How to Find Your College Application Spike! The Best Way to STAND OUT in College Admissions
Vložit
- čas přidán 6. 07. 2020
- Here is the worksheet that accompanies this video: irisfu.com/college-applicatio...
» Subscribe if you found this video helpful: bit.ly/subscribeirisfu
» Follow me on Instagram: @_irisfu / _irisfu
» Adore my baby Twitter account: @_irisfu / _irisfu
» Check out my website: www.irisfu.com
Share this channel with anyone who you think would enjoy our videos! Currently reading this book "Contagious" by a Wharton marketing professor and it's said that word of mouth is the MOST effective way to spread ideas/information! Here is the link to this channel: bit.ly/irisfu Thanks guys and have a great rest of your day ✨
Videos I referenced:
» Top 5 At-home Extracurriculars
• Top 5 At-home Extracur...
» I Applied to College Twice?? How I Went From Rejected to Accepted
• I Applied to College T...
WATCH NEXT:
» How to Stand Out with Extracurriculars: • Everything on Extracur...
» on Acing Academics:
• Everything on Academics 📚
» on Writing the Perfect College Essay!
• Everything on College ...
» All Tea on College Apps 🍵
• All Tea on College Apps 🍵
» Wondering About My Application Journey? Here's How I Went From Rejected to Accepted to Stanford & Ivy Leagues:
• My College Application...
⚠ I'll be posting a productivity apps video so subscribe & turn on your notification bell to stay tuned!
Related Keywords: how to find your college application theme, college application spike, college application theme, how to find, how to build, Stand Out in College Admissions, own the college admissions process, Extracurricular activities, activities colleges do care about, extracurricular activities for college acceptance, top notch extracurriculars
I made a worksheet that goes along with this video's brainstorming exercise! Find it here: irisfu.com/college-application-spike/
I hope you have a fun and rewarding time learning about what makes YOU unique. As always, leave your questions in the comments and I'll get to them as soon as I can! Also, please share this channel with a friend who you think would benefit. We're growing!! :)
Hi Iris I have a question, would the idea of helping people be too broad of a spike?
Wwwwwwwww
Hey! The link is not working? Can you please check that?
The link isn’t working….
the link isnt working :((
I just saw the Reddit feed with a bunch of people hating and calling you “arrogant” and stuff. I just wanted to say that me, along with 95% of your viewers, completely disagree. Most of us find your videos motivating, inspiring, and they push me to work harder. You’re by far the best college you tuber in the industry. Keep up the great work!
wait, what subreddit is this under?
This makes no sense, why would they be calling her that.
Don't even waste your time reading it- it is really false information. They be talking bs with no reason.
@Tyler Vazquez it was thankfully taken down. Here’s the link, the comments are still active www.google.com/amp/s/amp.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/hm0j6o/thoughts_on_iris_fu_the_stanford_prefrosh_youtuber/
Essentially, the summary of the post was she was allegedly “arrogant” because in her Stanford day in the life she read an article about herself that her mom had sent her? Which is something I would have done too if I had press coverage. Also, they thought she was arrogant because she apparently called UCLA and Cal Berkeley “lesser schools”, which the cal part wasn’t even true and the UCLA one was completely taken out of context, and she later said UCLA was a great school (I think this is in the recent Q&A). Also people were mad because basically, she works way harder than they do, and they feel bad about themselves because of it.
This comment in the thread pretty much sums up my opinion on this matter:
This is the same as r/chanceme. If you get nervous and anxious when someone shares their achievements, stop dwelling on them. People who learn from others' successes can actually end up enjoying such content b/c they realize they are getting free advice from great people.
In some respects, it's like if you get a chance to speak with a billionaire or something and they are willing to tell you how they got there. Yes, they will have worked with CEO's, landed great internships, etc, and you have probably never done stuff like that. You have two choices: channel that to motivate yourself, or wallow in the fact that you aren't as impressive as them..
-
Ultimately I’m not gonna be the one who complains about someone who works 3 hours a day to post 100% free content on CZcams purely for my benefit 🤷♂️ anyways I hope this helps
@@buccavbasketball1275 yeah, just skimmed through most of the comments...idek
You are helping literally thousands of high schoolers with their college applications and I cannot thank you enough!!!! Love your videos!
Happy to help!
I'm literally planning to apply at stanford so yeah it does help a lot, matter of fact, i'd love to see something on financial aid and how does that work
To*
i love listening to you talk! to me, a "soft spike" is adjacent to a "theme" in your application. im overall weary of people doing things for the sake of college, so i really like the idea of doing what you like and packaging all of it later :)
yesss!!! that's the idea i hope everyone will embrace
You're honestly ahead of the game as a freshman. I'm just _now_ starting to to recount all the tips/tricks I learned in college (at 25). You're gonna kill it at Stanford!
hahah thank you!! def standing on the shoulders of giants
Damn if only I had resources like these when I was going into high school...Kinda too late for me now since I’m a rising senior lol
Hahaha honestly you still have an entire summer to boost ur app and synthesize that narrative!!! You got this 🙌🙌🙌
@@irisfu6929 now i understand..is there a way if you want to reapply after I got my acceptance can I so I can try to get a soft spike
lol same
did u get into college? Im also a rising senior and worried lol cause i have not done much
@@beezalis9135 same!same
I'm a freshman and I'm very grateful for your channel. This is very helpful and I love how you explained why you have to state why you do or chose the certain extracurricular. I'm so surprised you don't have a million subs but here is a special thank you keep posting 👍
you’re videos are all so helpful and your voice has CRAZY calming effects thank you so much for sharing!!🥰
I have watched so many college videos and nothing helped me more than this. Great job ! Lots of love❤️
My daughter and I have been binge-watching your channel as we navigate through the college prep process. It is, hands-down, the most helpful channel we've found. Thank you for all you do!!
you're an actual college admissions god (i have a playlist devoted to your videos because they're so helpful). thank you SO much for sharing this knowledge, you and other highschool/college youtubers at your tier are the best guidance counselors and do it for free! love all of your videos and your general attitude
So basically: if you are pre-med/stem student, and have medical science study abroad/research programs for 3 summers, take Ap bio, ap chem, ap physics, and write your essay about how you want to use medicine as an innovation to positively change this world, its pretty straightforward?
lmao kinda yeah focus on shining in one area, but also don't be afraid to have other "side interests" that you do just for fun!
@@irisfu6929 lol, thanks! I attend a private boarding school- so I am kinda stuck on only being able to participate on what my school offers. Other than that- I have been doing Coursera and summer intern/study abroad programs.
David Girma nice that’s already really great! I’d encourage u (esp if you end up going to a new school like Phillips academy) to go one step further to create some new initiatives/programs (to show leadership and to just have fun haha)
Iris Fu Yes, definitely! My school has NHS, Youth in Gov, and like “Student Steering Committee” etc- of which I have leadership position in. Other than that- I have won state cross country and track- just some outside interests, but at the same time, I’m not looking to get recruited or anything. Plus I have those summer programs/ research and online courses and whatnot- I'm also currently working on a project, and a medical research which I will try to have published. - Including all my rigorous course load, I think this is "competitive enough" for Phillips Exeter- also tried my best either way haha. (i am upcoming sophomore)
But don’t be vague with it as well. Because a lot of people want to “change the world”, you want to make yours sound like how has medicine going to influence people’s lives, how people live, will it give us new opportunities?
i have been binge-watching videos about college admissions for the last six months, trying to navigate through the application process and working on my extracurriculars and this is honestly THE BEST and the most helpful video!!! Thank you so very much Iris, you're saving lives
It’s incredible how much you’ve helped me this year. I recently hit an obstacle in my academic life where I didn’t know where I was going or why I was doing things, and I’ve always been super ambitious to shine in school. You’ve helped me understand who I am and what I need to do to recenter myself; I cannot thank you enough ❤️❤️
Love that! Thank you for leaving this comment and you got this Miriam!! Keep chasing dreams ❤️
You’re more helpful than my counselor 😂
😂😂 good to hear but also that sucks that your counselor is :/
I love your videos! They are so good and I really get to understand everything! If it is not so offtopic, I'd love to see how you edit your videos :D Thank you for all of what you are sharing!!
Iris, You're amazing! Thank you for always going out of your way to help us all. You are killing the game and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!
thanks for this message! rly appreciate it ❤️
Great video. If you can make a video about the international students and the their application process during this case it will be awsome
What about international students and this part of the app process? I think i'm always a little confused at these requests bc i'm not sure what would be different for international students. I'm pretty sure everything I said applies for both domestic and int students, but please let me know if I'm missing something! thanks :)
Look at the school you are interested website and look at the admission page there should be a international student tab and if that doesn’t help just email
Not yet in high school, but you give such great advice that is really helping me brainstorm my interests, and common denominators! Thank you Iris!
That’s awesome! Glad this helped
I’ve been trying to figure this out for a while now, and this video was actually so helpful! Thank you!!!
Glad it helped!
this helped me realize that my activities more more cohesive and interconnected than I thought! thank you!
Wonderful!
I enjoy your videos so much and thank you for making helpful content like this! I have been struggling to find my spike and this video helps. ☺
Wow, watched 2 of your videos so far, and they are great! Will share with my daughter, as I think they are super helpful! Love the speed of your speech and presentation:) Others can be slow and drawn out. Many thanks!!
Thank you for this comment, Linda! I’m glad to hear that, and I hope your daughter will find this channel helpful 👍
hi iris!! i literally never comment on videos but this SAVED MY LIFE i’m starting senior year in like a month and i had no idea what spikes were until maybe a week ago, thank you for explaining this so clearly!!! love your videos so much and huge congrats on stanford :)
Yay! So glad this video helped you and thank you for leaving this message
ur vids are incredibly helpful, pls post videos as many as u can :(
I'm new to your channel but I really enjoy it and I've learned quite a bit!
I'm so glad! Welcome aboard!
Recently found your videos and I've been binge watching them since. I'm a rising junior and I always felt like I wasn't doing enough to stand out to colleges. Thank you so much for making amazing and helpful content!
Omg me too😭😰
Of course!!
I paused the video to write this- I wanted to say that I completely disagree with all the haters calling you arrogant! I’ve been watching college videos almost nonstop for a year and your channel is by far one of the most helpful ones I have come across! What you’re doing is great and you deserve all the success that you have achieved. Personally, I do sometimes feel bad about myself when you talk about your accomplishments/show yourself being super productive. But I know that it’s all done with good intentions, and the way I feel doesn’t have anything to do with you! Overall watching your videos is super motivating and helpful for the college application process. Thank you so much 😊 p.s. the haters gonna hate!
ahaha thank you for this message!! i really appreciate it. and yeah, i hope ppl can come away with a feeling of can-do and motivation rather than feel bad about themselves :/ comparing yourself to others (i'm so guilty of this too) is always going to bring negative feelings, so lol we're all working on it together! (maybe i should even make a video about this). anyway, thanks again for this message! probs wouldn't have been able to bounce back from the haters so quickly without support like yours
Thank you so much for posting this video; it's very helpful!!
Yay I’m really glad you found it helpful!
You're so INSPIRING ❤
aw thanks houda :)
Thank you so much, I've been trying to think and get ready for junior year. I promise you school don't explain things like this.
Hahaha I feel you. Good luck!! 👍
Hey Iris, you’re so inspiring and you have motivated me to start my organization and write my book (both a work in progress, but I know I’ll get it done :)). And on top of that, start and finish my common app essay. No other youtuber does what you’re doing, so thank you. I really have this confidence that I’ve never had before, so thank you a ton. Don’t let the haters get to you ❤️
Thank you, I really appreciate that ❤️
This is super helpful! Thank you !!
Glad it was helpful!
The most underrated channel
🥺🥺
This is such a helpful video thank you so much!!
Glad u found it helpful!
this video helped me so much!
great to hear that, ashley!
Your channel is really starting to take off congratulations!
ahh thank you!!! you the og tho
@@irisfu6929 I think you are finding your voice. Great to see the channel develop.
This def applies for grad school applications too. It’s funny because I was already doing this and didn’t realize it in my applications prep now.
oh wow i didn't know this applies to grad school apps! Good thing bc I'll use these when I start applying to grad schools ;) good luck with your applications!
I literally love you! Love from KAZAKHSTAN)
Wow, blew through 3k and halfway to 4k. Way to build you channel!!
I know right!! and thank you for being an og supporter ❤️
sending love
I just want to say thank you so much-your videos are SO HELPFUL. I could not have gotten my internship by cold-calling / cold-emailing without your help!!
Hi Iris, CZcams just recommended one of your vids to me and now I just can’t stop watching! Thank you for making them and they are so helpful to someone who’s stressing out about applying to the us as an international student. So...I am actually the head of the Student Council at our high school (Dulwich) and I thought if we can share your videos with our students, it will definitely inspire them a lot! Would you mind if we translate your videos and play them to our students when we get back to school?
Hi Emma! So glad the algorithm brought you here :) welcome, and you can definitely share these videos with your students! They’re meant to motivate, help, and inspire, so please use this channel’s videos as a resource! Take care xx
This is such an amazing video! Most of the videos I watched just talk about having a “spike” without clarifying what it is and how we can build our own. Thank you so much Iris~ I hope you have a great day! 💕
Of course!! I hope you have an amazing day as well 💕
Love this ! 🧡 u are so amazing :(
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it
You’re saving applications out here lmao, thank you for the content
Anytime!! Good luck Anmol!!
omg already on your way to 4k! great job as always :D
So close! thanks for being an og supporter sania!!
ofc! tbh I don't need to watch ur videos (cuz im in 8th grade lol) but ur personality and how accomplished u are makes me never want to miss one of your videos. I hope that when I grow up im as awesome as you!
Sania B Aw thanks for your support and sweet message! I know you’re going to do big things in HS and beyond 🤩🙌
i love all of your videos
thank you 💕lmk if u ever have questions or video ideas you want me to do!
@@irisfu6929 love it ;)
thank you so much!
Hi Iris! Could you consider doing a video about broad activities you can alter to steer towards your spike? For example a youtube channel, a blog, etc. I have a few activities I can alter to my spike but I need more ideas. Thanks, btw loved this video, it helped so much!
i think my answer to this would be to just adapt the broad activity to an interest that fits your spike. for ex, make a youtube channel about college apps if your spike is education, make it about politics if your spike is politics, etc. lmk if you have more questions though, bc i'm not sure if i fully answered what you're looking for
Hey Iris! Can you do a video on different passion project examples or ideas for different intended majors?
wooo that sounds kind of fun! Maybe I can do a passion project interview series or something with my stanford friends who did some really cool projects in hs! thx for the idea 💕
I just came back to say that I finally figured out my spike! Don't wanna linger too long on it, because it isn't what I want to talk about. What I want to say is that figuring out my spike, finding a uniting purpose in what I have done, was actually a moment of self discovery for me. Almost like piecing little bits of me together to see something I didn't before. I understand myself way better now.
Hey, I’ve been trying to find my spike for so long.😭 How did you do it?
@@shrawanipal literally sat and thought for a very long time. It helps to consider how your skills would apply irl- what did being in a club give you?
Congrats bailey! Good for you 🙌🙌
Your videos stress me out, but in a good way
Really..... Thanks a ton!
Damn, your outro is so cool. I don't know why I'm sooo familiar with it, could you tell me which outro are you using?
thanks for the tips iris! can u make a video about the common application process and how to fill it out?
Sure thing! Was there anything specific you'd like me to address in the video?
could address how to correctly describe the activities under the word count given?
@@irisfu6929 Thanks for replying! If possible, can you give tips on the activities' description wording. (ex. Should I list the goals of the organizations I participate in, my achievements in that organization, etc.). Also, if you have an activity but you don't participate in a club/organization for it, can you just title an activity as "composition" or "sculpture"? Thanks:)
Could you do a video about the outline that u gave to your teachers for your letter of rec? I feel like LoR are underrated.
Ooo yeah I think they’re kinda underrated too - I’ll put that idea on my content calendar!
what if i don't have a theme? I love reading, biology, figure skating, and violin. These are things I genuinely love doing
UPDATE: I found what I love: Biology, specifically Neuroscience and reading. I'm thinking of creating my own blog and doing STEM programs and experiments in my backyard
Thank you so very much for this! I'm a senior and I've always done so many activities in many categories because I have so many interests, so I'll definitely have to figure out where my soft spike is! Would doing well at state competitions help with a hard spike? Even if it's not part of your future career goal?
This is genuinely so helpful, thank you! When you say explicitly write it in your application, do you mean in our common app essay or within supplements? :)
Either or both! I believe I kind of implicitly hinted in my common app, then very, very explicitly said it in many of my supplements for different schools.
amazing video my friend :)
Thank you:)
Hi Iris! I just want to say that your videos have been so helpful, thank you so much🥰 Also I wanted to ask if I already wrote my personal essay but didn't include a lot about my spike, is there any way to put more emphasis on it somewhere else in my application? Thanksss
You could in ur supplemental essays, add info, and activities list!
Hi Iris! I have been following you on CZcams for some time now and your videos have been very inspiring and helpful for me! My dream school by a long shot is Stanford and I am hoping to study comp sci there. I was in a similar situation as you- I was too well rounded but especially during this quarantine I came up with a personal statement of combining STEM, arts, and tech to bring down barriers in educational inequity in order to further sustainability and build community. And I am doing that through my initiative Melodies for Math(explaining K-12 math concepts through short original songs and building the first Music x Math interdisciplinary community), my web development business which have assisted people in 3+ countries get resources and build a brand, a sustainability app in the works based on my United Nations winning essay, interning in the tech sector at the UK based website/app Climate Science, etc. You are like a role model for me and your channel had a strong personal impact on my life. I hope to somehow get accepted to Stanford and meet you on campus one day.
Best regards,
Swetha T.
Hi Swetha! Thanks for sharing your goals and ambitions with me! You sound super ahead of the game and definitely someone I'd like to meet in the future. I hope you come to Stanford!
I have SO many interests and through this video, I figured out that I am interested in Health Science/Nursing, Math, Mental Health, Arts (Especially Performing acting and music). And I also love performing on stage which sounds a bit cliche but it is kinda true! Sounds like a lot, but still trying to figure it all out!
Any suggestions on extracurriculars and classes?
Hi Iris!!! Most of my extracurricular accomplishments have in common how I'm trying to expand the knowledge that my country exists since we are barely noticeable on the map and many just see us as that one island (Puerto Rico). For example, I lead a youth robotics team to internationals, I've started an SSL (Spanish as a second language) tutoring service to help kids moving here adapt to the language, assisted my country's only synthetic biology competition team with their project (this is a college team), among others. Would my soft spike be geared towards my goal of gaining recognition for my country or more towards helping others? I'm undecided for my major but am leaning towards biology or psychology. Thank you for all the help through your videos!!!
Hey. I love the way you're the most informative college youtuber out there. I have a lot of experience and extracurriculars in the field of literature but I've been meaning to apply for psychology. Is there any way I can make my application more psychology-centric with new extracurriculars (if yes, how?) or can i tweak my application to make it seem that I would be a good psychology candidate?
I'll be applying for Princeton, Yale and Stanford mostly :)
thank you iris for helping thousands of people across the globe. I am currently a high school and I inspire to get into any of the ivy league colleges, my question is does learning a different language stand out as an extra curricular?
Hey Iris! That's again the best video on CZcams on this topic. But I had a question.Can leadership be a spike?Since I always was leader everywhere but that everywhere has no pattern accept for the case I was leader.
Another great video w/actionable tips! Sorry that reddit ppl hated on you for no reason, I didn't even think you were flexing :( I was wondering if I'd have a hard spike since I have international and national debate awards, but debate isn't an academic field like chem or math, so how do you think debate could function in my app?
I've also done environmental studies/urban studies advocacy, journalism, art, and CS stuff, hoping to major in urban studies. Should I major in comms instead and put urban studies as a secondary major?
this is pretty cool! i think from the surface, comms does fit better with your debate narrative. I think you could have a softer spike/theme of using communication to (insert a problem you're passionate about)--where debate, your journalism, and advocacy can be part of that. You have a really interesting narrative rn!!
@@irisfu6929 thanks for replying!!
your advice is way too good lol
ahaha flattered but thank u for supporting the channel
Hi Iris! I’m a rising sophomore interested in exploring the intersection between advocacy and tech. What are some ways I can use my CS skills for good? PS. Thank you for always giving such good advice :)) I’ve learned so much these past months!
Yes of course! You could build a civic engagement app esp for this coming elections, or another tech platform that helps engage you people in the election/political process
thankssss
💕💕
thank you sososososo much
You’re welcome! :)
Hey Iris, first i just wanna say that your videos are helping so much rn so thank u so much for this awesome content. As an international student Im trying my best to understand the whole application thing. I wanted to ask if it was bad if I had a main goal that linked all of my activities but in my essay I wrote about my childhood and not about these activities or the reason I want to do premed ?
Nice video! Is there any way you can review some of our college profiles or essays? Thanks!
Yes! You can book a call or essay review with me here: app.joinbullseye.com/mentors/1809. There're also more long-term, monthly plans available, and you can email me at iris.f@joinbullseye.com for more info :) excited to work with you!!!
Thanks....... 😊
Explicitly state I am doing all this for this purpose or theme. State that so they don’t miss it!
Hi! I discovered your channel recently and have been loving the videos so far! :) I've been working on publishing a pamphlet about questions that teenagers have about religion. This project has been ongoing for at least a year now and I've already collected 30+ surveys and organized a team to help me write it, but its been sidetracked due to coronavirus. Since this project is still in progress and probably won't be finished until after college apps, can I still put it on my application? Thank you!!
Nice this is awesome! def still put it on your app with what you've done so far, and what you hope to accomplish with it
Hey Iris!! Thanks for the advice. I didn’t really know how to do it but I just wanted to thank you. I had published a book a couple months ago thanks to your advice and now it is being sponsored by a national congenital heart disease organization and being reviewed by the Children’s Heart Foundation. Sometimes I barely can believe any of this is true😂. Anyways, thank you!!!
Which topic did you write about it .i am interested in medicine and i really wanna write a book but have no idea what should i put inside
That really is up to you. Find a topic that you are really interested in and I recommend researching it for at least 6-7 months before writing anything. When it comes to the world of medicine, it is important to first establish your credibility in the field before writing anything related to the field. For example, I did 2 years of independent study under a professor who approved the accuracy of my work. Then only was I allowed to write a book.
@@meghanad.2929 alright thank you for the advice but i haven't lot of time i think i have just 4 or 5 months to write it..and what's your book title?
I’m assuming you are an incoming senior. Same 😂. If I were you I would try doing something that you know you can accomplish within that time period and execute well. Maybe try brainstorming ideas related to topics you are interested in first. Once you have done so this process should become easier. You can probably do independent research or any other idea you come up with, as long as it is feasible and executed well!
@@meghanad.2929 yeah i am ..thank you again
Great videos. How to subscribe to your newsletter?
Hi Iris! You talked about applying to college twice (junior & senior year), so I'm assuming when you were filling the common app (or whatever it is) information you put "have applied to this college before" right? Do you think that might lower your chances of getting in..?
What if the spike and ec's are completely unrelated to the intended major??
For example, your spike is solving the water shortage but you want to apply for say computer science then, won't the admissions officers be confused??
Yes, I'm personally a little confused bc water shortage is lk academic and so I'm wondering why you don't want to study environmental science or something. But if you address the water shortage with a cs solution then cs would totally make sense. Things like family background/culture would make more sense as spikes totally unrelated to you major
Hi Iris!
I've been loving your videos and awesome advice!
I have a little dilemma: I am also a bit of a jack-of-all-trades and do not have a significant hard spike in any area. Though I do have some interests, they are mostly in the arts with a side of video games. Thinking from not only a university but also a career standpoint, I feel like my current interests will make it difficult for me to find a suitable/viable career. For this reason, I've been considering focusing more on something like economics, medicine, or computer science (I don't know much about any as of now) throughout high school and start narrowing activities down a little so I will have an obvious spike when it comes to college applications. Do you think this is a good idea for someone just entering high school? If not, what do you think I should do? Thank you so much! :)
Hey! sorry I didn't see this earlier. Yes, you are still so early in the game. Definitely explore all three areas and then narrow down to one by 10th/11th grade. Good luck!
Don't do things just for college, do things because they're fun. If you're planning on making economics your spike, make sure you're going to be happy doing economics for the rest of your life
Hey Iris! For my passion project I wanted to something involving colorism, within our world, society, and even within our own cultures/people. It's a topic I'm very passionate about, especially at a time like this with the BLM movement. I was thinking about doing a book but then thought of the idea of making a documentary. Like interviewing different races, generations, genders about how they feel about the topic. Kind of like an informative video to help younger generations realize that your color doesn't matter. I wanted to see if you thought it was a good idea or not? Thank you
xx
that's an awesome thing to be passionate about. A documentary sounds one of a kind, and more unique than a book (maybe bc i talked about books on this channel, but now it seems like everyone is writing a book haha). I think 110% make that documentary, and keep me updated!!! Good luck :) I think this is going to be awesome
I definitely will keep u updated:)) Thank you so much!!
Hi Iris! Just stumbled upon your channel and I'm already loving the content that you're coming up with. I do have a question regarding hard spikes though. I have won international and national-level hackathons but most of the projects I made vary from one hackathon to another (basically there's no one specific field that I focus on). So, would you say that it is a hard spike? Or even a spike at all?
I'd greatly appreciate a response :)
Yes of course! I think CS (or whatever skills you're brining to the hackathons) would be your spike
@@irisfu6929 Thanks! Glad to know that :)
perfect
Hey Iris, love the video, but I do have two questions. First, I have a couple activities that I have a lot of accomplishments in that show my depth of involvement, but I'm not sure if they all will fit in the 150 characters on the common app list. Is there a way for me to include these so it still benefits my soft spike? Second, is the theme you discuss something you write yourself, or do college admissions officers just kind of pick up on it?
To your first question, I'd recommend elaborating more in add info oor in your essays. To the second question, both! You write about it in your essays, with the goal to help the AOs pick up on it
class of 2021 has it rough huh, no senior year and now even lower acceptance rates :(
i was thinking about making my spike being an aspiring astronaut? i’m going to a space academy, and there’s a bunch of other nasa type things i was planning on doing. do you think this would be a spike?
Hi Iris, great video with lots of helpful information! I am wondering if you are open to consulting with my 15 year old daughter 10th grade) about her spike? I am happy to pay you a consulting fee if you are not comfortable just chatting with her, but I'm the first in my family to go to college so would like to help her make connections early to help her prepare before the pressure hits with ACT/SAT, applications, etc... Thanks! Oh and perhaps you have already done one, but advice on ACT vs. SAT and how early you started preparing (pre-SAT/ACT?), would be lovely!
so for me, my activities will all be film-related because I am trying to go into the film industry, I have done a lot of videography and photography as an individual and with a crew, do I say for example will be " making people happy while doing what I enjoy" because I always do like hype videos and send photographs of games to the players in my highschool??
hey iris tysm for the advice! I'm just wondering how I would be able to communicate the soft spike through the UC piqs, which have four questions we have to answer. Should they all have to conclude with a message gearing towards the same soft spike, or should I emphasize four completely different aspects of myself, instead elaborating on the soft spike when listing out the ec's?
You can write about diff aspects in each essay but then come to the general conclusion at the end of each essay which can be the same/similar
Hi Iris! I organize and teach art and design clinics at my city’s central library for little kids who are socioeconomically disadvantaged; I founded the clinic (also given the circumstances of living in a small southern city, we lack free programs that helps kids explore their creative interests)! I’ve hosted these clinics consistently. How would you rate this as a passion project and what can I do to adapt it for it make a bigger on my college apps? Edit: wanted to add that you have inspired me to do so much with the time I have right now! You’re such a kind, motivated person and I can’t believe you keep posting videos that are soooo awesome, thank you so much fam!
wow! that's already really amazing. never heard of any high schooler start a clinic. if you want to take it one step further, i encourage you to start more branches of you clinic in other regions as well, kind of like a chain. Also, reach out to some press for them to cover your story bc it's truly very impressive and interesting. i already feel it that you're going to do big things! pls keep me updated with how your clinic goes!
Iris Fu also I think there might be some confusion over what the actual program is! I mean I call it an art clinic, but I don’t know if that’s the right use of word, do you think I should just stick to the word program? The word “clinic” usually refers to a medical center and I don’t want my program to be confused with one.
Iris Fu thanks
John Liu maybe?? I guess I’m not 100% sure what your program is like rn, but I’d call something a clinic if it’s a program with a set physical location. If not, I’d stick to program 👍👍
Iris Fu okay got it! Yeah my art clinic is held at the same central library every time it takes place!
Iris, your link is broken. Is your worksheet still available? I'd love to see it :)
would band/music stuff be considered a hard spike? like i'm very heavily invested in the band/music community in my area. I'm part of an orchestra that has performed at Carnegie Hall and will be performing in Europe next year. Could you use this as a hard spike even if you are not planning on going down the music path later in life?
I LOVE figure skating, but I started at a late age (11, which is considered late in the skating world) so I don't think I'll make any accomplishments. I enjoy reading and biology, but I don't know what accomplishments I can do with that. I also play violin, but started at a late age (13). I'm only 13, but I really want to go to Harvard or Yale
Is game/app creation or making music (and be good at both) considered like soft spikes?
I'm having trouble finding my spike, could you help me? My big things are:
-Being the captain of a relay for Life team that raised over 18k across two years, 3k of which I raised independently
-Starting a pandemic tutoring group with over 20 students and 10 tutors
-Editor in chief, treasurer, and layout editor (at different times) of the schools lit mag, which my friends and I revived after a 5 year hiatus
-President of English National Honor Society
-Shadowing a plastic surgeon, who is writing me a letter
-Honorable mention for poetry in the southeast region of the Scholastic writing competition
-A handful of state and local Latin awards in mythology
-5 straight years of microbiology science fair projects, but I never qualified for state fair until this year, when it was cancelled
-1st place regionally for epidemiology HOSA, state qualifier but it was cancelled
I want to study English and cellular/molecular bio in college, although I'm not sure how to communicate both of these intrests to a college. I guess I should put it in my essay?
I write articles online for an Intl. organization & I was wondering if I should put this activity under 'Other activities' section or under 'Journalism and Publishing' section. Could you please help me out? Regardless, you are amazing and loved the video.
You can put it as journalism. If it’s just a few articles, then I’d put it in add info.
Hey! I had one question. So, I am pretty strong in one subject area and have received awards in that area but I have 0 activities that relate to that subject area. And I want to study in that subject area in uni...so..what exactly should I do?
pursue some activities related to that subject area!
hi iris, this is a late reply but would you consider a national scholastic award a hard spike (awarded to less than .4% applicants)? thanks!