Ho guys,
Most of my ec list is ai/cs related activties. Obviosuly they are diverse and not copy paste. But a problem that arose was when I heard that applicants should be more well rounded. Meaning more involvment outside of stem. Is it fine if I don’t have this feature and go all in on what I enjoy and want to do with my life.
It is fine…some applicants are well rounded and other are focused. Be who you are and let your interests shine.
Regarding ECs:
If your AI / CS related ECs are the correct ECs for you, then they are the correct ECs to help you to get accepted to a very good university that is a good fit for you.
Universities are looking for a well rounded class and a diverse class. However, that does not mean that you need to be well rounded. It means that you should not be a cookie cutter copy of the person who is in the next room in your dorm, or the other person down the hall.
“Go all in on what I enjoy and want to do with my life” sounds exactly correct to me. It is also what my family members have done and it has worked out for us. It is also my understanding of the recommendation in the “applying sideways” blog on the MIT admissions web site. While in my family we have used this approach, it has helped us get accepted to a variety of universities, and not just MIT.
To me it sounds like you are doing well.
I read about an applicant in this current cycle who wrote an app that has verifiable 5 million users. He didn’t get into MIT.
On that level, if you get in great. If you don’t, you won’t know why. But it won’t be because you are not smart or qualified, but just the randomness of the process.
That person will probably do great, no matter where they go. But it’s just weird to think about who actually gets in these days.
This!
When you talk about these ECs, do so in a way that goes beyond the nuts and bolts. Did you try new things? Did you lead? Did help others? Did you fail and if so how did you persevere?
Many schools just want to see you are contributing outside the classroom in some ways. And many fine schools don’t care about ECs at all.
Don’t know your desires / list - but you won’t have any shortage of suitors to study CS.
Good luck.
This is such a critical point. You may not get admitted to the same list of colleges as a hypothetical alternative version of you who had different interests and activities. And that hypothetical alternative version may not have been admitted to the same list of colleges as the actual you.
But what will happen is you will get admitted to colleges where their admissions officers are convinced that the actual you will thrive, and that seems like it should be the actual goal, no?