Extended Essay Affecting University Applications?

[watsonswaltz]

To what extent does our EE topic help our university admissions?

 

On some of the degrees in unis I'm interested in, they often look for "evidence of interest" in that particular topic, e.g a major in Population Health. If I did an extended essay related to the topic (like: Economics in relation to Population Health) would it take a part in "proving my interest"? On the other hand, if I did my EE on a completely different topic unrelated to my possible degrees, e.g Arts or Literature, would it negatively impact my chances in any way?

 

I'm thinking of universities in the US and the UK. 

 

Thanks!

[oakendurin]

I've heard that your EE topic doesn't really affect anything that much so it doesn't matter if it's a completely different subject. The only way I think it could affect your chances negatively is if you write your EE on the subject you're applying to and don't do very well on it. In that case the unis you apply to might be wondering if you really are even interested or capable in the subject. As for having an unrelated topic, I think that only shows that you have a variety of interests and are skilled in many subjects which is of course a positive thing. 

[kevG]

to add onto what oak said, some selective schools set minimum grade achieved on the ee as a requirement 

 

but for the most part i dont think it matters as much

im doing something totally unrelated to what im going to study in uni

[ebu]

EE is not greatly considered by the university unless you mention it on your personal statement and use it as proof/demonstration of your research skills. I've seen people do EE on a completely unrelated topic to their major and still getting accepted into good universities.

[Arrowhead]

Your EE topic doesn't matter at all, unless you bring it up in your admissions essay in some way. Even then, it matters where you're applying, i.e., which countries, which universities, etc.

 

Places in the UK don't care a hang about your EE topic, unless you mention it in your personal statement and even then if you find a way to link it to the subject you're applying for. If your EE topic doesn't naturally lend itself to what you're applying for at university, don't bring it up. Find other ways to deonstrate your interest in the subject, such as, through books/articles you've read, work experiences, etc.

 

I'm not as knowledgeable on the US system as I should be, so I won't comment on that. But in my limited experience applying to US Colleges back in the day, my EE topic was never brought up nor mentioned at any point and I got accepted to some great colleges just fine.