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I know this question may seem stupid and desperate, but I assure you guys I’m neither. Could I put having the same girlfriend for all four years of high school on a college app? I mean it does show commitment and maturity...doesn’t it? And it’s been more time consuming and taken a lot more dedication than any volunteer work or EC’s I’m involved in. Just curious to know what guys consider appropriate to put on a college app. Thanks.

By Interesteddad (Interesteddad) on Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 12:26 am: Edit

I would think that writing about your girlfriend as an extra-curricular on a college app would be a sure way to become a laughing stock in admission office.

Think about it. Does some poor smuck trying to wade through 2000 applications care about your love life? The bullet point index card stapled to the front of your app would have written on it:

-- self-possessed
-- immature
-- deny

By Quarky (Quarky) on Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 12:27 am: Edit

LOL, that IS an interesting question! Bravo! (I am afraid it would be non-standard to put such things on ur app, though).

By Pisces (Pisces) on Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 12:33 am: Edit

I think that goes beyond resume padding. They would laugh at you almost as much as those people who write being accepted into "Who's Who" on their list of awards. Okay, i'll stop making fun...but i dont think it's a good idea. Maybe you could work it into an essay...

By Vaj (Vaj) on Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 01:12 am: Edit

I agree. Don’t get me wrong; I was never considering doing this. I was just wondering if anyone had ever done this and what you guys thought

By Ashleycrombie (Ashleycrombie) on Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 01:30 pm: Edit

i don't see why a girlfriend/boyfriend relationship should be scoffed at. many people put in a lot of effort into these, and relationships are great mediums through which people can experience immense growth and maturity.

of course, unless you make your essay sound like a darn suicidal love letter dripping with mushy "i love her so muchh"s on every line, i don't see why it wouldn't work. besides, it could be novel for the adcomms. write it well, and make it an interesting read. i'm sure the adcomms will be glad to have a fresh whiff, away from conceited asses who write about their academic achievements and how they want to go to college because they want to save the darn world.

By 4mm (4mm) on Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 05:35 pm: Edit

You'd be amazed at how being honest can get you in. Although Ashleycrombie is right, you're going to have to be reasonable on your application. In fact, you may not want to write it into your application, you should probably tell your interviewer instead; it's much more personal and subtle than dropping it right into the application and if the admissions people do pick it up from the interviwer, then they may have a soft spot in their heart (especially if they fell in love with someone in the past as well).

By Cuponoodles (Cuponoodles) on Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 05:35 pm: Edit

That would get a laugh at the admissions office. Hell, they might even look at it in a favorable light...

By Andrew05 (Andrew05) on Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 09:12 pm: Edit

It's a good thought, but personally, I would take it as a "stretch."

By Ashleycrombie (Ashleycrombie) on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 04:49 am: Edit

Yeah it'll be a "stretch", but c'mon, I'm sure if you put some effort into it, you can make it a tasteful essay. I doubt a mature writer would make a relationship-based essay sound like a romance novel. Just don't... make it look like you're desperately trying to tug on the adcomm's heartstrings.. (because they have none).

By Soozievt (Soozievt) on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 11:09 am: Edit

Yep, I agree with the others...don't put anything about this on your application. It would look like you were pulling at straws to come up with an EC activity and it just is simply inappropriate as a credential for college. Having a high school boy or girl friend is simply part of growing up and not relevant to an application and I feel certain would be frowned upon on such a thing. However, here is my suggestion, given that I do conduct interviews of propective students. Often in an interview, I ask what a student does with his/her free time and so forth. Here is where you can highlight the time committments and devotions you have put into a serious ongoing relationship and what it has meant to you during your high school years. You could get into what worthwhile activities you do and what you have learned through this. You can talk of why this has been important in your life. In other words, an interview is an opportunity to personalize your application and to give a sense of who you are as a person and in this scenario, this topic might be appropriate to weave in. The worst case scenario is to have this as some focus cause you have nothing else pertinent or significant that you have accomplished and this is all there is. Just my thoughts.
Susan

By Erin (Erin) on Sunday, June 08, 2003 - 02:36 pm: Edit

If you have enough EC's to prove that you are not writing about your girlfriend out of desperation- I say go for it! I think you are right, it DOES show dedication and maturity, and if you found the right angle I think admissions officers would find it rather impressive.

By Amylase (Amylase) on Monday, June 09, 2003 - 03:12 am: Edit

Your idea seemed crazy, but so are those people in the admission office. They make hundreds if not thousands of crazy and stupid decisions each year. So who knows?

May be they your essay can make those crazy minds feel "this kid is great! get him in".