alienshards

ahh, well, if passionate is what they're after, i'm pretty sure what i'm going to write about then.

robotics, no doubt. last year, i would stay at school every day till about 10 working on the robot with two other people.

it was quite a lot of work.

this year, we limited time in the shop, so i spend most my time at night designing said robot. i almost used up a pad of graph paper. in total, counting the amount of designing time, i spend like... 30 hours a week.

it's really fun. BEST robotics. yup yup yup.

yea. glad to see it didn't hurt my PSATs too bad. 6 weeks, right before PSATs, that was when it was.

NerdyUSCgurl

i agree with this post 100% that's what i tell alot of pplz and not only that but most college apps. look the same u know what though my sis. is somewhat like that bunch of clubs and applying to 11 skools but me i'm applying to about 3-5 schools and i'm not even worried cuz my main club is Japanese Club and my passion is japanese i love the japanese language soo much that i've taken it for years and i even went to high school in Japan and that's how much i love it well gon ban rei <---- good luck and ishi no ue ni mo san nen <------ 3 yrs. the stone will become warm in other words persistance overcomes anything

NerdyUSCgurl

well don't mean to brag but in college applications why the heck do u want to hide yourself y not be proud of what u have i mean why should u be humble this is an application and many pplz don't care cuz they want your spot so you might as well flaunt what you got and don't be afraid to show those alicia keys piano skills ; D

kevster1001

passion is everything!

orrican

My passion is zionism.
I have a TON of leadership roles in my Jewish community (Boston area); I am the leader of many clubs, organizations, and I even started my own youth publication.

Will this be unique enough to get me into HYP?

JEM

Please keep all posts to the topic of this very useful thread.

Off-topic posts will be deleted, and posters who hijack threads will be at risk of losing privileges.

Thank you for your cooperation.

SonataX

Yeah, sure. Again, reread my post. My point was that, at age 17 and 18, the majority of students, even bright and talented students, don't have awe-inspiring insights. Maybe you do. Then go run with it. But, unless you have that special conclusion which is beyond the normal cliche life lesson, which usually start off with "The (noun) was (gerund) (preposition) (possesive) (noun)" or "I was (gerund) (vague prepositional phrase)".

I can tell you, too many of the college essays taht I've proofread for my friends are modeled on college essay-writing books, and they all usually follow the snapshot model. Hey, if I'm a admissions officer, I'm not really interested in readin about the feeling of snow beneath your toes.

I'm interested in gleaning two things from the essay:

A) How well you write.
B) What your values are.

That's it. Try to convey it any way you want

cooljoe

Hey guys,

I have a huge dilemma here. My parents are both doctors, so they're basically working most of the time. I'm really worried about this because this means that they're not going to be able to drive me to my extracurricular activites. I don't know anyone who can carpool me, and I will not be able to drive until my senior year.

Will adcoms look upon this badly? I mean, I have a good excuse not to be able to take part in a zillion clubs. What should I do? Please help! Thanks a bunch.

kmanoj

Hey,

My situation is actually very similar to yours. I have been working in India for atleast four years now ( I go back every summer and stay at a village, with an orginazation called RDC,rural development center, and also help raise funds here by organzing dance programs or small fundraising events, etc).Initially I had started an organization too called suKanya ( the name of the girl I had first helped sponsor), but later as I began filing for 501c3 status, I realized that if I could work with already established organizations, I could probably do more than through my own.Once you start trying to work with the community and local organization, the response you cen get is amazing and ,in my case, proabably more effective than trying to promote your own in order to actually do something.For example, I became youth charity excutive board member for several Indian-American organizations in South-East America, a youth coordinator for RDC, and a writer for Khabhar magazine , and through the support of these organizations I can do so much more directly to the poor in India especially to the children of my village. As I am a sophmore in highschool now and I have started to look at colleges more closely, I think this might even prove to be a passion for adcoms (hopefully as I have put so much of sincere effort into it!!). Hope this helps. Feel free to ask me additional questions. Also, I don't think joining a zillion clubs is a good strategy to impress colleges; look back at the first thread in this discussion for more.
P.S - I won't be able to drive until April of my senior year either

cooljoe

What a coincidence kmanoj! By the way, thanks for taking the time to reply to my last post.

I am an Indian, too, and I have really wanted some advice on founding a charity. (Boy, this is my lucky day!)

As you can see from my first post at the top of this page, I really want to start a charitable organization. Wow, you're only in 10th grade, and you've been doing charitable work for 4 whole years! I can only join the Red Cross and National Honor Society at my school next year because they only allow sophomores to be members. Of course, even if I were a sophomore, my parents could probably only take me to their meets once a week, if I were even that lucky.

Please, I really want to start this organization so badly, not for colleges, but for the benefit of others and self-satisfaction.

kmanoj, could you please give me a step-by-step list of things I should do in order to start this organization. I have no clue where to start. Seeing as to how your parents could not take you anywhere, according to your last post, what should I do, since you've had a ton of experience? Thank you so much in advance. I'm so excited to hear from you next!

Northstarmom

Interested in starting your own organization to make a difference? Here's info about a foundation that helps young people do this. It includes a step by step guide.

"
Are you a young leader between the ages of 12 and 20 who wants to leave a lasting improvement in your school or community?

Youth Venture can help you reach your dreams.
Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming a Youth Venturer

Examples of Successful Venturers

Venture Funding Guidelines

Youth Venture Application"
http://www.youthventure.org/index.ph...cles&topics=43

Northstarmom

Here's a link to info about teens who have started their own service organizations: http://www.barronprize.org/winners/05winners.htm

Examples:
"Geneva created a non-profit youth service organization called Bring It On! to promote community service, leadership development, and civic engagement in the northeast Bronx. As Executive Director of the youth-run group, Geneva directs its fundraising and has received grants from Youth Venture, Girls Inc., and Citizens for New York City. She also supervises five youth coordinators who organize events such as environmental clean-ups along the Bronx River, youth jams, entrepreneurship activities, and her You Go Girl Go program for at-risk girls. This program connects girls with positive female role models, and has given 250 young women the chance to see choices beyond teen pregnancy (the norm for generations in Geneva's family) and illegal street activities (prevalent in her neighborhood). “I've learned I have something to offer,” says Geneva, “and that I can make a difference in my school, community, church, and world.” She adds, “I'm a better person for having started Bring It On!, and at the age of sixteen, I'm ready for the world.”


Beth, age 18, California

Beth founded the Arcata High School Conservation and Renewable Energy project (C.A.R.E.), which has received large-scale grants to conduct solar energy research. Beth's group wrote and received grants to install a $20,000 solar array at Arcata High, and has conducted research that demonstrates the efficiency of the solar panels in her cloudy coastal town. C.A.R.E. also wrote and received a $10,000 grant from British Petroleum to install and test the efficiency of a solar water heater at the school, and has replaced all of the school's incandescent light fixtures with more energy-efficient ones. The group has organized energy-saving presentations at the local elementary school, and is helping a number of high schools with their renewable energy activities. Beth has taken her passion to the California state legislature, speaking at Senate hearings in support of the Million Solar Roofs Initiative, and across the country, participating in renewable energy summits in Washington, D.C. “For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to change the world,” says Beth. “Finally, I've found a place where I am needed, a place where I can lead and truly shake things up for a worthy cause.”

cooljoe

Once again, I thank you Northstarmom!

Where do you get your information by the way?

kevster1001

wow, those kids would really impress adcoms and have high chance of admittancE

LateRegistration

How about starting your own business? Would that be a good EC?

A few of my friends and I have started a music production company based in my garage (with help from my father and my friend's uncle). We provide mixing/mastering services for near-complete projects, recording sessions for artists, and produce and sell our own hip hop beats. We’ve only done a few projects so far, but hope to do a whole lot more, eventually adding video production services (once we figure out the editing program Final Cut Pro) and projects in conjuction with the local radio stations (we know a couple on-air DJs).

This side-hustle, my job, and my upcoming internships are the only activities/ECs I’ll have for when I plan to transfer.

A little back story:

I'm currently a first-year at a community college, hoping to transfer to Berkeley/UCLA/USC/etc. So far my GPA is a 3.76 and I'm considering a plethora of things to major/focus on; including finance, engineering, bio/chem/pre-med, and pharmacy (yes I know, I need to pick something).

Back in high school I did the "cookie-cutter" ECs of volunteering at the local library (lame), joining two clubs (hardly ever went to meetings), mock trial, and playing basketball and volleyball for 3 years (varisty all 3) basically to just fill up the EC spaces on the apps.

My essay was also a common template. I wrote about my travels to France/England/India/Japan/Hong Kong/etc from when I was 13 (my family decided to take 6 months off and travel the world) and how the experiences “changed my outlook on life”. They had some effect, yes. But not so much that I would free-willingly write an essay proclaiming it as a turning point in my life. I over glorified the whole thing following advice from the school counselor.

I did get into a couple good schools (Cal Poly SLO being the best), but had to stay home for personal reasons and signed up at the local community college. (Oh and I had 7 AP courses, 3.8 un-weighted GPA, blah blah blah).

Since then, I’ve pretty much done nothing. No volunteering, no awards, no certificates, no leadership positions, nada. All I did outside of school was work part-time and party. Then a few months ago my buddies and I set up this music gig. That combined with the finance/medical internships I hope to get (key word, hope) will constitute all my ECs.

I don’t know my true passions (I’m going to have to sit down and psychoanalyze it all out) but if someone asked me what I’m passionate about doing in life at this moment, I’d say:
1. Making money.
2. Helping people in need- medically/socially/etc. Especially the hearing impaired (my mother was partially deaf)
3. Making bomb ass music.

Point: Will my “ECs” cut it?

(Sorry for the long post. I could have just asked the one question and left it, but I wanted to write everything else out so I could see my situation written out… Does that make any sense?... I don’t know. Whatever. Thanks for reading)