Let’s Chat about “Passion Projects”
“Passion Projects”… are they worth it? My thoughts, ABSOLUTELY!
Here’s the deal. University admissions can be SUPER competitive- especially if you’re applying to an ivy or even a competitive program at a state school (think computer science or most engineering/business majors). Most applicants will have perfect or near perfect grades and test scores. There will probably also be a range of AP/IB courses and great extra curricular involvment. So with so many “perfect” applicants, how do you even begin to stand out? Passion projects.
As an admissions officer, there are situations where there are too many “academically perfect” and well-rounded applicants to to admit. For example, if you can only admit 300 applicants, 3,000 applied, and 1,000 of them have “perfect” academics that would mean that 700 “perfect academic” students would be denied to the program. How did the 300 get picked? Cue the passion project.
What’s a passion project? It’s anything the student chooses to dedicate time and attention to that embodies or reflects a value the student has strong feelings about. Admission officers love finding students who are passionate about life and learning and channel that passion into projects or initiatives that have a positive impact on their community. You can choose anything… research, create a nonprofic, invent something, edvocate for a cause, etc.
Passion projects are a great way to demonstrate leadership skills, problem solving, creative thinking, courage, intelligence and so much more. Any or all of these qualities will greatly improve your chances of having a positive impact on campus, graduating successfully, and building a vibrant career post-graduation that will ultimately be percieved as a good reflection of the university you attended.
Passion projects make you competitive in a world where it’s so hard to stand out. Here are some examples to get you thinking:
Start a community garden
Start a letter-writing campaign to influence political change
Film a documentary
Write a blog
Write short stories
Take up photography
Perform with your local theatre
Record your own music
Learn how to repurpose and upcycle clothing
Interview your family and document family history and stories
Camp at every national park
Take up chess
Visit all of your local museums and document what you learn
Create a pollinator garden and persuade your local government leaders to incentivize it everywhere.
Take up backyard bee keeping and educate others on how to protect the bees
Ultimately, depth in something you love is nearly always more intriguing to see than an enormous list of activities that you don’t care that much about. Think about where you’d like to have impact and throw yourself into it! It will be deeply fulfilling for you as a person and increase your chances of admission at your top choice school. Moral of the story, do what lights you up! It will never steer you wrong.
That’s all for now, folks!
-Veronica
