Understanding Passion Projects
As a high schooler, it can sometimes feel like a lot of your decisions are made for you. If you’re interested in trying something new — something that’s entirely driven by your own interests — consider pursuing passion projects. Whether you’re discovering yourself, a new skill, or a future career, passion projects are a fun way to learn something new. Plus, they look pretty great on college applications.
In this guide, we’ll go over passion project ideas for high school students that you can use to spark your imagination.
Here’s what else we’ll discuss in our article on passion projects:
- What is a passion project for students, and why are passion projects important?
- The difference between passion projects and extracurriculars in college admissions
- Student passion project examples, like biology project ideas and other science research projects
- Our top 15 passion project ideas list!
- How to write about your passion projects in your college applications
To start, let’s set the record straight: what are passion projects?
What are passion projects?
What is a passion project for students? Passion projects are independent, self-directed projects that are pursued out of personal interest. That means they’re not something that you have to do — they’re something that you want to do, based on your interests.
Have you ever been sitting in class and wished you could learn something different? Or that you would love to learn a new subject or skill without worrying about getting a bad grade? Passion projects allow you to engage deeply with something you’re genuinely passionate about, outside of the expectations of grades and test scores.
Passion project ideas for high school students can take many different forms. While many are non-academic, they can certainly complement your academic pursuits. They can also be artistic, volunteer- or nonprofit-based, or entrepreneurial.
We’ll get into more specific passion project ideas later on. But first, let’s talk about why passion projects are important.
Why are Passion Projects Important?
Passion projects are important in many ways. On a personal level, they may help you feel more fulfilled, build confidence, and discover new skills or talents. Most of all, passion projects are a way for you to have fun! If your passion project ideas don’t spark joy, they’re probably not something you’re actually very passionate about.
Pursuing passion projects can also help students develop more practical skills, like time management and perseverance. Since passion projects have self-imposed deadlines, you’re in charge of seeing your project through. Creating a passion project planning sheet can help you stay on top of your deadlines and goals.
A passion project can also help you explore a future career or major. For example, if you were interested in podcasting, you could create a podcast as a passion project. Or, if you want to major in history, you could work with your local library or museum to create an exhibit.
While it shouldn’t be the goal of your passion project, passion projects can also contribute to college applications. Writing about them can help you demonstrate qualities that colleges look for, like curiosity, perseverance, and being a self-starter. Passion projects will help both you and college admissions officers learn more about what you care about, and who you are.
Who needs a Passion Project?
Nobody strictly needs a passion project — they’re for anyone who wants to explore personal interests in a focused and meaningful way. You don’t have to be a high-achieving student or want to pursue a certain path in order to do a passion project. You just need to have a passion.
Passion projects can be a tool for self discovery, especially for students who feel uncertain about their interests or goals. If you’re not sure about your goals for college or beyond, exploring some passion project ideas can help you find your focus.
Additionally, passion projects can be great for students who aren’t in many clubs or organizations, or whose school doesn’t offer extracurriculars. A project can be a way for you to demonstrate your passions outside of established extracurriculars. Let’s say you are interested in climate activism. Instead of joining a school club, you could also pursue passion project ideas like organizing a fundraiser or awareness campaign. You may even invent a product, service, or organization as a project.
What counts as a Passion Project?
Good passion project ideas are undertaken independently; you can’t get school credit for it, or do it as part of an extracurricular. In other words, volunteering for a school requirement or working on a group project for class wouldn’t be passion projects. However, something you do as part of a summer program could be a passion project. That is, as long as it wasn’t a requirement, and you can explain how you were self-motivated to complete it.
Many activities can count as a passion project, provided you have genuine interest and can invest time in them. However, one thing that differentiates passion projects from hobbies, at least when it comes to college admissions, is a tangible result. The final product should showcase your experience and effort, as well as what you learned.
Passion projects are also different from hobbies because they’re more intentional — you’re working toward a specific objective, rather than doing an activity. For example, knitting is a hobby, but knitting 10 blankets to donate to a local homeless shelter could be a passion project.
Passion projects also require more planning than hobbies. With a passion project, you should work towards an achievable, measurable goal. You might use something like a passion project planning sheet to make sure that you’re making progress. Again, it’s not impossible to use an existing hobby as a passion project. However, it will require more planning to determine a goal and desired outcome.
Extracurricular Activities vs. Passion Projects
Now that we know the difference between passion projects and hobbies, what’s the difference between passion projects and extracurriculars?
Extracurricular activities are generally activities that fall outside of your regular academic coursework. Common examples are clubs, teams, or artistic organizations. They might meet multiple times a week, and you can participate in them over the course of many years.
The main difference between passion projects and extracurriculars is that a passion project is self-driven and more individual. Clubs, teams, and other organizations are usually group-based, or part of an organization that structures your time. A successful passion project demonstrates that you can plan and structure your own time, and work towards a goal independently.
Research projects vs. Passion projects
A research project is a structured investigation into a specific question or topic. It doesn’t necessarily need to be scientific, though many research projects are. Research, both quantitative and qualitative, can be presented in different forms, such as a paper or presentation.
Research projects are often more structured than general ideas for passion projects, which can be more open-ended. A research project typically involves testing a hypothesis within a narrow focus, which requires a planned out, meticulous approach. With a passion project, you can generally begin with a passion project planning sheet and go from there.
Can a passion project also be a research project? Definitely! If you want to pursue biology project ideas or science research projects, you can still do so. However, you just need to find a way to do it outside of class — and not for extra credit.
If you have a lot of research projects ideas, that’s great! Consider working with a teacher or librarian to hone your research projects ideas into a defined passion project. You could also try and team up with a researcher at a museum, or a professor at a university.
Exploring Types of Passion Projects
There are many different types of passion projects. We’re going to review several passion project ideas for high school students, including research projects ideas and student passion project examples. Before we get into individual ideas for passion projects, let’s break it down into a few general categories.
Creative Passion Projects
One type of passion project is creative projects. This would be something like art, writing, music, web designing, sculpting, or any other creative activity. Do you already play music in a band at school? If so, fun passion project ideas for you might include creating an album of your own or writing a song for your band to perform. If you’re a visual artist, you could create a series of paintings or a graphic novel. When it comes to creative ideas for passion projects, the world is your oyster.
Social Impact Passion Projects
Another genre of passion projects that you could pursue are social impact projects. These are things like volunteering, advocacy, organizing, or fundraising. If you have ideas for passion projects designed to make a difference or a positive impact, they may fall into this category.
Or, if you’re considering doing a social impact project, think about ways to measure your impact. If it’s a fundraiser, how much money do you want to raise, and how will you set yourself up for success? If you’re starting an awareness campaign, how will you measure how many people you’ve reached?
Entrepreneurial Passion Projects
You could also do an entrepreneurial project, like starting a business, creating a product, or providing a service. This sounds challenging, but it doesn’t have to be. Start by thinking of a problem in your community that you want to solve. You can also attend some town meetings or other community gatherings. Solving a real-world problem isn’t just great for college applications — you’ll take that experience with you for the rest of your life.
Maybe you can start a business to rake lawns and design your own ad materials. Maybe you’re creating an app to connect local lawn raking businesses with your neighbors. Both are examples of entrepreneurial projects.
Academic Passion Projects
You can also do academic projects, which are more similar to the research projects ideas we were talking about before. This could be independent research or self-study into a particular field or concept. You could also try to connect with local scholars to learn more about their areas of expertise.
When you’re thinking about ideas for passion projects, don’t focus on what looks good on college applications. Choose a project that aligns with your interests and strengths. Keep in mind that you don’t already need to be good at the thing you’re pursuing. As long as you’re dedicated to learning and improving, a passion project can be a great opportunity to try something new.
Now, let’s go over some of our top student passion project examples!
15 Passion projects ideas to get you started
We’ve created this passion project ideas list to get your brain thinking, but it’s certainly not exhaustive. Just because something isn’t included on our passion project ideas list doesn’t mean it’s not a great idea for a passion project! Here’s our list of 15 ideas to get you inspired:
15 Passion Projects
1. Create a line of handmade products or artwork to sell.
If you’re artistically inclined, try your hand at creating a line of products or artwork. Then, you can go to different markets or other local artisanal sales to try and sell your work. You could also see if you could get it displayed in a local library or museum. This demonstrates creativity and dedication.
2. Design and complete a research project.
The next one of our passion project ideas is pretty broad. This one will involve some more research to know how to do it right, but will ultimately demonstrate your intelligence and dedication to solving problems. If you’re looking for more research projects ideas, check out this list by Polygence.
3. Start a club or an entrepreneurial endeavor with friends.
No interesting clubs at school? Start your own! You can practice leadership and even work towards making a larger impact in your community. What kind of club should you start? Just like with our other passion project ideas, think about what moves you. For example, if you want to raise awareness for mental health, create a school club and arrange programming for each week’s meeting.
4. Start a social media campaign for a cause.
Something like creating an infographic can feel small, but making a social media campaign for a cause can really make a difference. It can also show that you care about justice and are dedicated to raising awareness. Pick something that you think other people should know more about and do a deep dive, then disseminate the information to educate your peers.
5. Build and launch a website.
Creating websites can be great ideas for passion projects, especially because they combine artistic design, coding, and researching a topic. What do you want to advertise? Reflect on what you are trying to communicate to other people. What do you want to showcase about yourself? Show it off by building a website.
6. Design an app or video game.
If you’re interested in computer science or design, apps or video games can make great ideas for passion projects. Just make sure you’re creating something that you would actually want to use or play. Don’t just go by your idea of what looks good on college applications!
7. Teach a class or skill to your community.
Is there something you learned that you think everyone should know? The best ideas for passion projects often come in the form of a hobby or activity you’ve enjoyed learning about. By teaching a class or skill, you can share that passion with your community. These ideas for passion projects show not only that you can learn something, but that you can plan and teach lessons on it. For projects like this, create a passion project planning sheet and set a curriculum to work through.
8. Host a book club or discussion group.
Are you a big reader? Start a book club! If you can convince your peers to read along with you, book clubs are great ideas for passion projects. Themed book clubs are especially compelling. Want to read every climate dystopia? Or the Beat poets? Now’s your time to start.
9. Work on a local history project.
Local history projects are great passion project ideas for high school students because once you’re done, you know much more about your community. Plus, the experience would give you a leg-up when it comes to tackling your college-level history courses.
10. Develop a peer mentorship program.
Many lists of passion project ideas for high school students include peer mentorship programs. If your school already has peer leaders or mentors, think about how you could put your own spin on it. Consider if a subject isn’t covered by your school’s program, or if you have a special idea for engaging other students.
11. Organize a community service initiative.
Passion project ideas for high school students often involve community service. That’s because colleges want to see that you can think bigger than yourself, and work to give back to your community. Organize a fundraiser, a food drive, an education campaign — whatever inspires you! Just make sure that you take the reins and make it happen.
12. Learn an instrument and perform a recital.
If you’re wondering, “What is a passion project for students?” learning an instrument and performing at a recital is a great answer. That’s because it encapsulates a lot of what’s good about a passion project: it’s self-driven and requires planning, demonstrates learning, and allows you to set and achieve a goal — performing the recital!
13. Write a poem, book, or screenplay.
Artists to the front! If you’re already working on parts of a book or screenplay, this is for you. Consider expanding those fragments into a full product for your passion project. You can also submit your work for awards after the fact, or turn your screenplay into a short film. You could even submit your play to be performed at a festival!
14. Produce a podcast focused on a topic you care about.
A podcast can be a great way to share information or interview experts about a subject. If you’re someone who’s more drawn to research projects ideas, consider turning your research into a podcast. That way, you have a fun, engaging way of presenting your insights, and you can show off your audio recording and editing skills.
15. Start a blog or vlog sharing your expertise or interests.
Last on our passion project ideas list is starting a blog or vlog to share your expertise or interests. This is pretty broad, but that’s on purpose! You can put whatever interests you on your blog. With this idea, keep in mind that you should have a measurable goal: remember what separates a passion project from a hobby. Are you trying to build an audience? Are you aiming to write one blog post every day for a year? Make sure you can state what you learned from this exercise — in the digital age, people vlog all the time. You need to be able to explain how this project enriched you and prepared you for the next step in your life.
How do you create a passion project?
First, we answered the question, “What is a passion project for students?” Then, we looked at plenty of student passion project examples, from biology project ideas to ideas based in community involvement. So how do you create a passion project of your own?
First and foremost, passion projects are meant to be interesting to you. So, when it comes to creating your own passion project ideas list, you’ll need to start by identifying your areas of interest. While it may seem like an obvious question, the first step is asking yourself: what am I passionate about? Interests can also include causes that you’re passionate about. Are you obsessed with recycling? Do you compost no matter what? Your project may also be based around your volunteer work. Whatever it is, any personal interest or passion is great fodder for crafting the best passion project for you.
Once you’ve identified your personal interests, and have chosen from your list of passion project ideas, you’ll need to set clear, actionable goals. It’s great to have a project that you’re excited about — now you want to make sure it gets done! Setting goals will ensure you remain focused while completing your passion project.
Creating a passion project planning sheet is key when it comes to getting results. Your planning sheet may look different depending on the type of student passion project you decide to tackle. However, here are some general tips for developing a plan for executing your passion project ideas.
4 Tips for Creating a Passion Project
1. Research the topic.
Are you planning to explore a social issue, complete in depth science research on a question of your making, or develop a new app? Whatever route you choose to take when pursuing your ideas for passion projects, you’ll need to research the topic at hand.
2. Outline the necessary steps.
Now that you have some information, it’s time to set some actionable steps. What do you need to do to get the results you’re looking for? Create a passion project planning sheet that includes all of the steps you’ll need to reach your project goals.
3. Create a timeline.
Since passion projects are usually done outside of school, work, and other extracurriculars, you’ll need to give yourself a deadline — and stick to it! Be realistic when creating your timeline so you aren’t overwhelmed.
4. Track progress and document results.
Passion projects are great, but without anything to show at the end of a project, it won’t serve a greater purpose. You’ll need to determine how to track and document the results of your project. For example, will you write a paper on your research and aim to get it published in a journal? There is no one way to do this; simply think about the best way to preserve and present your project.
If creating a passion project from scratch feels overwhelming, remember you don’t have to do all of this on your own! Seek out resources, mentors, and feedback from experts in the field of your project to ensure the project progresses effectively. Students can do this independently or work with an organization that specializes in bringing passion project ideas for high school students to life. You might even pursue a summer program that allows you to develop your own personal passion project.
What makes a good passion project?
When creating a passion project ideas list, students should avoid focusing on what looks good on college applications. The best passion project ideas for high school students don’t center solely on enhancing your college application. They should be unique, meaningful, and reflect your authentic interests.
We know passion is key, but what else makes good passion projects? Well, put simply, results. In order to get some, you’ll need to set clear goals, measure your progress, and document the outcome in a way that suits your project. When creating a plan for your project, focus on sustained action rather than a quick result. Passion projects won’t be completed overnight! In fact, the best passion project ideas will realistically take at least six months to complete.
Most importantly, good passion projects are those that students finish! Otherwise you just have a bunch of passion project ideas with no action or outcome. Therefore, you’ll need to be realistic when you set up your steps, goals, and timeline. Balancing ambition with feasibility is the key to all good passion project ideas. Passion projects should challenge students without being overwhelming. After all, students complete passion projects while also taking classes, partaking in extracurriculars, and working part-time jobs. Be realistic about the project you can take on.
Passion Projects and College Majors
The purpose of passion projects is to explore an interest or cause that you are authentically excited about. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t more benefits to completing passion projects than simply personal growth. Passion projects can actually help students identify potential college majors by further revealing their interests and skills.
For example, let’s say a student decides to pursue a project that centers on a sustainability initiative. The idea came from the student’s interest in the environment. However, as they developed their project, other areas of interest may arise, such as politics, history, or environmental science.
If students already have a college major in mind, a passion project can demonstrate their dedicated interest in a particular field. This can make them more competitive applicants, especially to more selective schools and programs. For example, a student interested in studying psychology might develop research projects ideas. Or, they could start a blog that relates to their interest.
Students may consider a variety of factors when choosing their area of study in college, particularly earning potential and career opportunities. However, your career plays a huge role in your life. So it should interest you! Passion projects will often relate to your college major in some way, whether it reaffirms a known interest or introduces you to a new area.
Passion Projects and College Admissions
College admission officers look for passionate, motivated students that have dedicated time to a particular interest — whether it directly relates to their intended major or not. As such, strong passion project ideas can strengthen a college application by showcasing a student’s positive traits.
In addition to showing passion and motivation, passion projects can showcase a student’s curiosity, creativity, initiative, and commitment. Turning your passion project ideas into reality also creates an opportunity for storytelling in your application essays. Passion projects allow students to showcase depth and passion that go beyond test scores and GPAs.
While passion projects can certainly help an application stand out, they should be driven by a genuine interest in the topic, not by what looks good on college applications. Passion projects will take up a good chunk of your time for an extended period of time. But, if you pursue a project that is authentically exciting and interesting to you, you’ll have the drive and motivation to see it through.
Writing about Passion Projects in your College Essays
Students who complete passion projects have an edge when it comes to writing impressive college essays. In fact, passion projects are perfect topics to showcase in these essays. You’ll show a new side of yourself to admissions that they won’t have seen elsewhere in your application. Let’s look at some tips on how to write about passion projects in college essays.
How to Write About Passion Project in Essays
Show don’t tell.
Instead of simply stating what you did and learned when completing your passion project, set the scene. You might start by placing the reader in the midst of your third attempt at fixing a bug in the app you’re building. The essay could start in the frustration you felt at this moment, but go on to show how you persevered.
Focus on personal growth.
Admissions officers want to see that students are able to reflect and grow. Focus on what you learned from your passion project. How did you evolve? Who were you when you started as opposed to when you finished? What challenges did you overcome?
Highlight the “why.”
Passion projects are great fodder for your college essays, but only if they are truly meaningful and unique to you. What personal tie do you have to your project? What made you want to start it? Focus on displaying your authentic passion for the topic at hand.
Connect to academic interests.
What better way to impress admission than to show that you’re already researching a topic within your chosen field of study? For example, let’s say you’re interested in studying fashion, so you started a mending project at your local community center to combat fast fashion. Writing about this project shows that you are not only passionate about your intended major, but also have connected that interest to helping in your community. That’s quite impressive!
Use specific examples.
Skip the generalities— what were the most impactful, challenging, moving, or rewarding moments of your project? Your goal is to give enough context to understand your passion project, while keeping the focus on your experience doing it.
Keep in mind: these tips can be applied to any of your essays, whether you’re discussing a passion project or not!
5 Benefits of having a passion project
Whether you’re interested in artistic, entrepreneurial, or research projects ideas, there’s plenty of room to grow. Here are five ways pursuing a passion project benefits students:
5 Passion Project Benefits
1. Demonstrates initiative and independence.
Deciding to pursue ideas for passion projects shows that you are a motivated, independent, and curious learner.
2. Fosters personal growth and skill development.
Passion projects and research projects ideas will likely test your patience at times. Being able to adapt to the circumstances and find solutions are valuable life skills.
3. Sparks joy and creativity.
Passion projects should ignite joy as you explore your interests and learn more about yourself. Plus, you’ll have total freedom when it comes to your passion project ideas and plans. Even science research projects ideas can involve creativity. Do you want to end the project with an art exhibit that demonstrates what you’ve learned? Well, you absolutely can!
4. Provides clarity for future academic and career goals.
Passion project ideas and research projects ideas often relate to academic or career interests in some way. Your project could allow you to explore a field you’re already excited about, or it might get you interested in something new.
5. Creates an opportunity for impactful storytelling.
Often, choosing a topic can be the most difficult part of essay writing. However, with a passion project, you already have a great topic! Get creative with the way that you share your project. Write your story from a place of passion, and then tweak it as necessary. Passion and emotion is an enormous part of effective storytelling.
Up next, you’ll find even more resources to ignite more of your own ideas for passion projects.
More resources on Passion Projects
Looking for more ideas for passion projects? Check out this blog with 50 more ideas to get you started on your own passion project ideas list. If none of those ideas for passion projects inspire you, here’s another list of 77 ideas for passion projects. It includes research projects ideas, biology project ideas, and more creative projects. Between those two resources, you’re sure to find ample ideas to craft your own passion project ideas list.
Are you passionate about business or sports marketing? If so, you’re in luck! This webinar talks about how to further research those interests and develop a passion project around it! Or perhaps you simply want to start exploring passion projects by finding research opportunities. Well, read our article on how to find research opportunities in high school. It could spark an idea for your own project!
Need more guidance on developing and implementing your ideas for passion projects? We have this webinar on how to build research projects ideas and passion project ideas for college applications. If you’re still considering how to make ideas for passion projects come to life, watch our webinar on creating a project from your passion project ideas list.
While passion project ideas for high school students shouldn’t solely aim to impress admissions officers, you might want to check out these ideas for passion projects that other students implemented that ended up doing just that! If you’re interested in applying to Ivy League schools, check out these specific student passion project examples for Ivies.
Passion Projects – Final Takeaways
In this article, we first answered the question, “What is a passion project for students?” Simply put, they allow students to further explore their passions while learning more about themselves and their academic and future interests. Then, we looked at plenty of passion project ideas for high school students. Beyond exploring ideas for passion projects, we discussed the importance of creating your own passion project planning sheet and following through on your goals.
We hope that after reviewing these student passion project examples, you’re excited to start your own passion project ideas list and passion project planning sheet. As we’ve seen, the benefits to taking on a passion project are extensive. Whether you pursue science research projects ideas or take on an artistic endeavor, you’re sure to grow both personally and academically.
While you can now confidently answer the question, “What is a passion project for students?”, you might still want some help creating your own project or writing about one in your college applications. CollegeAdvisor is here to help! Our expert advisors can help you with everything from writing essays based on your passion projects to filling out the extracurriculars section of your college applications.
This article was written by Rachel Kahn and Sarah Kaminski. Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.
