<p>I’m focusing on medicine in my applications. Are there any activities/volunteer/etc. I can do that would improve my app? Details please, thanks!</p>
<p>Don’t focus on medicine, please. Every year 1000 freshman come in as pre-meds in Cornell. 80% drop out by senior year. You think that’s a sign Cornell wants MORE pre-meds? If you want to make yourself stand out don’t focus on an interest that a quarter of incoming freshman will share.</p>
<p>But if you insist, curing cancer is a good start.</p>
<p>To be honest, every asian with good math and science grades wants to do medicine. Find yourself a more unique passion, and your chances would increase dramatically.</p>
<p>lol. I don’t see how colleges can penalize you for what you are interested in. No matter what subject area you choose, there will always be a ton of other similar applicants competing with you. What will make you stand out is your ECs, volunteer work, etc…and the essay, I think, is especially important.</p>
<p>Of course colleges can penalize you for your interests. If the college admitted a class of people dominated by math and science students who is going to take ltierature classes? Intellectual diversity is one of the most important things in having a good student body.</p>
<p>I guess what I meant is that even if hey131313 switched to, say, English and literature, it’s not like the competition would just disappear. I mean, what really qualifies as a “unique” academic interest? If you’re truly interested in medicine, I think it’d be silly to switch to something else for the sake of college admissions. I also think you can really make yourself stand out through your essays, no matter where your interests lie.</p>
<p>You have to realize that acceptance depends entirely on the college’s needs, not on the achievements of individual applicants. If a college has filled its class with math people, then no matter how high one scores on the AIME, or how many Intel competitions one wins, really matters. That math applicant is out of luck.</p>
<p>Yeah, I understand the counter argument that you guys are presenting. But at the same time…if a college has filled its class with English people, then no matter how many writing competitions one wins or how many times one has been published, that English applicant is out of luck, too.</p>
<p>Sorry, I didn’t mean to take the thread totally off topic xD I just wish someone had more advice than to tell hey131313 to switch interests…but maybe I’m just being impractical.</p>
<p>i dont like how you said “ivy league application”. you apply to each school individually, and the ivy league is not all the same in that each member wants the same kind of students…this just seems like you’re another kid shooting for the top with no real reason other than its the top.</p>
<p>I disagree that your focus can’t be on medicine. That was my focus and I got accepted 
I am guessing you are a high school student. I am focusing on practicing medicine abroad. This is what I did:</p>
<p>(1,800 volunteer hours)
-Volunteer at local ER/Trama Center
-Job shadow physician
-Volunteer/ teach English at Hispanic Resource center (Related to forign languages)
-Shadowed various physicians (Orthapedic surgeons, Neurosurgeons, OBGYN, Pediatricians, ER Physicians)
-Teach elementary school kids science through a local program.</p>
<p>Hope that helps. Personal message me if you have more q’s</p>
<p>Steph</p>
<p>Every college wants the potential superstar that will earn billions and give back tons of money to the college. i.e. a Sandy Weill type. So, I would suggest you write about aspiring to become the CEO/President/CFO/Founder of a Fortune 500 company. Talk about how you have been a “people person” your whole life, you have always enjoyed bossing people around, you like to manipulate numbers in Excel, and last but no least, Chuck Bass is your personal hero.</p>