Guidelines on Advising Extracurricular Activities to College Application Writing
* Not in order of significance. Sequence may change based on demonstrated need. Some steps could repeat or skip. Activity product varies.
1. Advise student to explore “personal interests” based on the “Student Questionnaire” completed.
1.1. Advise student to define “personal interests” on his/her own, i.e., “Reading” is accessing, digesting, and enjoying new information, ultimately generating new ideas personal to one’s own.
1.2. Advise student to explain parameters of his/her “personal interests” on his/her own, i.e., John prefers “modern fictions” of all books.
1.3. Advise student to explain to what extent he/she has experienced his/her “personal interests,” i.e., John has read 57 “modern fictions” in the past 3 years.
1.4. Advise student to explain why he/she did not expand the scope of his/her “personal interests” related experiences, i.e., John struggled with time constraints, due to an extremely heavy workload all the time. He also reads very slowly.
1.5. Advise student to explain in which particular environments he/she has pursued “personal interests,” i.e., Home, school, park, or wherever John loved reading most for whichever specific reasons. John also did not discriminate where he shared his reading with others.
1.6. Advise student to explain in which directions he/she wants to grow his/her “personal interests,” i.e., John wants to, first, publish a book on many ways he discovered to read with fun and joy.
2. Advise student to expand the sphere of influence for his/her “personal interests” based on what he/she has explored.
2.1. Advise student to explain what differences he/she discerns in thinking of his/her “personal interests” before, and now, i.e., John initially thought that reading is no more than learning about what others wrote about themselves, but now considers reading as a means to ascertain what resides inside of him and connect with others outside of him.
2.2. Advise student to explain with whom, and to what extent, he/she has discussed his/her “personal interests,” i.e., John has discussed how modern fictions carry so much historical significance with his science teacher, another book reading fanatic, every week for 2 years. John has learned vicariously through his science teacher that, reading transcends all areas of focus and powerfully connects people to better communicate among themselves.
2.3. Advise student to explain to what extent he/she has explored research papers and published articles pertaining to his/her “personal interests,” i.e., John has not explored much about “modern fictions” for long, but during the past 3 weeks, has fully grasped 3 theories about them and developed a new attitude and vision.
2.4. Advise student to search “personal interests” related information and develop a list of references, including primary and secondary sources, i.e., John gathers small and big pieces of relevant information from online, then generates a list of hundreds of references citing primary and secondary sources he reviewed.
2.5. Advise student to explain why and how which of the academic subjects he/she has taken in school relates to his/her “personal interests,” i.e., Modern fictions John has read helped him clarify the process through which Middle Eastern women’s human rights infringement he learned in social science classes came to life. John hopes that Middle Eastern women will continue to utilize modern fictions as a window to expose the Middle Eastern reality where women can’t have jobs, nor freedom of religion.
2.6. Advise student to explain which outside activities he/she has brought into school, and what interactions took place, i.e., John learned lessons of each distinct value from participating in local/regional book clubs. He sought to instill somethings of the like kind in the minds of his classmates by holding weekly book club meetings in school where he presented several issues of social value to debate. John then moved forward to share the meeting minutes and transcripts with the broader school community by saving and storing them at the school library. He also collaborated with the school librarian to index the issues to the references the library offers, cohering a small library within the school library.
3. Advise student to apply influential areas of his/her “personal interests” in the colleges of his/her choice/interest, outside institutions, and elsewhere.
3.1. Advise student to explore with which academic departments/disciplines his/her “personal interests” bear relevance, i.e., John explores the homepages of 5 academic departments of each college, for “modern fictions” carry cultural, linguistic, social, economic, and political implications.
3.2. Advise student to explain which academic departments/disciplines of each college interest him/her, i.e., John learned from College A that modern fictions have greater political value than social value, while discovering that College A’s Political Science Department offers greater scholarly resources and broader focus than other colleges through the past and current research projects and assignments. Whereas, College B continues unique research projects encapsulating fully maximized linguistic value of modern fictions, a trigger for John to apply for admission.
3.3. Advise student to utilize search engines and tools online and in the libraries to define the relationships between his/her “personal interests” and the colleges of interest to him/her, i.e., John reviews a deluge of information and, in the process, discovers entirely different angles from which college professors or researchers study “modern fictions.” He classifies their perspectives, theories, and practices against his in a matrix. If absent such information, John could inquire with the college and departments of his interest, preceded by a high quality preparation for interacting with experienced scholars.
3.4. Advise student to plan which new research, study, or activity he/she desires to pursue based on the efforts made to date, i.e., John realizes that “modern fictions” were a window for political participants, but now and moving forward, must present a sophisticated paradigm for stronger, active participation. He details a research paper plan for what changes, what transitions must take place in the next 3 decades, mirroring the past 3 decades.
3.5. Advise student to investigate and confirm whether his/her new research, study, or activity plan has been executed, or will be executed, in the colleges of his/her choice/interest, i.e., John classifies what he investigates into, which study or activity was executed in which academic department for the modern fictions’ needed change, and what the scope of the change made was. He requests and reviews relevant study or activity information. John also interviews relevant personnel to secure original information that can’t be found elsewhere. He continues to realize that originality, scarcity, and novelty are needed in the process.
3.6. Advise student to share his/her research, study, or activity plan with college personnel or outside experts for suggestions, i.e., John drafts and emails his research plan to a good number of relevant experts. He receives original and constructive feedbacks from them, for the much thoughtful effort he put in, which they recognized. John reviews the received information and explores restructuring or improving his plan.
4. Advise student to execute his/her plan completed and record all details arising out of the execution process.
4.1. Advise student to build his/her product into, introduction, body, and conclusion based on the outcomes of Steps 1. through 3, i.e., John stipulates, why he does what in the introduction to provide background information, logically structured details of the investigations and analyses of scholarly value in the body, and ideas readily acceptable in the conclusion.
4.2. Advise student to structure the introduction based mostly on facts and, in the body, ensure compliance with scholarly rules and principles by classifying third party sources and his/her own with a view to achieve logicality and constructiveness, i.e., John reads an overwhelming load of information and often confuses himself, but collaborates with his school teachers and librarians for transparency. He derives new ideas and conclusions from this enduring process.
4.3. Advise student to reorganize new issues and ideas stemming from existing or future research, study, or activity, thereby avoiding a perfection conclusion, i.e., John works so hard, but envisions a long span for achieving great depth in his research. He readjusts his plan and focuses on shorter term products. John details what transformative experiences he has had in the process of receiving constructive criticisms from his school teachers and outside experts, and growing strength in the ability to critically think and act, and hence, mature.
4.4. Advise student to draft his/her research, study, or activity report in line with existing formats, or attempt the new, i.e., John learns that his peers often try to emulate simple formats like resumes, so rather looks towards products authored by college professors or research institutions. He restructures his products through multiple deliberations. John keeps in touch with authors and publishers to review citations and avoid deviations or infractions.
4.5. Advise student to edit his/her product based on demonstrated need, i.e., John seeks help to edit his product from his school teachers or outside experts known to be capable of editing. John reaches agreement with his editing advisors on work schedule and proceeds with it.
5. Advise student to explore how he/she can utilize his/her “personal interests” related product and details for college application.
5.1. Advise student to review Common Application or college-specific application systems and forms to determine how to utilize the much-developed “personal interests” related information, i.e., John debates whether to use the information for his essays, Additional Information, Research Abstract, or whatever else that best serves his purpose, strategically. John considers discussing with his school teachers or third party recommenders ways to utilize teacher evaluations/recommendations to convey excellent, yet complicated information requiring much space, even strengthening credibility of the information directed from his teachers to college admissions officers.
5.2. Advise student to share his/her “personal interests” related information and product with school teachers to assist them with achieving increased level of student understanding and developing constructive evaluation, i.e., John learns that “context” is so crucial to the colleges’ evaluating his candidacy for admission. He presents all of his information every week or every other week very flexibly to a point where his teachers generate each different piece of recommendation story that complete his picture meaningfully and uniquely.
5.3. Advise student to discuss the product achieved unto Step 5.2. with his/her college counselor to receive advices and help, i.e., John realizes that his college counselor has dozens of juniors/seniors to work with every week. He visits his college counselor whenever he can set an appointment in advance. John prepares a list of to do’s with his college counselor, and proceeds with it, setting a work schedule.