<p>Which top colleges/univ. prefer academic excellence to Extra curriculars?</p>
<p>That's a very broad question - it would depend greatly on the applicant. There's no real answer. No university has a "preference", and every university would obviously like to see equal measures of both. Don't expect to get admitted with high intelligence but zero ECs, and vice versa.</p>
<p>i'd expect the top colleges will prefer cocurriculars over acadamics. For eg, Harvard. Nearly all applicants will have A's, 100%, valedictorian, etc... To set them apart, extra cocurriculars will play the defining role.
However, at less prestigious colleges, applicants will have a range of low to high scores, various co curriculars.. so topnotch scores will impress them.</p>
<p>what is the minimum number of ec`s needed? stock market game and some research in higher maths(but without any merits) are good enough?</p>
<p>i guess that depends on where you are applying. For the top tier colleges, you certainly need way more than those 2.. and also be commited 100% to them. Maybe some volunter, community service too? i dunno what stock market game is but research is good</p>
<p>i worked as a volunteer coach in maths with children, but how should one prove his volunteer work? or i can just write in my application that i had a volunteer work x hours a week and that`s enough?</p>
<p>Bothe are important, but I think colleges should pay much more attention on academic excellence. ECs are something that everybody does, but nobody has the same opportunities to do well. You need to show your commitment, but it's rather subjective. Academics is objective, so it MUST be more important.</p>
<p>well...considering that this is the intls forum and that mainly intls that wanna go to college in the US have also academic excellence in some field I would say go for your ECs! you will need a lot of them(so will I....though haven't had many opportunities...I live I a very small town...), but especially you must show your commitement towards them.</p>
<p>You don't necessarily need a ton of ec's if they are good ones. For instance, anybody can join school clubs, volunteer, etc. The best thing to have for a resume is solid academics with an ec or two that are unique and that you are passionate about. Especially as internationals, it is important for us to be either very well rounded or extremely well "lopsided" as in you are amazing at one thing (like top in the country amazing... olympiads, national competitions/awards, memberships in top music ensembles, etc).</p>
<p>As internationals, acadamic excellence is a must. Everyone has the same oppurtunity in acadamics, but ECs vary. In China/Korea/Singapore, there's like no time to get involved with many co curriculers so it's highly likely that many appicants from these countries don't participate in a laundry list of ECs but they may have outstanding leadership in 3-5 groups (research, school president, organiser of x event, etc..). These are the people that are likely to get spots in HYPS. (this only applies to those above competitve countires)
I would say 99% acadamic excellence is expected and 50% ECs are expected.</p>
<p>However, in places like Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, blah blah, there is time to work in many ECs as well as excellencing the acadamic area. And adcoms know this.
So, for people from these countries, acadamic excellence is 70% expected and ECs are like, 70% expected also. They would want leadership. People from these countries probably already have a laundry list of ECs, so leadership shines the application.</p>
<p>These figures (70, 80, 99%s) are higher than U.S citizens expectations because, as we are unlucky intels, we are extremely disadvantaged.</p>
<p>So if I have an honour average (all A's) along with Student Council, Newspaper, Volunteer work, and tutoring, would my chances be good to attend a better college in the States? I'm talking like Harvard and Princeton or Yale.</p>
<p>As an international, your SAT will need to be near perfect for HYP.</p>
<p>What I've heard is that their precentage in grades is a little lower for internationals, is that true?</p>
<p>^ depends which country you are studying at.
if singapore, korea, china, most asian countries, i'd say that they need to be clean sweeps of A's as most of your competitions will have them (for prestigious colleges)</p>
<p>In India there's a stupid rule called moderation, where the top scores are kicked down for the stupidest reasons and the bottom ones are bumped up, so you never go too high.</p>
<p>Also about the intial argument of ECs vs. Academic excellence, Americans have a lot more opportunites for getting involved in EC's than do people of most countries. So when I have a look at an American's EC's, my BP rises, ;)</p>
<p>Can anybody tell me how the situation with german students is? My ECs are rather pathetic, but I'm planning to take a year off for doing Social Service in Russia. My grades are pretty good, though not perfect, and I expect to have very high SATs.
Is this likely to impress Admission officers? Thanks in Advance.</p>
<p>I'd say that it would. As was mentioned above adcoms are interested in unique ECs and international experience is always a plus. You should write about what it taught you, etc. etc. Colleges are not looking for a bunch of ECs, they want you to demonstrate your passion and commitment for whatever you do. You have to make an impression, and a laundry list doesn't do that.</p>
<p>Now I have a question: how do the admissions ppl know that you aren't just making up hours or putting down stuff you weren't involved in?</p>
<p>I'm also interested in studying in the states.
I'm looking into engineering and i have an okay academic results.
i'm active in sports.
what colleges should i see into?
thanks</p>
<p>
[quote]
how do the admissions ppl know that you aren't just making up hours or putting down stuff you weren't involved in?
[/quote]
They don't. They don't ring up your school and ask for info or anything. It's all about honesty. I guess you can make up alot of stuff and get into harvard but karma wil kick you in the ass</p>
<p>Im venezuelan, from maracaibo btw.. and i have almost no extra curriculars activities. i study in a private catholic school ( dont think im a rich snob.. its pretty cheap actually)</p>
<p>the school i studied in didnt give any chances at anything... all it had was soccer, in which i was part of the school team for about 6 years,(but i'm no star player ). its not just me without extracurriculars, most of the good students from my school , just go to class get good grades and thats it. the thing is that my school isnt bad, its actually one of the best private schools in the city.
and its not just my school, most venezuelan public or private schools give no extracurriculars.<br>
I wanted to play a musical instrument or learn photography , or learn a different languages, the last couple of years but my parents just couldnt afford it :(
the only thing i regularly like to do is write and stuff. and i have tried to find a way to get recognized because of it..but i just dont find it here in vzla.
I know that i could have tried harder, but i didnt so... meh
however my academics are pretty good. i have a solid high school transcript, and i think i got good sats(results due May 31st) and i might be able to write a pretty good essay...
Do you think colleges will comprehend my situation?. How will the ivies and top universites like stanford see it ? how will generous lacs that give a lot of aid to intels see it? I have sent emails to the admission officers at those colleges, and they only give me weak responses " there are no parts of an application that have more weight" "we seek unique applicants" " we will consider your background"
Does the fact that im from venezuela, A country that doesnt have so many applicants, and very few espectacular applicants, in comparision to certian asian and european countries... maybe help me out?
oh and heres the topper... i need a lot of aid</p>