that it can be a huge commitment, that it means both individual effort and great teamwork. They’ll see the years and hours on your EC page. If you can fit it to the word limit, write something nice and tight, go for it. The big essay is more about a specific, focused experience that had an impact on you, one that requires more breadth and makes a point they haven’t heard from hundreds of other band kids. It’s clear even here that band means a lot to you. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! To clarify, I was talking about the general 500 word essay. Not the 1000 character short answer. I’ve already wrote about something different for the shorter answer essay thank you so much for your thoughts! I’m just worried if the band essay will be too “cliche” and overkill, even though it’s something that means a lot to me. Perhaps I’ll try to focus on color guard more too.</p>
<p>There is no such thing as a cliched topic, just cliched executions of topics. If you talk about band, do it in a very creative way that you feel would be unique to your application.</p>
thank you so much for your thoughts! I’m just worried if the band essay will be too “cliche” and overkill, even though it’s something that means a lot to me. Perhaps I’ll try to focus on color guard more too.</p>