Passion Projects: The Unknown Key to a Stellar College Application | fast writing center (2023)

Plan a passion project: delve deeper into what you love and get support from adults

Secollege writing coach, we found that many of our studentsAgainthey have passions—but what they haven't done yet is invest the time and focused energy to turn that passion into a project worth pursuing. Often, just by adding 80-100+ hours of work to a portfolio or project, they can create something that really stands out.

A great way to start a meaningful project is with adult support for something you love. This might mean finding a professor to work with you independently on a research paper or topic, or on an artistic or community project. It could also mean working with companies that specialize in helping high school students with their own projects, such aspolitenessELumiere.

In fact, you can get the right idea for your own project by looking at Polygence.project gallery. (No ads, btw, we just like these two companies.) You'll see how diverse they are:

• A review article on quantum algorithms
• A beginner's guide to financial planning
• A research paper on the effect of dance therapy on neurological disorders
• The Myth of Io in Ovid and Beyond: Voice, Sexuality and Lament and Even
• A fabulous fashion magazine.

You can keep thinking about what might be the best project for you as we bring you a few more examples that show why these projects are so powerful in a college application.

Highly selective colleges specifically state that “passion projects” get students admitted

Here is UPense gabaron its graduates' "cross-border" search this year (55,000 applications for 2,400 places):

almost a thirdof admitted studentsengaged in academic researchMany of them received national and international awards during their school years for research that is already pushing the boundaries of academic discovery. Admitted students collaborated with leading educators and researchers in their areas of interest, were co-authors of publications in leading journals andshowed their ingenuityin making connections between complex and diverse disciplines. (Emphasis added.)

In the next paragraph, UPenn shows gratitude for the community service of his new hire and says:

More than 80%of admitted students live [a community service] tradition ofparticipate in charitable activitiesthat have already had significant local, national and global impact. We admire students who have taken the time to help others individually and those who havelarge-scale initiatives facilitatedand ventures that have had a broad and lasting impact on their communities. In the midst of the pandemic, many studentsshowed flexibility and creativityin translating their desire to give back into the virtual world, transforming established practices into new and innovative ways to make a difference.

And here's the story of the app that did it.Cornell Admissions Officer(from the introduction) believe that "a tangible indicator of [their] passions" is the key to a great application:

[T]his aptitude for the show really came to life when he described the weather station he had built at home. … After reading it, I thought,This student will clearly receive my recommendation for admission because of his grades, test scores, and demonstrated intellectual interest in his chosen program.Trifecta! He nailed it when he said "snap and match".

Finally, see how Harvarddeals withawesome projects with passion. (We know these details because they had to make their ownPublic Entry Datesin a recent lawsuit.)

Harvard awards its highest academic score (1 out of 4) to just 0.4% of its applicant pool. Applicants with an academic rank 1 have a 67% chance of admission, compared to 8.6% for those with an academic rank 2.

Harvard said in the lawsuit that, generally, "an applicant receiving an academic grade of '1' has submitted academic work that will be reviewed by a faculty member." That is, "If the applicant has submitted material that the admissions team believes would be best reviewed by a Harvard faculty member, such asa scientific workor oneRecording a musical performance, the application may be forwarded to a faculty member [...] for review and evaluation." (emphasis added).

In contrast, the next highest academic grade – 2+ – means that although the student has “perfect or near-perfect grades and tests,” his or her applicationthere is a lack of evidence of "substantial scholarship or scholarly creativity".

There are two important points here:

1. Even at Harvard, a strong passion project is a big differentiator - very few students (0.4%) are at this level and
2. A strong passion project greatly increases your chances of admission.

As these examples show, colleges are hungry for students who pursue passionate projects. So let's make sure you know how to provide this in your app for them.

Passionate projects work because they demonstrate academic rigor and demonstrate the 5 qualities colleges look for in candidates

Secollege writing coach, we know that college admissions teams are looking for something very specific when they read your essays. It is notflowery language and beautiful style. Not relaxed and friendlyinsights to know.

no it's her5 propertiesthat show you'll thrive in college and beyond:

• unit (or grain)
• Initiative
• intellectual curiosity
• Contribution
• variety of experiences

Your essays will be evaluatedfor one or more of these character traits in a process that you can read more about at the link.

Well, a passion project demonstrates all of that. UPenn even says that the research projects "demonstrated ingenuity [on the students' part]" and the non-profit projects "demonstrated flexibility and creativity," emphasizing the character traits these projects reveal.

Take Cornell's amazing, weather-obsessed boy as an example. He built his own weather station! The article also says:

[The student] collected data and provided information to a cable news station, which then used his data in their weather forecasts.

The history of the weather station shows:

• Initiative— The student decided to make a difference on his own. He went beyond following a curriculum or doing what his teacher told him to do.
• lead– here's our guess, but knowing how the real world works it's probably hard to build your own weather station. Things probably didn't work out right when he first set them up. He probably had to tinker with the screen and experiment with different brands of power cords (a term we -obsessed essayand not obsessed with the weather - just made it up) until everything worked out. He probably showed courage.
• intellectual curiosity- Fuck. Building your own weather station is a Benjamin Franklin-level experiment, and a pretty cool one at that. And it definitely shows that student's deep interest in a particular topic.
• variety of experiences— How many students collect data to send to a cable news station? Probably not many. Subtraction gave this student a unique perspective.

Well, this story allows"Contribution' (unless you think that sharing data with a cable news station is a 'contribution', which it certainly can be), but you can see that many passion projects, particularly those with a community service bias, include this would have perspective.

The thing is, passion projects don't work because they're "cool" (actually, maybe a little). They drive resumes because they significantly increase their "personal score", which is an important factor in their resume.

Additionally, applicants who undertake academically related passion projects (eg, research, creator, coding) demonstrate that they can accomplish the academic work required to succeed in college.

Introduce your passion project: Write about it with the 5 traits in mind

There are many places to showcase your passion project:

• Portfolio option available at select schools such as MIT, Yale Columbia, and UChicago
• YourPersonal opinion
• Otherssupplementary writing
• OAdditional information section(which also allows you to create a "Portfolio Option")

It's also fine to use two of these places: for example, share a research paper using the additional information, and also talk about what led you to the research, how you did the research, and what you learned from the experience in your essay. .

This is a judgment you could make with aSchool-Rehearsal-Coachortrained adult. But if the passion project is a great example of your traits and ability to succeed in college, be sure to present it in full to admission readers.

if you choosewrite aboutYour passion project into an essay, here are some quick tips:

1. Congratulations- As we discussed above, a passion project is great material for essays.
2. Five Properties-The reason your passion project is great is because of how it tends to showcase your character and ability to succeed. Focus on these elements.
3. intellectual curiosity -Consider talking about how your interest was piqued, why you followed the project so closely, and what you learned about the topic or area as you continued your research.
4. Driving/Initiative -don't be like Fred Astair who doesdifficult thingslooks easy. Show your work as you would in math class: tell the reader what obstacles you overcame, how many times you went back to find the right “feed wire,” and what you learned about grit and getting things done along the way.
5. Contribution -If your project is helping people, if your project has increased your humility and empathy, if you've had to learn to work together and get along better with others, that's a great thing to include in the essay.
6. Variety of experiences -Take a step back. What did you learn from this project? How do you see the world differently than most of your peers? Share a little bit about how this experience made you stand out.

What not to do: Stay away from the "this makes me feel alive" trap. we wrote about itthis trap. Colleges look after their properties; not so much about the project itself. In your essay, focus on how great you'll be on their campus, not how a weather station works, because if they cared as much as you do, they'd be in the weather and not an admissions office.

Feeling inspired? A good start is with usCollege essay help center.

More articles on methods to increase Prompt.com traffic:

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• Don't Let Influencers Influence Your College Essays
• Should I apply without testing?
• Early entry: everything you need to know
• College essay help center