Webinar overview
Starting a passion project early gives students the time to develop something real, and admissions officers can tell the difference. In this webinar, Sam Luby walks through what it takes for 9th and 10th graders to build a passion project that holds up in competitive college admissions. He’ll share:
- What makes a passion project meaningful to admissions officers at selective colleges versus one that reads as resume padding
- How 9th and 10th graders can identify a genuine interest and shape it into a structured, self-directed project
- Which types of passion projects tend to strengthen an application in the activities list, personal statement, and supplemental essays
- How to develop a project that shows initiative and growth over time rather than a single-semester effort
- How to avoid the most common passion project pitfalls, including starting too late or choosing a project that doesn’t add depth to your applications
- Live answers to your specific questions during an interactive Q&A
Meet your webinar host: Sam Luby
Sam has over 13 years of admissions experience and has reviewed more than 12,000 college applications. He helps students turn their interests into standout passion projects that strengthen their applications, with students earning admission to schools like the University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Meet your webinar host:
Sam has over 13 years of admissions experience and has reviewed more than 12,000 college applications. He helps students turn their interests into standout passion projects that strengthen their applications, with students earning admission to schools like the University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Frequently asked questions about passion projects
A passion project is meaningful to admissions officers when it shows a student pursued a genuine interest on their own initiative, developed real skills or output over time, and can speak clearly about what they learned in the process, rather than simply listing a title or club on an application. Admissions committees at selective colleges review thousands of activities lists that describe participation. What stands out is evidence of ownership: a student who identified a problem or interest, built something around it, and kept working on it without being told to. A passion project that reads as resume padding, something started late or without real depth, rarely carries the same weight.
The strongest passion projects for 9th and 10th graders start with a genuine interest, not a strategic guess at what looks good on an application. Starting early gives a student time to move past the initial idea and into something structured and self-directed, which is what admissions officers are actually looking for. A student who begins in 9th or 10th grade has multiple years to show growth, deepen the project, and eventually connect it to their activities list, personal statement, or supplemental essays. Students who wait until junior or senior year to begin often end up with a project that reads as rushed or disconnected from the rest of their application.
A student writing about a passion project should focus on what the project revealed about how they think and work, not just what the project was or accomplished. Admissions officers have read countless essays that describe a project's scope and outcome without ever showing the student's actual involvement or growth. What holds attention is specificity: a real obstacle the student ran into, a decision they had to make, or a shift in direction that changed how the project turned out. Framed this way, a passion project essay becomes evidence of the student's judgment and persistence, not just a longer version of the activities list entry.
Yes. This webinar is built for families whose students haven't started a passion project yet and want to understand how to begin one the right way. Sam Luby walks through how to identify a genuine interest, shape it into a structured project, and avoid the most common pitfalls, including starting too late or choosing something that doesn't add real depth to an application. Families who attend will leave with a clear starting point for their student, whether that student is just beginning to explore ideas or already has an interest in mind but isn't sure how to develop it further.
