Middle School Achievements?Answered
Hey everyone, I'm currently a sophomore. I have a question about whether I'm allowed to include middle school achievements in my future college applications.
I am aware that colleges tend to only consider high school achievements, but I've been told by some that some do consider middle school achievements depending on the context, so I wanted to know if that would be feasible in my case.
For context, throughout elementary and middle school (7 years), I competed in a lot of robotics competitions. My team ended up going to State twice (once when I was in 7th grade and once when I was in 8th grade), and World Championships in that same time frame (placed top 10). After graduating middle school and entering high school, I have now utilized the skills I've learned in robotics and transitioned into co-founding and coaching my own youth robotics team.
If I were to theoretically write a college application about this, would it be relevant to include my middle school achievements in order to highlight my long-lasting passion for robotics? (For example, me saying something like "I first started robotics in middle school, in which I went to State and World Championships and placed in the top 10 for both. After graduating and entering middle school, my passion for robotics continued and inspired me to spread robotics within my community, leading me to co-found and coach my own team that won State Regionals in the 2023 season).
Or should I exclude all info about me doing robotics in high school and just talk about coaching, because I'm aware that colleges don't tend to consider middle school achievements during admissions?
Would this vary depending on the college I'm applying to? (I live in the SoCal area and am definitely planning on applying to UCs but also some out-of-state options)
Thank you in advance everyone, I very much appreciate it!
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3 answers
I'm currently a junior in high school (rising senior), and based on CommonApp applications, you can only include achievements/ECs from 9th grade onwards. However, as long as it is something major (i.e., national/international), I personally think it is fine to include it in your resume as long as it captures who you are and if you have a continuation story to it (or at least that's what my college counselor advised me).
Hope this helps at least a bit,
SilverDragon (11th/rising 12th, Class of 2025, Japan)
If you continued to be involved in it DURING high school, then absolutely include it. However, if it's just a middle school thing, not something you were still involved in during high school, then I highly, highly recommend NOT including it. This can be a big red flag to admissions officers because it makes them feel like you are scrambling to find more to add to your list. SuperTutorTV on Youtube has some videos about things to avoid in your application and this is one of the #1 things to never do. Maybe, maybe there are a few colleges that consider a middle-school-only activity, but most will not like it at all.
That being said, if you essay explains your interest in robotics OR if you have a portfolio of pictures or whatever stuff you would include, it is GREAT to share AND show that you have been interested in robotics for years. I did this in a scholarship application. I did not show my middle school achievements (unless they were an activity that carried on into high school) but in my portfolio I had a page where I had some old photos of me and my work from when I was in middle and even elementary school. It's great to give them a flavor of your extensive involvement but don't list it directly in your application's activity/achievement sections.
Hope that makes sense and is helpful... please lmk if you have any questions!
yeah you’re totally fine; use the middle school stuff
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