Hey there! I created this thread with the purpose of knowing if the eces I’ll list below will be considered a t1 and if they’re any help in applying to Ivy Leagues. The main reason I’m conflicted about this case is because some sources state that these eces aren’t that important, whereas a few others state that these eces are crucial. I’ll now list the eces below:
(each have been a long-term commitment)
1.) Having a YouTube channel with half a million subscribers.
2.) Leading a developer team to create a game with a few million visits and pretty good revenue (each dev also created their own game with a few million visits).
3.) Having a global self-lead advertisement circle consisting of YouTubers that can help aid nonprofits or just spread generally healthy information (millions of amassed subscribers).
4.) Creating a popular website.
I would greatly appreciate any feedback on these eces, because college vine has been said to be extremely inaccurate, and I’m in a desperate need of assistance atm. Please respond ASAP, and if you need extra information from me, don’t hold back on asking because any help I can get would be greatly appreciated.
I do enjoy these activities; I just need to know if they’re beneficial because even if I’m doing something I love and appreciate it would be an incorrect usage of my time if it doesn’t help in the end
Have you already accomplished all this? Or is this aspirational?
If you’re doing these with the sole/main goal of getting into an Ivy League then you are likely setting yourself up for disappointment. Not because these ECs are bad or sub-par, but admission to Ivy+ schools is extremely competitive, depends on many factors (beyond ECs), and plenty of very highly qualified kids don’t get in simply because there isn’t room for everyone.
If you truly love these activities, enjoy doing them, and your love and dedication will come through in your overall application including in your essays and LORs. Then you’ll have given these schools your best shot.
Your ECs, although important, are just one part of your application. When you ask if these are useful, there is no straight answer. Each school has its own institutional priorities and is looking for certain types of students each year to round out their freshman class. So it comes down to what your overall profile is (academics, ECs, essays, LORs, etc) and whether you are the piece in the puzzle they are looking for that year.
The best you can do is excel at your activities, demonstrate your passion, and present your best self in your application. And the most important thing of all: have a balanced list of colleges to apply to.
It’s good, and short, so you should just read it, but the crux:
Applying sideways, as a mantra, means don’t do things because you think they will help you get into MIT (or Harvard, or CalTech, or anywhere). Instead, you should study hard, be nice, and pursue your passion, because then you will have spent high school doing all the rights things, and, as a complete side effect, you’ll be cast in the best light possible for competitive college admissions.
If you like these activities, then I believe that they are useful to you and that’s the only thing that should matter. You do you.
There are just under 30,000 high schools in the US. Each one of those schools has a “top” student and you can bet they are all applying to the same schools. This doesn’t include the homeschools and the international students who all want a shot at a top 10 college.
Also, the top 10’s are, for the most part, small schools. There just isn’t enough room for the millions of kids who apply and think that they can get in. They typically have their seats filled by Olympic athletes, cultural artists, musicians, internationally regarded students, children of well-known public figures, children of Senators, inventors, and underrepresented students.
Some schools need an oboist for their orchestra, or, a muralist, quarterback, gymnast, drum major, etc. It’s based on what they need and not necessarily what you need. So, do what motivates you, and not because you think it will get you into a top 10.
Be aware and shoot your shot. You never know. Put some safeties on your list, or you will be extremely disappointed.
You may be the only kid in your town, your county, your region with your stats and EC’s. But you have no control over the kid from Wyoming or Florida or Illinois with even HIGHER stats, and the exact same EC’s as you- who also raises ostriches in her spare time and is a hilarious and brilliant writer whose essay leaves the adcom’s falling over with laughter. You cannot “game” the rest of the applicant pool.
So become the best version of yourself that you possibly can. And take the time you are using to obsess about an Ivy League school and explore Brandeis and Bowdoin or Haverford and Vassar and Skidmore or Hamilton or Conn College and fall in love with a few more schools.
And then get off the internet and go enjoy your senior year!
I’ve read all your replies, and I greatly appreciate all of your insightful thoughts/povs. Since I’m trying to major in med, I do have a way to connect the dots, and I’ll definitely continue with more passion than before I just hope that these EC’s can reach the benchmark but thank you for everyone for your advice.
If you do what is right for you, then this might help you get into a highly ranked university (and won’t hurt). However, even more important, this is likely to help you get into a very good university that is a good fit for you.
I am guessing that this means medicine. Is this right? If you intend to be a premed student, then another set of considerations come in. The top three that come to mind are: (1) There are a huge number of colleges and universities in the US that are very good for premed students. You specifically do not need to attend an Ivy League or highly ranked university to have a good shot at getting into a very good medical school; (ii) Premed classes are tough at any of a very wide range of universities; (3) Medical school is expensive. You need to budget carefully, and should try to conserve $$$$ when deciding where to get your bachelor’s degree.
There is probably more that we can tell you if this is your intended path.
Yes, medicine is my intended path, and it would be amazing if I could get more info/I greatly appreciate it! I know that there’s many colleges that are great for premed students, but I’m also trying to obtain funding to perhaps open up my own hospitals in the future which will specialize in a unique field. I know this is very ambitious, so at the moment I am just trying my best to get into a college where I can know people who have achieved their ambitions too (most of this happens in Ivy’s, I do know it happens in other schools too). That’s why I was seeing if my EC’s could meet the mark, as they’re probably my strongest EC’s in terms of global impact/community service and I really want to make a positive impact on the World if I can in the future. (sorry for the unnecessary comments, I tend to stray off topic quite often)
You can’t do this in undergraduate school. Medical school is a professional school course of study you do after undergrad.
Any ECs you do in high school won’t matter one bit in terms of medical school admissions.
Your goal now is to get yourself into an undergrad school that you like, that is affordable, and where you have a decent chance of being accepted. So start looking for colleges like this.
You definitely need some sure things for admission that you like, that are affordable on your college application list.
Frankly…that’s a lot more important than anything else. You can take the required courses for medical school applicants at just about any four year college in this country, arts conservatories excluded.
I’m linking a thread here now that you need to read. The reason is…you need to think outside of elite schools. The student in this thread was a NMF, class Val, had great ECs he was passionate about, excellent LORs. No one expected him to be rejected from every college to which he applied as a high school senior, but that’s what happened. He did a great gap year and landed well on his feet, but the end of his high school senior year was awful between many rejections, waitlist work, and final rejections.
Read this whole thread. And it also shows…no matter how strong you think you look…it might not work out the way you want. So…do things you enjoy, have an open mind about college options…
I think these ECs are great and, along with the other elements of a strong application, could make you a legit contender for the most highly selective institutions. However, most legit contenders are still rejected.
The comfort you seek from some form of absolutism from this website will never come. Your fate will be determined by people you don’t know, with preferences you could never guess and whose mood & biases will remain a mystery.
That is just poppycock. There are many many thousands of students who achieve their ambitions without ever attending an Ivy League school…or any other elite college, for that matter.
In the United States, I will also begin reading the thread you sent me, and I understand that getting into college is never guaranteed. I’ll keep doing the best I can and always prepare if things were to go wrong though, and the info you/the thread you sent provided will defo be helpful so ty!
I see, thank you for answering my main concerns though, and I know that my fate will be determined by someone reading my resume. I appreciate you giving me valuable knowledge though, tysm!
I just hope that these EC’s can reach the benchmark but thank you for everyone for your advice.