<p>Am a newbie here and trying to understand the admissions process for my daughter who is keen on applying to Yale, Princeton (not MIT as mentioned in an earlier post), Harvard and Stanford. </p>
<p>She is exceptionally gifted where academics are concerned. She participates in extra curricular activities but they fade in comparison to her academic achievements - e.g. participated in a French Exchange to Paris for 6 weeks; prizes in debating, CWA, work experience (does that even count?), house chorals, drama etc</p>
<p>Would that let her down when it comes to admissions? </p>
<p>She recently did the SAT test and scored 2310 (this is without any preparation). Reading 800 Math 770 and Writing 740. She will be taking the SAT II in Maths and French. </p>
<p>Her cohort (of 250) ranking in Year 11 is 1 with a perfect GPA of 4.0/4
She took 2 year 12 subjects (Advanced Maths and History) in year 11 and achieved perfect scores in both (top .01% in the State)
She is taking a University Maths subject in Year 12.
She has won gold medals various competitions at state and country levels in English Writing, French, History, Maths for the past three consecutive years.</p>
<p>Does she stand any chance at all, however slim?</p>
<p>yes…and no:) There are many perfect applicants around…so i feel she should pursue something that she loves the most and get to her max. possible extent there…that is what colleges would be on the look out for.</p>
<p>What you have described is typical of so many US appplicants to tippy top U’s. After that, many of these kids will also have activities specific to their majors and community service. Yes, she stands a chance. You want to comb through the colleges’ web sites, plus look at a sample at CommonApp.org and the supplements for these colleges, so you get an idea of the range of info she will present. Admissions to these schools will be holistic- her entire app, including essays and short responses will be reviewed, not just stats and awards. To some extent, her choice of major matters. Yes, the job is good and should go on the app.</p>
<p>Also, depending on the country and her school, adcoms know not all international kids have the same opportunities for broad extracurriculars outside school. But if that is possible in your area, best to think about adding that. And some volunteer efforts. What is CWA?</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your responses. CWA is some women’s rights club.</p>
<p>She has achieved a lot despite having some serious health setbacks. I am confident her essay will look good as she fought her way hard to achieve her goals. Being a very low income family - we cannot really afford music/tennis/sports lessons as they cost a lot here. So she has opted for whatever was being offered free/didn’t need extra classes or coaching!</p>
<p>Quiverfox - sorry to sound daft, but is that context a good thing or a bad thing in this case? Do these elite schools give a higher preference to kids of wealthy and influential people?</p>
<p>Well more $$ is always good to have in the process…But in the case of some universities(need blind) …they look at how good you are alone…(not how much you can afford). But as long as you are the best in business, any college will want to have you with/without aid:)</p>
<p>@Fordham: A good place to begin your research of what Harvard, and all selective colleges, are looking for is the above thread. In it you will find several quotes from William Fitzsimmons as they pertain to extracurrricular activities.</p>
<h2>“Mr. Fitzsimmons called successful applicants to Harvard “good all-arounders – academically, extracurricularly and personally,” and he stressed the importance of demonstrating humanity and three-dimensionality in one’s college application. “I want to know, what is it this person does beside chew gum and produce good grades or scores?””</h2>
<p>The term “extracurricular activities” covers an enormous amount of ground. We are interested in whatever a student does: in addition to school extracurricular activities and athletics, students can tell us of significant community, employment, or family commitments. There are many who spend a great deal of time helping to run their household, preparing meals and caring for siblings or making money with a part-time job to help the household meet expenses.</p>
<p>Unfortunately many schools have had to curtail or eliminate extracurricular activities and athletics, or they charge fees for participation. In addition, many students cannot afford expensive musical instruments or athletic equipment — or have families without the resources to pay for lessons, summer programs and the transportation networks necessary to support such activities.</p>
<p>Admissions Committees keep these factors in mind as they review applications, and are concerned most of all to know how well students used the resources available to them. Extracurricular activities need not be exotic — most are not — and substance is far more important. A student who has made the most of opportunities day-to-day during secondary school is much more likely to do so during college and beyond. This applies to academic life as well as extracurricular activities."</p>
<p>^I second Gibby’s post. I’d also point out that a huge part of college admissions is mastering show vs tell. A large number of Harvard applicants “do debate” or whatnot but the successful applicants can convey to colleges that they’re become leaders in their debate program, or that they’ve built up a foundation for their school’s debate club for future class years, or that they’ve mentored underclassmen debaters for the benefit of their team. These can come out in essays, teacher recs, or even just their wording on the application.</p>
<p>Thanks. That made for very interesting reading. </p>
<p>Thankfully, my daughter is quite level headed and it won’t crush her if she doesn’t get in to any of the Ivy league schools. In fact she has refused to do any extra curricular activities just to make her resume look good - if she is not interested then she won’t do it - end of! </p>
<p>Are the following considered extra-curricular activities?</p>
<p>Participating in state-level French Poetry and Writing competitions - conducted by Alliance Francasie (Top prize - 3 consecutive years)
Participating in a 6 week French exchange program to Paris. Attending school in Paris and living with a French family.
State-level Maths competitions
State-level English writing competitions (Top prize - 3 consecutive years)
Work experience in a law firm (just 1 week though, but excellent letter of recommendation from the partner at the firm)</p>
<p>The activities are not about accumulating just to make a “resume look good.” It can be more of a standard expectation that a high powered kid will do more than just focus on his own interests. Take on responsibilities, have impact, breadth and depth, as an individual and as part of a team.</p>
<p>Everything but the law firm (a week? — and what can the partner have to say about her that her teachers and guidance counselor can’t?) is an extracurricular. The exchange program maybe less…if I were being technical, I’d call it a “summer activity,” not an “extracurricular.” Does she also do debate?</p>
<p>Regardless, it doesn’t sound like she does so little outside of class, especially if she has time-consuming health problems, to knock her out of the running.</p>
<p>Thanks. Yes, even I thought 1 week wasn’t much to go with. But then she attended court, reviewed a case and then wrote out a case summary which apparently impressed the partner, so was wondering whether she should include it.</p>
<p>She actually attended her sister school in Paris - so it was not just a summer activity. She also does debating.</p>