<p>SATs: 700V, 750 M, 700W
SAT II: 700 World History, 750 US History, 770 Math II, 720 French w/listening, 780 Literature
GPA: 4.0UW, 4.38W
AP/IB: full-IB, plus 3 APs</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
-School Newspaper (9-12): Editor-in-Chief (11-12), Lifestyles Editor (10), Assistant News Editor (9); won multiple awards individually and as a paper from CSPA, NSPA and VHSL; articles published in local newspaper
-Cappies Reviewer (10-12): reviews of local school plays published in the Washington Post
-Debate Team (10-12): President (12), VP (11), Regional Qualifier (11), District Qualifier (10-11)
-Young Democrats (10-12): President (12), VP (11)
-MUN (10-12): Committee Chair (11-12), Regional Qualifier (11), District Qualifier (10-11)
-NHS (10-12): VP (12), Secretary (11)
-SSHS (11-12): President (12)
-SCA (9-12): President (12), VP (11), 2nd VP (10), 3rd VP (9)
-UVA Summer Enrichment Program
-Columbia Summer Journalism Workshop
-Princeton Summer Journalism Conference
-United States Senate Page
-Au pair in Quebec
-Volunteer for Democratic Party of Virginia (10-12)
-Scorekeeper of Freshman, JV and Varsity Girls Basketball Teams (9-12)
-Youth Basketball Coach (10-12)
-Metropolitan Area Grant Committee (11-12)</p>
<p>You have good, but not exceptional, scores and your GPA is great. Your ECs are...good and bad. You've done a lot, you have a lot of leadership, etc. but it looks like it's just to fill up your resume. You're doing 12 ECs during the next school year and you can't possibly be passionately involved in all of them. You really do need a compelling why penn essay AND a very compelling personal essay to show that you're more than just an Ivy-aiming machine.</p>
<p>People misunderstand the use of ECs. They try to pack and "stuff" their ECs with all sorts of activities. I however, only focus on three aspects: music pursuits, swimming, and a leadership post at my local library (teaching young kids to read.)</p>
<p>I began playing piano when I was at kindergarten. I swam in 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. I volunteered at my local library for 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. U of Penn is looking for your passion, not how many ECs you have.</p>
<p>So will being an overachiever actually hurt me? I love all of the things I do and can break down my activities into three main categories: journalism, politics and basketball.</p>
<p>JOURNALISM
-School Newspaper (all year): I've worked on it since 9th grade. It's a class, so even though I devote a good amount of time to it, I get a lot done during the school day.
-Cappies Reviewer (all year): Twice a month I spend my Friday night at a play for free, plus I get free food. All I have to do is write a short review by the next day.
-Columbia Summer Journalism Workshop and Princeton Summer Journalism Conference (summer): prepared me to be an editor</p>
<p>POLITICS
-Debate Team (fall, winter): We officially meet once a week. I prepare individually as well, however, so that I can preform better at competitions.
-Young Democrats (summer, fall): We mostly volunteer at the Virginia Democratic Party offices during the summer and up to November.
-MUN (winter, spring): We officially meet once a week. We have competitions once a month, and most of us meet during lunch the week before the competition to prepare more.
-SSHS (all year): It's an honor society just like NHS. We have to get volunteer hours, which I more than make up for with Young Democrats. Officers are chosen by the faculty advisors based on academic performance.
-SCA (all year): Through this, I'm also involved in the Principal's Advisory Board. I've had a lot of input on school policy, which is rare. I'm planning on sending a recommendation from him.
United States Senate Page (summer): How many people can say they did this one summer? It was amazing to see the democratic process at work.
-Au pair in Quebec (summer): I'm interested in IR, and this will help me with my French, which is still an important diplomatic language.</p>
<p>BASKETBALL
-Scorekeeper of Freshman, JV and Varsity Girls Basketball Teams (winter): I tried out for the team as a freshman and didn't make it. This is more fun anyway because I get into the games for free and only have to commit two days of my winter to it, leaving more time for my other ECs.
-Youth Basketball Coach (winter): I co-coach this team with two of my friends who didn't make the school team sophomore year. We have a lot of fun with the kids. Practice is once a week during the season plus games on Saturdays.</p>
<p>This just leaves NHS (again, just need service hours), UVA Summer Enrichment Camp (history class about Cuban Missile Crisis - important to understand the past to run the future) and the grant committee I'm on (meets every other week throughout the year).</p>
<p>I was going to list NHS and SSHS as honors rather than activities. Considering this, does my list really look like I'm packing in my resume and don't care about my activities? Because I care about all of them. I've learned a lot about time management from them. I'm the kind of person who needs to be busy in order to do well in school. And I'm not a robot. I always find time for Lost and Grey's Anatomy! :D</p>
<p>honestly like, these chance threads dont matter for squat i know that you're kinda desperate for feedback but just keep your head on straight and you'll be fine, a lot of applications sort of limit what you can write, character limits and such and thats when you'll really learn to pinpoint whats important to you. since you do have so many interests, i would write an essay that sort of narrows it down to a value that you have and how a few of these activities represent that value and have made you a better individual, some bs like that.</p>
<p>Actually, once you explain them all you do seem really focused. I still think you should write an essay to explain how it all connects, just because there is so much, but I think you have a very good chance, depending on school, race, region, etc.</p>