<p>It's about EC's. What I don't get is, do Ivy colleges like a LOT of different things, such as Math club, Science Club, Band, etc. etc. etc. etc. Or do they like you focused on 3~4 of them in depth? All the college guide books I've read, and what some people have said is that the couple 3~4 is good. But from others, I'm hearing that you can do a long list of Ec's with sort-of in depth etc.</p>
<p>How in-depth do they want you to be? I know that doing Ec's just for college is the wrong way to go. However, its not that I started my EC, say journalism, just for college. I had done school papers since 6th grade. But really, how in-depth can you go, in something like newspaper journalism? </p>
<p>****And one more question, not sure if its just me, but at my school, I have seniors that are REALLY good candidates for ivy leagues, IMO. But they just got deferred. These are people with national science bowl/math bowl titles. And decent, (3.9 u.w. 1580) grades. I ALWAYS end up comparing myself....and losing hope of ever getting in. Anyone else feel like this?</p>
<p>Thnx for hearing my blabber. Lately I've been feeling so..."under-like"</p>
<p>Oh, and my friends got deferred from Harvard.</p>
<p>I'll tell you how to get into an Ivy-League college, and it begins with establishing a base interest, that you develop to the maximum capacity. National achievement, or at least state achievement, is almost necessary. There is much debate on whether it is a lot of activies or a solid few that one has dedicated himself to which draws an adcom's attention, but as long as you have this major achievement, you will come off as impressive and will be a good candidate. Notice I did not say that you would be accepted. Your seniors who qualified for International Math Olympiad are part of a constituency that is all to common at top-tier schools. The only sure-fire way to get accepted off of extra-curricular involvement is to have something these top schools need. Athletes are given special preference because Ivies cannot offer scholarships; thus, many atheletes do not go to these schools because they can go to big-name sports programs on full-ride scholarships. Thus, atheletes are a valued commodity and are given special consideration. Thus, I conclude that it really does not matter how many extra-curriculars appear on your resume, just that you have achieved state and possibly national attention in a field that an Ivy wants to admit. It is as people on this board say, it is a lottery, and your friends did not have what Harvard wanted so they were deffered.</p>
<p>You can't be a bum!</p>