How to Impress Adcoms with your Extracurriculars - Page 11

worldshopper · 03-21-2006, 07:07 AM

kevster1001: That is soooo cool! I'm sure your Spanish cooking abilities far surpass mine! Teaching Spanish to youths is great. I thought about doing that as well, but right now I cannot due to time limitations. I do, however, teach Spanish words to the kids I babysit but that is about it. One of my essays was written on the Chichi market and a Guatemalan quilt I bought there. I KNOW you've been there and you probably know what kind of quilt I'm talking about.

orrican · 03-21-2006, 09:42 AM

you guys, no offense, but I highly doubt your passion for spanish cooking will get you into HYP. Passion is key, but you have to understand why it is that the adcoms love this concept so much - they think it is a a promise of future success. That is, an individual with both ability and passion for a certain area will essentially guarantee that he/she will go to distance.

But passion for spanish culture won't do you much, unless you show actual activism, like organizing trips to south america and such (as I see some of you did). Ethnic pride is nice and all, but the adcoms want to see more; they want to see potential.

worldshopper · 03-21-2006, 10:15 AM

Passion alone ain't getting anyone into anywhere. My passions were not developed as a one-way ticket into a school; they developed naturally. Actually, both of my passions developed out of failure. I wrote essays about it. Failed my first skating class -- the one EVERYONE passes. Was doing poorly in Spanish class and now it has developed in to a passion and part of who I am. My passions are meaningful to me. I was merely giving examples of how I believe a person demonstrates passion in an area of interest. Someone could be passionate about stamp collecting which probably has no promise for the future and not too much ability (although takes a lot of research and education). But merely collecting stamps wouldn't be enough. They would have to perhaps educate others, belong to some national organizations, maybe have a part-time business selling them on ebay to other collectors, etc.

orrican · 03-21-2006, 10:17 AM

My point exactly.

worldshopper · 03-21-2006, 10:55 AM

Personally (feel free to disagree), I am more attracted to someone who demonstrates tenacity than natural ability or talent. Talent is a gift (free, given, etc.), being determined to do something w/o much natural ability or talent takes a lot more work.

orrican · 03-21-2006, 03:52 PM

Again, worldshopper, you are looking at the admissions process from the wrong angle.

What adcoms are looking for in an applicant is promise. They want those kids who have the potential to become great successes in the future. This is why they love passion so much; passion, determination, and tenacity are key qualities great individuals frequently demonstrate.

But you also need ability to back it up! if someone is inept, regardless of tenacity, chances are he/she will not go too far in life!

worldshopper · 03-21-2006, 04:43 PM

Well I have zero promise of going to the Olympics, so I guess I am totally inept.

kevster1001 · 03-21-2006, 07:53 PM

worldshopper - chichi quilt is very unique and beautiful. Have you been to Antigua? That's #1 tourist's choice place of Guatemala.

I am thinking about joining the Red Cross Chapter of my County and maybe be an English-Spanish translator, and viceversa. But the thing is, there's also time limitations.. I would like to further expand my ECs with my ability to speak spanish fluently.. I dont know what things to do.. but anything that may involve using spanish would be great for me!

worldshopper · 03-21-2006, 08:26 PM

Antigua was beautiful, I stayed there one night in a hostel. Although charming, it did not represent Guatemala well and I will never go back there. Reminded me of Disney World -- almost perfect. The small towns with the fifth and poverty was the real Guatemala. The house where I lived had a kitchen but no working oven. To cook, we had to use a hot plate. Laundry was done outside on the patio in an outside utility sink. No hot water for showers but I got use to it. The school where I taught had an outhouse with a 1/2 door that would not shut. The main building looked like a shed, actually it was! And you know what? I enjoyed every bit of it. I also took the chicken buses, not the shuttles because I found the chicken buses to be so interesting and actually funny at times. So crowded with people even hanging out the door! Once we got pulled over by the police because we had too many people on the bus but the driver paid off the police and off we went. Typical. I would guess you lived in Antigua because that was where a lot of foreigners (with $$) lived.

I think being a translator would be ideal!

kevster1001 · 03-21-2006, 09:26 PM

Oh no. I didn't live in Antigua, but yes, I did go there almost every week with my family. We would always go to a hotel-restaurant called Panza Verde (Green Belly). Very very nice place. Antigua is indeed a very beautiful place. Have you been to Santo Domingo Hotel? Foreigners' first stop is there.

I lived in the city and attended a private school.

Worldshopper- do you think a city may need translators? for example, working in the city hall as a translator (no idea how that would work, lol)

Neo Yoyo · 03-21-2006, 09:58 PM

Shame I missed this topic when I applied in the fall, but it seems like I was trying to do a lot of what was mentioned anyway.

It's all about showing your personality. The positive aspects of it. Be genuine...they'll know if you are.

PrePrncetnSweetE · 03-22-2006, 12:38 PM

i would LOVE to get a chance to do volunteer work, and i have been trying to convince my mother to let me get a job, but she is so worried about my academics being in order that she doesnt let me do anything outside of school activities. I'm usually a straight A or AB student...how can i convince her that i can handle school, track, and a job?

believersmom · 03-22-2006, 12:58 PM

PrePrnce-
Ask to talk to her during a non-stressful time in her day and ask her what her reason is for solely focusing on your grades. If she says anything like that she wants you to get into a good college, ask her if you can share this website with her. As a parent, let me tell you, just about 30 minutes of reading here will make it very clear that good grades are not enough. I would focus on the ECs before the job. My D waited until she was 15.5 before getting a job and she looked hard to find one that was understanding of her student commitments both academicly and ECs, and only works PT to earn spending and gas money. Sadly, the days of "earning money for college" seem to be bygone as one is almost punished financially for doing so when the FAFSA is completed.

Good luck! Try to remember that your mom is just trying to do the best she can by you. For us parents, there are no "do overs" in raising our kids.

_Samantha · 03-27-2006, 03:02 AM

My passion is German.(even if what I am going to study is economics.)I have been studying German since I was 2 years and I learned to LOVE that language.
I won the first prize on the national phase 2 times.
My point is, is this considered as something accademically or can I include it as an EC and write an essay about it ?

classprezcj · 03-27-2006, 04:02 PM

So if i have been involved in many activities over high school with which I have somewhat of a passion for- violin, 2 varsity sports, digital video editing, class president, FBLA, Model UN, etc...am i just supposed to pick one and say its my passion or can i say that maybe im just the type of person that enjoys being well-rounded. I know its the kiss of death to try to do this, according to this thread at least, but it seems like I just can't limit myself to one or two passions while maintaining honesty. Could i just write my essay about this ?