<p>This may be a cynical and/or unhelpful comment but here it goes anyway:</p>
<pre><code> I have been successful so far in the application process accepted to the best LAC’s in the country and waiting to hear from Ivy’s in a couple of days so here is my opinion. Colleges don’t care about if you did the debate team or not. They really could care less. What they care about is you following your interests and passions and following them fully. They don’t want to see you do debate because your school offers it and you happen to think it will get you in to HYP. They want you to do debate because you love it and you go above and beyond. So basically enjoy yourself, get good grades and scores, but really just do what you love and do it a lot. If what you love happens to be video games well then you shouldn’t be at one of those schools.
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<p>I’m currently a sophomore in high school, and don’t have many standout things, but I have a high level of enthusiasm and commitment in what I do. I was on the JV football and wrestling team this year, and will be on Varsity for both next year. I play many instruments including guitar, viola, drums, electric bass and some piano. I am in the school orchestra and will be in chamber orchestra next year. I give a little ten year old guitar lessons once a week. I’m going to perform at NYSSMA for viola (they grade you on your performance) next year and senior year. I have played music for people at an old age home. I will work at a camp this year and next year. It doesn’t seem like any of these have “leadership” qualities. I’m not looking to get into the ivy league, but are these okay for NYU, CMU, JHU and BU?</p>
<p>Hi, I’m 15 years old and am currently a junior. I have a 3.5 gpa and took the ACT for practice/just to see how it’d go with no prep in December and got a 25 (( I am retaking it again and hope to get a 28-30 hopefully! I am Junior Class President, heavily involved in Student Council, Part of NHS-going to be an officer next year, actively involved in Key Club and voleenteer countless hours. I am also an active voleenteer in my church. I was selected for leadership in my states’s conference. I have taken challenging classes my whole high school career and took 2 AP Classes this year and am taken 4 next year. I also job shadow my dentist. I want to be a dentist or an oral surgeon and am applying for UIC this June early admission. Do you think I can get in with my current stats? I am praying so because it is the only school that tuition is reasonable and yet offers a strong medical field. I have also been on varsity tennis for 3 years and varsity track for 3 years. I hope to appear well rounded. Thank you for reading this and taking the time to answer, I appreciate it very much as I come from a middle-class family and do not have many options for college due to my low gpa and only a couple schools offer pre-dental in Illinois and their tuition is well out of my range. Thanks once again!</p>
<p>Couple of questions on notable EC’s:
Will getting first hand surgical experience and volunteering out of country as a student doctor work as a strong EC for a top school (ivy or high-end privates)?
Does being the president of a well funded ($15-20k+) Youth Group organization count as a strong EC?
Will starting an affiliate marketing business (basically product marketing and earning commissions on sales) make an adverse effect on my college app and where I stand?</p>
<p>If someone could answer these questions, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks!</p>
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<p>Are RSI and TASP really that prestigious? They’re just programs that you get into, as well. So getting into this essentially guarantees you acceptance to college?</p>
<p>^ Well I heard that TASP is harder to get into than an Ivy League.</p>
<p>I was wondering, if you didn’t have any extra-curricular activities for the first two years of high school because you were the sole carer for a family member, would this go against you? I would like to apply to Ivy League schools, to give you an idea of the calibre. </p>
<p>Also, if you started running track in junior year and managed to get your times up to D1 recruit level would the fact that you’ve only been participating for two years look bad because you don’t have as much experience or good because you’ve managed to get up to such a high level in less time? Let’s not get into the chances of my times being that good - I’m aware. :D</p>
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<p>I’ve heard similar things about RSI (and both are probably true), but it still doesn’t make sense that getting into one of these would boost your application so much when time comes to apply to college. I mean, do they just accept you by virtue of the fact that since you were admitted into RSI/TASP, you must be good enough to be in their school? But then you’d have been accepted anyway. Or is it the fact that you attended? Well, the few people who decide not to attend probably have some major conflict. It still doesn’t make much sense that getting into a six week program in the summer of junior year is as big of a boost as doing something for your whole life, like being a D1 athlete or a concert pianist or an International Math/Biology/Physics/etc gold medalist, or publishing professional research (which is probably much rarer than simply getting into RSI, and if you published professional research you’d probably get into RSI).</p>
<p>How do you find research opportunities?</p>
<p>^Look at local colleges and talk to professors. Propose an idea you might have.
Let’s take a look at ECs. For our purposes, let’s not include jobs/volunteering.
The “best” ECs are in fields in which you plan to major in. Hence, “demonstrated interest in field of intended concentration”. If you strive to become a doctor, don’t make the bulk of your activities political and forensic (a friend got rejected for this). But it’s best to have at least one EC in two other fields. Although the vast majority of my ECs.</p>
<p>Thanks! How willing are professors/researchers to mentor high school students, usually? Would I have to pay, especially if I’m using expensive equipment? Would I only be able to do stuff on weekends (I want to do this during the summer when I’ll have weekdays free)?</p>
<p>Also, should I only pick a topic for which I have extensive background information? I looked at the Siemens winners webpage, and most of the projects are about things that I don’t have a clue about. Would I be able to learn all the background information I need from my mentor? How did all those Siemens winners learn their background information–are they just child prodigies?</p>
<p>Haha, that was a ton of questions.</p>
<p>I don’t think mentors are actually there to help with background information. Some may be willing to do stuff like that but others will only be expecting to support you in terms of helping you narrow down the topic of your research, helping with the procedure of the research and helping you develop your thesis. I haven’t done research in math/science so take this with a pinch of salt. </p>
<p>The Siemens winners are probably just very interested in their topics and will read a lot into their chosen topic. And some of them will be prodigies too, obviously but having the ability doesn’t mean you have the knowledge so even prodigies will be doing their background reading. ;)</p>
<p>What sort of thing are you thinking about specifically? It’s hard to say when I don’t know what sort of background information you’re talking about.</p>
<p>Once again, there are people who are going to know a lot more about this than me but I hope this is of some help. People have different experiences according to their mentor. You can have everything from a mentor who gets fully involved in the research to one who does the bare minimum and thinks making their equipment available is the limit of their duty so getting an idea of what is expected of both parties at the beginning of a relationship is a good idea so you’re not expecting too much. </p>
<p>If you don’t want to post on here about what sort of research you want to do, you can always PM me and I’ll help however I can though like I said, there are better people! High School Life normally has a few threads about research.</p>
<p>A lot of Siemens winners did projects about pharmaceutical drugs and other biochemistry involving medicine. I would like to do a project like that, but I’m pretty sure most of the stuff they’re using isn’t even taught in AP courses. Did these people already take intermediate college courses in high school? My mom is a friend of the researchers whom I would like to mentor me, so I think they’ll be willing to help me, but I don’t want them to have to teach me a whole course just so I have background information.</p>
<p>you dont rly sound like you should be even attempting a large rresearch project if you dont know what to do it on llol</p>
<p>Hey I took a trip to Nepal/Tibet a few months ago and volunteered and conducted independent primary research there about the medical and hospital systems. When I got back I wrote a 4000+ word essay on it and how it effects peoples lives. I am hoping to get this work published.</p>
<p>I also went to Ecuador and the Galapagos to study Marine and Rainforest Ecology.</p>
<p>This summer I will be taking Independent Studies classes in Chemistry where I will work with a professor at my local university (summer after sophomore year).</p>
<p>I also volunteer at a hospital (+100 hours), work there, am on the Science Olympiad team, Model United Nations team (hopefully captain of both at the end of junior year), hockey for four years of High School (2jv 2varisty), member of the Culture and Community Committee (appointed by teacher/principal/counselor), and will soon be on the board of a Non-Profit organization that raises money for cancer research (family member on the board).</p>
<p>Are these good extracurriculars? They aren’t my only ones but definitely the big ones.</p>
<p>I am very interested in Science and am taking IB Biology, IB Chemistry, and IB Physics next year.</p>
<p>Does being a staff member on a large forum consider as an EC? I’m not yet one, but have a very good chance in the near future. I’m in 11th grade currently BTW, and reside in India, and have a lot of dreams about my future.</p>
<p>Also, I don’t have ECs in sports/dance, the main rationale behind which being that I am not really interested in carrying forward my sports interests to national/competition levels - they are mostly for recreational purposes (although I might make it to my intra-school basketball team). But I’m enrolled in a SPACE CLUB (I’m an astrophysics/cosmology aspirant) outside of school, and will probably end up as an important member in my school computer and science clubs. Also, I am contemplating writing up few science/general blogs, and a research project. I might participate in debates too but that’s slightly improbable considering how rigorous the education system of India is.</p>
<p>Besides those ECs (if they can be considered), I have got a very good grasp on my English - I’m few of the ones in India who converse in an almost American accent. (though I stifle it sometimes, since American accent is unintelligible to most people here.)
I’ve got a pretty unconventional (as compared to a standard Indian mentality) opinions many of which have got a substance in them. I have got slightly different goals from the typical Indians, and I want to make a difference in the world (not sure if that statement is cliched). </p>
<p>Considering I’m just at the beginning of my 11th grade, what chances I might have to get selected in the Ivys/MIT/Stanford/Caltech after my final senior years? I’m quite passionate about what I’ve listed in the previous paragraph, although my school doesn’t facilitates much, apart from when some students themselves persuade them for a change.</p>
<p>PS : My GPA for my freshman and sophomore year will probably (when converted) result in 3.9-4.0.</p>
<p>Anyone? Or it’s that I posted in the wrong thread?</p>
<p>Are these good EC’s?</p>
<p>Founder/President FBLA chapter
Founder/President Honor Society
Founder/Captain Quiz Bowl Team
Qualified for Nationals in Speech and Debate
Library Volunteer Service 200+ hours
Editor-in-Chief Literary Magazine
Head of Education Committee Teen Eagles
Head of Youth Leadership Committee with my Church
Founder/President UNICEF Club
Tutoring
Piano (7 years or so)
Tennis (7 or 8 years)
Internship with Local Corporation over last summer
Founder/President Math Club
Founder/President Movie Club
Co-directed Play (+2500 attended)
Held a Creative Writing Summer Camp
Held a Movie-making Summer Camp
Held a Cooking Summer Camp
Teach a Middle-School Literature class</p>
<p>And that’s it. Do you guys think these EC’s are of Ivy caliber? or if not, what caliber are they? lol</p>
<p>^have you not read through this post?? -_-</p>
<p>Are you saying they’re not nearly good enough? that they’re definitely good? or are you asking whether I’ve read through this thread?</p>