5 Activities to OMIT on your College Applications

[@isaaclund1715]

Hey Brooke, I’ve been watching your videos for the past four years and now I’m headed to Harvard in four days! Thank you for your awesome, free resources and advice. For other high schoolers out there, Brooke is the real deal!! Keep up the awesome work

[@michaelbarrett4580]

I was totally expecting some insight on how competitive schools see the various honors societies (even when in an officer role).

[@SupertutorTV]

these don't help much but it's not bad to put them down -- NHS is on almost every resume I see...

[@fawcheck7552]

Hiiiii Brooks thanks for your advise on the actives. I am Mark in 11th grade doing physics, chemistry, mathematics and ICT from Uganda and my dream school is MIT. So far am contesting to become president of the science club at my school, am also awakening a computer club at school which I want to start teaching programming at school. I am also currently the education prefect at school, project manager of the scripture union club, love teaching and explaining to my litle sister and brother science and mathematics. Am always in the top 3 best performers in class and was also second in my class 10th grade national exam. I come from a humble background and first person who believes to go to campus from my three elder sisters who didn't go due to money issues. Do I have a chance of getting in?

[@DennyCrane-vr5nv]

I was thinking of revealing an adhd diagnosis that impacted grades the first semester of junior year and then was fixed post meds/study techniques with a great second semester. Assuming all the other years/grades are As/A-s is this still something you suggest NOT revealing? I felt that it should be revealed so admissions doesn't ask what happened that semester.

[@Bundiboi]

Hello I'm from the Caribbean and planning to sit the dSAT in fall any advices? I was told to do my CAPE examinations because the scores helps in getting into college overseas however there are still other claims that CAPE examinations grades aren't reputable in the United States... And just only my transcripts and SAT scores are needed... Do you have any any response in regards to this?

[@machikr]

Awesome advice as usual - thank you so much! Now I have a quick question on Point 1: Is it OK to include a college course (history) transcript even if it was taken during junior high?

[@SupertutorTV]

yes that's fine if it's on the transcript-- if you need to explain you always have add'l info

[@karissaan]

Hi! I am planning to transfer to a UC. I don’t know how to word this, but basically, I spent a lot of time thrifting and going to garage sales and finding peoples “ trash” and reselling it as treasure ! I’m great at finding value in people’s “ trash “ . Would this be something to mention? I’ve sold over 1k items on eBay from doing this!

[@mellowmeadow3099]

This is great advice! I was wondering if it would still be okay to include a mental health awareness club that I founded at my school. I'm planning to be a psych major and am featuring it in my essays but wanted to make sure that it wasn't a complete no-no!

[@happygamer732]

Please respond. What if your mental health condition is a big part of what shaped your life and you did a bunch of stuff to raise awareness? Can you talk about it if that’s your passion, or should you avoid it?

[@vazraff]

Did she stutter?

[@kiranb814]

I am no college admissions counselor. But , in my view, in this case you should describe it, how you dealt with it, what you did to raise awareness, breaking stigma around such issues, demonstrating commitment and passion. It also reflects self awareness. I see it as a positive depending on how impacted you were and how impactful your actions were.

[@paullau2772]

I am a rising 10th grader. Working as a helper/volunteer in a 6-week 9am-5pm summer camp. Is it considered a "good" activity for college application? Planning to return as a TA (paid) in the next summer. What do you think? People told me to try to find a summer research position but academically I am interested in Maths, not any science in particular. How to find a research position if I don't have a passion for science at this point?

[@raspberryquartz6186]

i think it depends on how u word ur experience. what did u learn from it, what obstacles did you overcome or what skills did you developed to use it in other areas.

[@SupertutorTV]

Summer camp is ok to put down-- but I don't see it generally as a cornerstone activity on an application that significantly helps unless you're aiming for state schools or less competitive ones (with admit rates over 30% or so)

[@iloverufuscutiezack]

I am a rising sophomore and I conduct Yoga Workshops at our Community Center to create awareness about how Yoga could help younger kids. These are free of Cost workshops. DO you think it's a good activity to put on a college resume?

[@MoMoPuppy23]

how about reading comics and some hobbies such as building car models

[@yaritzaa]

I run two social media accounts (politics & nature), but they don’t have a lot of followers on it. I’ve reached over 10,000 people with the accounts. So would you recommend putting them on the application?

[@lingormhauth]

I have a 20k followers on my insta where I teach people about Chinese and how to study for the HSK. Should I include that?

[@SupertutorTV]

awesome! put it down

[@Tutorllini]

If your Digital SAT course is not taught by Keanu Reeves portraying Neo from The Matrix, I will be sad

[@SupertutorTV]

Hahahaha it’s taught by me…. But maybe we can throw in some terrible special effects

[@Sofia_cab]

My insta account is on my poetry and writing and it has 10k followings should I put that on? Is that fluff?

[@KrakenNate]

Do you think military experience is good for college applications?

[@Astroshid]

Hey. My whole essay is about adhd and ocd! this is about how i overcame them and used them for good. should i just write about something else?

[@TheAvenueOfBooks]

Apart from mental health, how about being affiliated or being a member of the lgbtq community?

[@ydavidzhu]

I serve on the admissions committee for my graduate school and I've read a lot of admissions essays. I feel like mentioning you're a part of LGBTQ really depends on your unique experience. It's more about the quality of the essay you write, the overall narrative, and your story. Just mentioning you're in the LGBTQ community is not a deal breaker in and of itself nor will it automatically give you a leg up (i.e. whether it's considered diverse to be LGBTQ is still very controversial).

[@TheAvenueOfBooks]

@@ydavidzhu thank you so much!!

[@brookifyd]

It shouldn't matter either way if you disclose it-- but if you have a great story and it's part of that story, it's usually a plus. However, some schools (religious schools like Wheaton College in IL for example) may have a culture issue w/ it but if it is an issue somewhere you'd be unlikely to be a good fit there anyhow. Most colleges tend to be more liberal than their surrounding environments but it's not a bad idea to be sensitive to the cultural context where you're applying.

[@jeoboden]

i got a 35 on the act reading section before starting prep. what could this mean about me and my aptitudes? my other sections were average 28

[@dazedfemme]

i want to build a sobriety app, is that okay?

[@stacyerrion3739]

My son is on the Varsity Cross Country and Track teams and several videos I have watched implied that colleges don't care about sports unless they are captain. Do you think we should put these down? He has placed in numerous events in Track.

[@CyberFlare-fn9kn]

You should, captin is great, but being on varsity is commitment and passion that shouldn't go unreported

[@austingold4267]

What if i raised 5k in middle school by myself

[@penguins4cuddles]

hi! what about one week summer camps? for example, helping teach at a summer camp or being a summer camp counselor? even though it’s such a short amount of time, if it’s meaningful, should i add it? or should i talk about it in my essays instead

[@brookifyd]

They're fine but I don't usually see them as a cornerstone / primary activity on an application for most students.

[@serenalin4722]

can i put duolingo as my last activity? (over 600 day streak)

[@SupertutorTV]

Dodgy-- maybe for a cute short essay? Or add'l info that you're teaching yourself Arabic (or whatever language it is...)

[@rmyrick2451]

Would you lean more toward a rising taking an ACT or SAT? Which would you recommend if she is planning on applying to mostly out of state schools, with a couple in states as safeties?

[@cdaneb]

Rising what? And where you apply doesn’t have a bearing on which test you take. Just take a practice test for both of them and whichever you feel better on / whichever one you get a better score on is the one you should study for.

[@rmyrick2451]

@@cdaneb I apologize, she’s a rising senior in high school.

[@brookifyd]

Yes. Yes. Yes. Having a test score increases your odds of admission if it's in range. If it's not, you can opt for test optional -- but not trying puts you at a disadvantage.

[@Mr_Reggie]

The ACT is more stable currently because the SAT is undergoing some changes in the coming years. Also, taking the test as a rising senior is a bit later than most people taking the exam, so your main priority should be getting prepared as fast as possible and taking the exam as soon as possible so the score is able to be put on a college application.

[@rmyrick2451]

@@Mr_Reggie excuse me, she has taken it. More than once. I was asking for her opinion, on which SHE thought was the better of them. Really appreciate your concern.

[@aiden4609]

"Promo sm" 🙋