<p>lol i didn't even make the club</p>
<p>I think that it is ridiculous for anyone to be President/Captain of ten activities. In my opinion, it reflects poorly of the applicant and shows lack of dedication. Thus, I would disagree with Phead128's assertion that the OP can get into any school.</p>
<p>well it's not like something couldn't be done about that; first of all, I'm not going to put all of them on my application (since most schools allow a limited amount of space anyways). Second, I would definitely emphasize my commitment to a few of those activities thru my awards/essays etc.</p>
<p>What bothers me is that you actually want to portray yourself artificially to colleges. At the end of the day, leadership is about passion rather than self-promotion.</p>
<p>
[quote]
you actually want to portray yourself artificially to colleges.
[/quote]
okay let me explain.
1) I did not get all those leadership positions because i set out to create a laundry list of ECs for colleges. For some of the clubs: I just joined clubs, and the advisors/past presidents made me the president. I did nothing really but join the clubs. THESE will be the clubs that I take off from my list.
2) Other things, like tennis and math and science, I put a lot of time/effort into the club/team, which I think is what you consider "passion" because I liked being in the club and was active. I spent LOTS of time in the 3-4 clubs that I like the best, and these will be the ones that I put on my application. And they will be supported by other things (like awards for math and science). I really am passionate about a few things--math and science--and I will try to show that. I guess taking off a few things that are less-important to me will show that.</p>
<p>You're all still psycho. </p>
<p>There are only a handful of students (not enough to fill MIT's or Harvard's freshman class) with SATs like the OP, and there are only a handful of students with grades like the OP. </p>
<p>Colleges like ECs, but realistically, they're choosing applicants based on academics first and foremost. I will repeat, Harvard couldn't even fill their freshman class with students like the OP, assuming they all were trying for Harvard. </p>
<p>Her ECs are pretty amazing, and while there may be a couple hundred students with better ECs than the OP, they're quite limited - and elite schools couldn't fill their ranks with them even if they wanted to. </p>
<p>MIT</a> Admissions: Admissions Statistics</p>
<p>If you're seriously doubting your chances at an elite school, really study these stats. Over a quarter of MIT's freshman got below a 670 on the verbal SAT, something that most CC users would see as a basis for rejection. They accept a significant number of students who aren't in the top 10% of their class. </p>
<p>@OP, even at MIT, by far one of the most competitive schools in the nation, you're in the top 10% of their applications (just a guess, but it seems reasonable given you're above the 75th percentile for most indicators). </p>
<p>A school would be insane to reject one of their top academic candidates just because they're the president of too many clubs (why this is bad, I don't really know).</p>
<p>You're all still psycho. </p>
<p>There are only a handful of students (not enough to fill MIT's or Harvard's freshman class) with SATs like the OP, and there are only a handful of students with grades like the OP. </p>
<p>Colleges like ECs, but realistically, they're choosing applicants based on academics first and foremost. I will repeat, Harvard couldn't even fill their freshman class with students like the OP, assuming they all were trying for Harvard. </p>
<p>Her ECs are pretty amazing, and while there may be a couple hundred students with better ECs than the OP, they're quite limited - and elite schools couldn't fill their ranks with them even if they wanted to. </p>
<p>MIT</a> Admissions: Admissions Statistics</p>
<p>If you're seriously doubting your chances at an elite school, really study these stats. Over a quarter of MIT's freshman got below a 670 on the verbal SAT, something that most CC users would see as a basis for rejection. They accept a significant number of students who aren't in the top 10% of their class. </p>
<p>A school would be insane to reject one of their top academic candidates just because they're the president of too many clubs (why this is bad, I don't really know).</p>
<p>
[quote]
I think that it is ridiculous for anyone to be President/Captain of ten activities. In my opinion, it reflects poorly of the applicant and shows lack of dedication. Thus, I would disagree with Phead128's assertion that the OP can get into any school.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Agreed. Being president of the mattresses, erases, lip balm, ear muffs, and paper club isn't anything compared to a real honor like an Intel STS finalist. Colleges understand that and they know exactly what you are doing.</p>
<p>That said, you're academics might get you in MIT, but without good ECs, JHU is a stretch. TBH, your grades and class schedule isn't anything spectacular either (most juniors take the same class schedule and your GPA is just bit above average), although the PSAT score is nice. Also, isn't a bit early to be predicting a 4.0 this year if you weren't able to get it freshmen and sophomore years (which were much easier)?</p>
<p>lol i did get straight As freshman and sophmore year, i'm predicting like a 3.8 or 3.9 this year so that'll bring my unweighted down to like a 3.9</p>
<p>and considering i'm only ALLOWED to take that many APs (i'm actually taking more than I'm allowed to at my school) and my school sends close to 20% of its seniors to ivies, I think my coursework is okay. BTW it's suicide to take more than 4 APs at my school, and colleges know that. (there's just so much work; that's why everyone gets 5's on the AP test and 800 on the SATs no problem.)</p>
<p>and um...do Intel STS finalists go to JHU??...they mostly end up at MIT which i would argue is THE most selective school in the country. (they have about the same % acceptance as HYP, but they don't get applications from random people who are just applying to harvard for the hell of it.) BTW last year about 10 kids went to JHU and they were nowhere near the top 10</p>
<p>okay, let's say we have a hypothetical situation where student A and B had same stats, but their ECs are different:</p>
<p>Student A:
president of 3 clubs that she's passionate about
president of 3 clubs that she's not so passionate about</p>
<p>student B:
president of 3 clubs that she's passionate about
member of 3 clubs that she's not so passionate about</p>
<p>why would student B be better? and how is not mentioning the 3 clubs that I'm not so passionate about be portraying me "artificially" to colleges? I would think that it's the opposite--it would help colleges understand me better</p>
<p>FYI: my GPA is a little deflated because my school doesn't weight freshmen classes which sux =)</p>
<p>No. Other way around.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Agreed. Being president of the mattresses, erases, lip balm, ear muffs, and paper club isn't anything compared to a real honor like an Intel STS finalist.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>And winning Intel is nothing compared to curing cancer. So what? There are thousands of spots at top Ivy League colleges and only a handful of people have won Intel/USAMO or have those insanely good ECs. Only a handful of people have SATs >2300. </p>
<p>No matter what you hear on CC, you have to remember that not everyone is perfect in every way. MIT accepts tons of kids with SATs <2100, even though CC seems to think that SATs that are only the 97th percentile are a red herring for failiure. </p>
<p>
[quote]
Colleges understand that and they know exactly what you are doing.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Being a normal human being that isn't perfect in every possible way? Hasn't entered every competition available to HS students? Obviously, there are students with better ECs, but there aren't enough of them to fill the Ivys. </p>
<p>
[quote]
That said, you're academics might get you in MIT, but without good ECs, JHU is a stretch.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Is that a joke? MIT is much more competitive than JHU, and the STS finalist would probably consider JHU a safety... </p>
<p>I strongly speculate that this person is just being a troll. </p>
<p>
[quote]
TBH, your grades and class schedule isn't anything spectacular either (most juniors take the same class schedule and your GPA is just bit above average)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Her grades are probably above average for JHU students, which is just fine. You don't have to be the #1 applicant to JHU to get in. The grades and SATs would make a top applicant at MIT, which is much more competitive than JHU. </p>
<p>
[quote]
although the PSAT score is nice.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Nice? Only a handful of students score that high. No college in the nation (except maybe Olin) could fill its freshman body with students who score that well.</p>
<p>Quote:
That said, you're academics might get you in MIT, but without good ECs, JHU is a stretch.</p>
<p>lol yeah i found that a little weird.</p>
<p>Maybe I'm wrong. :/ At my high school, grades, class schedules, and PSAT scores like yours are fairly typical, so it what I think is okay and what is actually good might be different when looked upon nationally.</p>
<p>I have a similar class schedule (taking ap chem instead of bio, but the other APs are the same as I took bio, gov, and calc AB APs sophomore year) with a tad higher GPA (3.95) and my PSAT for junior year was 224. Our ECs are nearly the same as well. I won FLBA states (went to Chicago, but didn't win anything) and I also compete in math team/science olympiads. I didn't think my academics and ECs are anything near Ivy level and Hopkins level, but maybe I have to take another look.</p>
<p>I hope you do get it though! It definitely make me feel more confident.</p>
<p>Clearly your stats are Hopkins level, and are probably reasonable for the Ivy's (worth a shot). Remember that JHU's median SAT score is roughly 2150, which makes you above average in that respect. Your grades and ECs look pretty exceptional too, which puts you in a good boat.</p>
<p>my school the ppl don't take 6 or 7 AP classes-not cuz we're stupid, trust me if it was possible EVERYONE would be doing it. but it's just not possible, considering some of the classes are so intense that we actually have to come to school on weekends for a few months for extra classes.</p>
<p>we do send about 50 kids to ivies each year + more to MIT, Caltech, Stanford, and other top 20 schools</p>
<p>and mac91: are you kidding, lol. Does your school do well with colleges, because with your GPA + SAT Scores + ECs, you're definitely Ivy level...lol</p>
<p>
[quote]
my school the ppl don't take 6 or 7 AP classes-not cuz we're stupid, trust me if it was possible EVERYONE would be doing it. but it's just not possible, considering some of the classes are so intense that we actually have to come to school on weekends for a few months for extra classes.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's true for AP classes at my school, especially for some teachers. Since we have a 4-class day, it's not possible to take 7 AP Classes, but a reasonable number of kids take 3 (7 maybe?) and quite a few take 2 (20-30). </p>
<p>
[quote]
we do send about 50 kids to ivies each year + more to MIT, Caltech, Stanford, and other top 20 schools
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's pretty solid. My school usually sends like one kid every year to an Ivy / MIT.</p>
<p>lol thanks everyone for reading my thread.</p>
<p>At my school, each year, they post of a list of last year's seniors and where they went on a big wall. I checked yesterday and a large number of kids went to Ivy/top schools (I would say about 10% of a roughly 350 student class).</p>
<p>There are a lot of intelligent kids at my school (without a 4.0, you won't be in the top 10% of the class) and I'm hardly one of the top students. In comparison, I'm just a little above average.</p>
<p>Also, staying after school is pretty common of AP classes (I think everywhere). In bio, there's just too much material, so we take all of our tests after school as class time is too valuable to waste. I'm not in AP enviro sci, but the teacher holds weekend sessions at her home for those who need help. It's not out of the ordinary that in-school time just isn't enough for these college level courses.</p>
<p>we have about 20% of our class of 350 get into ivies, and you won't be in the top 10% without at least a 4.2
but then again our freshmen honors classes are all 4.0 and not weighted so that deflates our GPAs a little
and wow, i thought our school was the only one that has required weekend classes</p>
<p>Ah, I meant 4.0 unweighted. The weighted GPA is much higher, but our classes are weighted each year. The only way to become number one is to start taking AP classes freshman year and keep taking them through junior year (which is a bit insane IMO).</p>