<p>I am Asian.
Like many Asians, I aspire to go to MIT.
Also like many Asians, I do math and play [insert instrument here, in my case, it's piano]. Unlike many, I really enjoy these activities.
I just don't know how to convey that to admissions. I also want to stand out, I hate being cliche. How can I do this?</p>
<p>As a rising sophomore, here are basically my main extracurricular goals. I know what I need to do to achieve them, and I'm in the process of working towards them.</p>
<p>First, make USAMO. I've already made JMO, so I'm pretty sure I can do this. I know, a ton of Asians have done this, so it doesn't carry too much weight. (Maybe with MIT it does?)
Second, perform at Carnegie Hall. I guess it sounds a bit preposterous, but someone I know has done it, and wish to follow in his footsteps.
Last, create a math club that participates in several competitions. I don't know how successful this is going to be because no one in my school likes math or is motivated.</p>
<p>There's also some other stuff, like creating clubs and volunteering and getting an internship with someone my friend knows, and SAT/AP/GPA.</p>
<p>What I really want to know is how I can set myself apart from others, because although I really enjoy piano and math, it seems like everyone does those.</p>
<p>I think creating a club (especially a successful one) and doing a good internship aren’t that stereotypical. The type of volunteer work you do can be atypical as well (for example, get your ham radio license, volunteer with a local group to do coordination and logistics for big events).</p>
<p>Finally, your list of activities may sound stereotypical, but where you - and every applicant - can shine is in the essays and teacher recommendations. And those cannot be laundry listed.</p>
<p>USAMO is definitely not too typical. If you make USAMO, you’ll be in a good position, and your passion about your hobbies will shine through in your essays.</p>
<p>I don’t appreciate how your very first paragraph perpetuates the Asian stereotype…Asians come in all shapes and sizes…there are northern Asians and southern Asians, eastern Asians and western Asians, fair skinned Asians and dark Asians, highly educated Asians and barely educated Asians, highly intelligent Asians and barely intelligent Asians, etc…I could go on…</p>
<p>…not ALL Asians aspire to go to MIT…some, if not more aspire to go to Stanford…some to Harvard…some to Juilliard…some to Caltech…and some even to Berkeley…</p>
<p>…and some depending on their “academic level” or extracurricular interests…will aspire to go to lesser known schools…nothing wrong with that.</p>
<p>…it’s okay to have some guidance from your parents…but, it is IMPERATIVE for you to develop your OWN identity and individual voice in what YOU are looking for in a SCHOOL…not your parents. Think about it…you will be much happier and self-reliant listening to your own inner voice than letting your parents live vicariously through you.</p>
<p>Uh, the OP never said anything about wanting to go to MIT because of their parents. That was Pizzagirl who introduced that.</p>
<p>The OP’s fear is that their natural interests and talents intersect with Asian stereotypes, and that this will hurt the OP’s chances. Well, excelling at math and science is still primarily what MIT looks for, so trying to adopt unusual interests to seem non-stereotypical may be counterproductive.</p>
<p>Your genuine love for something can’t be faked. The people around you can tell by observing your attitude and by talking with you. This is where your teacher recommendations and your interview are very important. In your essays write about the activities that you love. The other parts of your application must echo your essays. I mean that if your write that you love such and such, your teachers/coaches probably notices your enthusiasm and will put that in their letters. The same goes for your interviewer.</p>
<p>@collegealum314. My bad…you are right Pizzagirl introduced the ‘parents’ issue…apologies to OP. But, my general statement for all future applicants in how they should listen to their own inner voice on choice of schools still stands.</p>
<p>I think kids focus way too much on starting new organizations. It’s very impressive if you start an organization that actually becomes successful and institutionalizes itself, but most organizations started by high school students aren’t like that. Starting an ephemeral charitable foundation for this or that problem has become part of the Asian cliche, unfortunately.</p>
<p>Developing your leadership skills and potential within an existing, established organization is much more impressive, really. You actually have to work with others, put in hours of work, and win their respect, rather than declaring yourself Generalissimo at the founding. Not everyone can do that.</p>
<p>If you have to start something, at least try to take some risks. One of the few times when I have “met” a poster on CC and known immediately that he or she would be successful involved a Chinese-American girl who was having a fight with her parents over whether in her Harvard SCEA application she should write about her efforts to start a Gay-Straight Alliance chapter at her school. Her parents were sure that would be the kiss of death for her application. The assembled wisdom of CC parents, reading what she had to say about it, was that it was going to make her an automatic admit. (We were right.) In every other respect, this was a stereotypical Asian applicant: strong in math and science but good at everything, near the top (but not AT the top) of her suburban high school class, played the piano, sewed, danced with a Chinese traditional dance group. What made her stand out was her writing ability (and she wound up writing for the Crimson) and her very real passion that ending bullying of gay or queer students in her school was a moral imperative, notwithstanding pressure from her parents, her church, and the school to drop it. And it made things even more affecting that she was legitimately conflicted about opposing her parents and other adult authority figures over anything – she wasn’t just full of self-righteousness.</p>
<p>I agree with you. However, adcom people still seem to be impressed by founding organizations such as the ubiquitous fundraising charity, despite the fact it has become a cliche’.</p>
<p>While admirable, the fact that knowledgeable people know that such a thing could make one an auto-admit is exactly why it should NOT be automatic admission.</p>
<p>OP is really presumptuous and annoying. You talk about your race like its the only thing that separates you from your competitors, outside of piano. Also, a lot of people actually enjoy playing piano. Idk what to think about this kid – definitely not MIT material.</p>
<p>MIT wants to makes sure you are a good fit. See the article.
[The</a> Match Between You And MIT | MIT Admissions](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/apply/process/match]The”>What we look for | MIT Admissions)
When my son applied last year, my friends told me not to put asian in his ethnicity for fear of rejection, but we decided to tell the truth. He was accepted even though his stats weren’t that impressive. I may never know why, but his passion in math and his long history of volunteering and extra-curriculum activities show that it isn’t just about school for him. Yes, he does play the piano well, but is never passionate about music. If you see his list of things he enjoys doing, you’ll only say that he enjoys life overall and have a very positive attitude in life.</p>
<p>Umm…you’re 100% off base. The OP (correctly) views being Asian as something of a detriment when it comes to MIT admissions, since there is a huge pool of highly qualified, competitive Asian applicants vying for their spot in the class. S/he doesn’t think it “separates” them – actually, the complete opposite – it puts the OP at a disadvantage because so much of the competition is Asian and many loosely fit the Asian “mold” that the OP describes.</p>
<p>You’re also wrong about OP not being MIT material – making JMO is a big deal, and if s/he makes USAMO, I’d say they are definitely a strong applicant.</p>
<p>OP-think positive. You sound like a great candidate. </p>
<p>Unless MIT and other elite school releases the demographics of the rejected candidates, we really don’t know how much internal pressure a race is generating in the admissions game and the percentage of which that was rejected. Being a clich</p>
<p>I’m mostly just objecting to chiclanda’s line about not being MIT material (though the other lines also sounded wrong). Nothing in the OP’s post indicates that to me, so I’ve love a clarification.</p>