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<p>LOL, good one!</p>
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<p>No, but assuming music is something they truly like, they might want to. But, if it were something they did and their parents “required” a minimum of 3 hours a day at, maybe not.</p>
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<p>Pardon me for saying this, but the above sounds like prostitution to me. I have all the respect for people who pursue their passion to be the very best they can be. But packaging and selling? These are kids we are talking about here, not a new gadget that has come to the market and needs to be sold!</p>
<p>The colleges are quite clear on this - they ask the kids to pursue their passion and be themselves. I am shocked to see so many people come out in favor of packaging and resume padding and selling. I find it rather funny that it is me who is put in a defending position for saying that kids should do what they want to do, while others are coming out in favor of guiding the kids in a way that helps them get to a better package!</p>
<p>The irony is thick.</p>
<p>I am totally in agreement that just being a violin player is not enough. One needs to be very, very good - and state level doesn’t quite cut it. No disagreements from me there. If Asians - or any other race for that matter - are putting up mere all state violinists and complaining about not getting in to Harvard, then they have unrealistic expectations. I don’t. So that part I totally get. Strangely enough, Hunt and I are in full agreement there.</p>
<p>But the whole packaging piece is odious.</p>
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<p>Why the college orchestra? If the kid is any good, there should be far better options than the college orchestra, no? Perhaps it is a favor but (I know I will be spanked for this comment but WTH) one can only do so many favors. I remember that John McEnroe dropped out of Stanford because he got in through the athlete quota and his commitment to the college conflicted with his commitment to the professional tour.</p>
<p>I dont recall all the specifics, Quantmech, but it may have been through contacts. I’ll see if I can find an article about it and PM you.</p>
<p>Separate issue, but boys working on eagle scout projects get thise kind of help too, though perhaps not to that degree. This one I have more personal experience with :)</p>
<p>post 197 was really rude, IP- You have no clue how they got the help. No need for inappropriate sarcasm.</p>
<p>“More power to them. If my kid wants to get involved in such a thing, I would however require that some meaningful amount of time is dedicated to it. It is like a second job, if you will.”</p>
<p>Uh, it wasn’t for me (parent) to “require” them to spend x amount of time on their ECs. It was their bosses/managers/supervisors at their ECs. I was out of it, beyond ensuring transportation. It was THEIR GIG. Not mine.</p>
<p>Becoming a more interesting person sells itself, IP.</p>
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<p>Then why do you care what the US culture values in an EC?</p>
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<p>Well, till my kid is 18+, my house, my rules. My kid knows this already. Consider squash, for example. If the adequate amount of time is not devoted to it, it stops being supported at home. After that, playing on the school team is fine, but no more 10 hours of lessons a week and no more traveling across the country to tournaments.</p>
<p>Life is full of choices.</p>
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<p>Don’t care, just curious.</p>
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<p>Again, then why do you want to know about the best EC’s?</p>
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<p>I never really cared about whether I am interesting to others. I just did my thing and ended up with super success. People with talent don’t need to prostitute themselves.</p>
<p>IP,</p>
<p>You’re lucky your kids are so talented. What if, in spite of the 3 hours of practice a day, they still weren’t ranked top 10 nationally. What would you do?</p>
<p>My children are not nationally ranked anything. They are very bright and interesting people though and I know they will be fine in life.</p>
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<p>Just curious about people’s thought process.</p>
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<p>Maybe your cultural definition of success is different from ours. So maybe it is irrelevant.</p>
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<p>Talented? LOL, not at all. It’s all hard work. Have you read Gladwell’s Tipping Point?</p>
<p>Frankly I think 3 hours per day is not enough. At some point I will have a heart to heart chat and pull the plug.</p>
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<p>May be. May be not.</p>
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<p>hahaha, if that were true you wouldn’t have put in the best EC’s for Asians. You just want a new thread in which you could stir the pot. If you want to know about other people’s thought process you just could ask them. When they give you their answer you should respect it as it was what you asked for.</p>
<p>IP, maybe you can get the cc administrators to change your screen name to IndianChua. </p>
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<p>These are your kids you are talking about, not robots.</p>