Be a counselor. Should I drop cross-country?

Applying to College
1

<p>Please read and answer:</p>

<p>I will be a senior this coming semester.
My only school-sponsored e.c. activity has been cross country(10th,11th) and track(10th).
I'm third ranked in my school and have an SAT score around ~ 2170(However I am positive I can improve this significantly at October.)
I've taken ap courses such as computer science, calculus, physics, and so, and have gotten 5 on all of them.
For my first semester next year, I have 3 classes of out the 4 required. I have grown really fond of philosophy, and reading over this summer(yes i never liked to read complex books, but have somehow grown fond of them) and plan to read it in the library during my free 4rth period(i can't go home...logistical problems)</p>

<p>Anyways, I am writing a novel, there will be around 80 pages by the end of this summer hopefully, and I believe that this is what defines me the most. The novel will be well-written, and quality will be there in no uncertain terms.
I plan to use it in my college applications and would love the extra 3 hours every school-day to write it if I dropped cross-country?</p>

<p>I do plan to apply to the top bunch of universities such as Stanford and so.</p>

<p>Question 1)Should I drop cross-country for my senior year? (I would have no school-sponsored activities then)? Will have too big negative effect?</p>

<p>Question 2)How are these non-school sponsored activities, such as creating computer programs(which I also do), and writing novels rated? These are what really define who I am.</p>

<p>Question 3)How would I send a copy of my unfinished novel to Stanford or some university just to have a gaze at?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for all your help</p>

2

<p>1) NO. Dropping ANYTHING at this point is a red flag.</p>

<p>2) They're fine. See if you can send samples along with your application or make sure that those activities are mentioned in your rec and your essays.</p>

<p>3) You would contact Stanford to see if they would accept supplemental materials (some schools won't). If they do, most will ask you to send your supplemental materials to the department that they pertain to (english, music, drama, etc) who will then give admissions their review.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the quick reply. I would just like to clarify something.
Let's say that I was to do cross-country, read philosophy, write my novel, and write some programs on the way.</p>

<p>Does that look like a good set of extra circular activities for a university of Stanford's caliber? Is it bad that I am not doing a lot of school-sponsored activities?</p>

4

<p>The thing is that 'reading philosophy' is hard to prove. And you just started writing the novel this summer, right?</p>

<p>So what are you doing with the rest of your time?</p>

5

<p>It isn't good that you aren't doing a lot of school activities. I mean, how do you put reading philosophy down as an EC? It won't get looked at at all. Same with the programs, unless you sell them and can call it a business, or possibly if you were trying to get into some sort of computer science major... The novel thing will only be impressive if you're going into english or something related, and even then not THAT impressive since it hasn't been published or anything. I'm not saying you won't get in Stanford, I'm just saying you might want to keep CC so you have some long term activity that they'll actually look at.</p>

6

<p>At first I was going to say - do what you love. Spend your time authentically. For life in general that is great advice. For college admissions, however, the other posts which have preceded mine offer a great deal of wisdom.</p>

<p>If you are aiming for a place like Stanford, the game is quite intense. You will be competing with students (if the people on CC are truly representative of the whole admitted population) who do it ALL well. That would be great grades in a most demanding curriculum, superb SAT or ACT scores, glowing recs, achievement rather than just participation in sports and clubs (leadership at the school level for sure, but also state, regional or national recognition of some sort) or in the community. Sometimes I see kids get in who have great stats, and are just well rounded. Staying in cross country would help you fall into that category. </p>

<p>As a strong Stanford applicant without a hook, from what I have seen you would need not only the wonderful stats and recs but some kind of stand-out achievement. Here is a link I found which could be helpful:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.earlham.edu/%7Ephil/undjourn.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.earlham.edu/~phil/undjourn.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>It is a list of undergraduate competitions for philosophy students. Perhaps there is something on there you could do to score a specific achievement in your area of interest as well as to prove your sincere passion and dedication.</p>

7

<p>Once again, thanks for all the responses.</p>

<p>Yes I probably won't write down reading philosophy because it'll be impossible to prove. I was just checking what input you guys had on it.</p>

<p>I've yet to decide on a major as I can do either business, computer science, philosophy, or creative writing in college.</p>

<p>Now to clarify I did not start this novel this summer. My english teacher can attest to that. I've started this novel last November, but didn't have much time to work on it because of school. </p>

<p>Anyways I have been writing for much longer though. I started another novel, which right now is at around 70 pages(but much poorer English) 10th grade May, and continued till the start of 11th grade. I stopped that one because the English quality was just not impressive to me at all. </p>

<p>For example, this is a page of the old one</p>

<p><a href="http://img165.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scarlighttn7.gif%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://img165.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scarlighttn7.gif&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Note: i wrote it in works format and i downloaded beta and it expired and..(long story short)..I can't copy or paste from it directly in this computer so here is an image of 1 page being open</p>

<p>And this is an excerpt from the one I'm writing now( which is not fantasy):</p>

<p>"They were imbued in grubby and worn out accouterments, and, yet, they insisted that clothing was only a human construct and that they much did not care of their outward appearences. Now, Thorkan pointed out that there was no excitement or nuance in their quotidian lifestyles and, yet, they continued to protest that they far desired the simplicities of household life over the horrors of war. How could the general blame them?"</p>

<p>You can see that I've improved dramatically, and that is why I started over.</p>

<p>I know that my game(made in java) is not being published by anyone but I would nevertheless like it to be considered by college admissions because I believe that it defines who I am. Here is a screenshot from the game I'm making (when I have some free time):</p>

<p><a href="http://img301.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screen001clanmurderwr2.png%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://img301.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screen001clanmurderwr2.png&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>If you go through those, you can see that I did put a lot of effort into what I do, far more, I believe, than the average person who just attends a lot of clubs.
I can't say how much I appreciate it if you do look through what I posted, and give me a reply if my extra circular activities are good enough for a university like Stanford.</p>

8

<p>Where else do you plan to apply to college?</p>

<p>Except for the very top colleges, most colleges put very little or no weight on ECs when it comes to admission. They may count them for merit aid. Unfortunately, Stanford is among the top colleges that care about ECs. With or without cross country, your ECs seem weak. The book is nice, but I doubt that it will tip you into a top college because many students who apply to top colleges also are writers (including novelists) -- and also do other ECs.</p>

<p>If you love writing your book, why not join or create a writer's group. It could be done in school or in your home. ECs don't have to be done at school to count.</p>

<p>Since it doesn't sound like you're a state-ranked track star, and don't seem to like your sport, I don't see any reason to continue it. I don't think you're strong enough in it to impress places like Stanford, so you may as well do what you want to.</p>

<p>The problem with your activities is that you seem to have been doing them all by yourself. Colleges like Stanford want students who'll contribute to campus life, not hole up in their rooms creating games or writing novels by themselves. A big part of the college experience at places like Stanford is the interaction with other students.</p>

<p>So, if you had written and produced a play or had organized writer's conferences, started a literary magazine, those would have been something that would have been more likely to impress admissions at the kind of colleges that you seem to be considering.</p>

9

<p>Greycold55-
first, I want to say that dropping anything is not necessarily a red flag. If you are passionate in some other area other than xc, which obviously you are, it's perfectly okay to dedicate more time to that</p>

<p>In fact, if you're not a particularly outstanding xc runner (aka state ranked or something), I think it's better for you to spend that time writing your novel. A girl at my school doesn't really have any other extracurriculars than writing, and she got into some pretty great schools, Stanford included (provided she's published a few times)</p>

<p>good luck with your application!</p>

10

<p>thanks for all the constructive criticism and responses.</p>

<p>~Northstarmom
One of the reasons I haven't interacted much in school activities is that I've been moving a lot, and lack any transportation other than bus to get home. I know that's no excuse but if it weren't for this, I would have gladly put myself in more activities.
However, I desire to go to Stanford or any of the other top universities not just for the obvious reasons but also because I want to be next to intellectuals not the not-so-care-about-education people in my school. My best friends have always been distinguished by this, and I always seem to improve when I am with a smart person.
This is the one thing I feel like I cannot get in a lesser-ranked university. Even with weak ECs, I can't give up on trying to get to the top universities. It just seems that I must rely on recomendations.</p>

11

<p>Go apply to the University of Chicago. You'll get in and get the intellectual environment you desire.</p>

12

<p>"However, I desire to go to Stanford or any of the other top universities not just for the obvious reasons but also because I want to be next to intellectuals "</p>

<p>I agree with mike... that U Chicago sounds like a good fit for you. Also consider places like Swarthmore, Grinnell and Haverford.</p>

<p>I went to grad school at Stanford for a year, and I wasn't impressed by the intellectualism of the campus. Certainly, the students were smart, but they also were very laid back and fun loving. I think that the schools that I listed would give you more of the kind of atmosphere that you desire.</p>

13

<p>So are you saying that my EC's are good enough for the University of Chicago?</p>

14

<p>I believe it is untrue that only the top colleges look at EC's. Except for most state schools, which are highly quantitative, holistic admissions colleges really do consider what you do outside of the classroom. If Stanford has a tough time choosing between all of the 4.0 uw/2400/nationally ranked whatevers, than Pomona has to choose from all of the 3.8 uw/2300/regionally ranked whatevers. Of course, this is a gross simplification, but the premise is sound for holistic processes. </p>

<p>Read the book The Gatekeepers (about a few students going through the admissions process at Wes, and from an admissions officer’s perspective). It is interesting and provides a nice introduction to the world of college admissions.</p>

<p>I am also not sure it is accurate that schools only want students who do activities which involve other people. I think the better way to look at it is that schools want achievers. If you work alone and write novels or design games, then achieve at those things. Perhaps one could argue that a typical high school club president would be more attractive than someone who works at singular endeavors but has no measurable achievements, as the former could at least participate on campus in group activities. Adcoms would also then at least have a measure of something (in this case, signs of at least acceptable social and leadership skills). On the other hand, a published author or a student who designed and brought a video game to market would trump the club president any day, as long as his social skills were at least functional. The world is filled with socially capable people with pedestrian accomplishments. People who prefer to work alone but who can hit a home run in a solo endeavor can be a big score for any school.</p>

<p>I do think you should mention your interest in philosophy, BTW. If you could acquaint supportive teachers at your school with your accomplishments (those which are not easily measured), they could write about them in recs (which would be a credible way to represent who you really are).</p>

<p>I would also make sure that you have a well balanced list of reach, match, and safety schools. :-)</p>

15

<p>OP: "However, I desire to go to Stanford or any of the other top universities not just for the obvious reasons but also because I want to be next to intellectuals not the not-so-care-about-education people in my school. My best friends have always been distinguished by this, and I always seem to improve when I am with a smart person.
This is the one thing I feel like I cannot get in a lesser-ranked university"</p>

<p>I do think that with your stats you can get into a decent enough college where there will be others like you. You can find intellectuals at most universities, and goofballs at Ivies (although not many of them). Not every great student can afford to go to an elite university, even with aid.</p>

16

<p>Here's an idea -- if you're interested in ready philosphy, why not read Atlas Shrugged and enter the Ayn Rand essay contest? It's very prestigious and if you win, you'll get a big scholarship.</p>

<p>The link:
<a href="http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=education_contests_index&JServSessionIdr003=tabyzgwgv1.app1a%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=education_contests_index&JServSessionIdr003=tabyzgwgv1.app1a&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>