<p>I was recently awarded the Cornell University Book Award for "outstanding academic accomplishment and leadership in the area of community service." Although I realize that national awards are valued over school awards, this award has personal significance to me because of the teacher who nominated me for it. Thus, I believe it deserves a spot on my application. </p>
<p>My question: would putting down the "Cornell U Book Award" associate me with Cornell and thus be detrimental in the application process for other colleges (e.g. Harvard)?</p>
<p>yea really, don't sweat it. i got the willliams college book award and got into H, but waitlisted at williams. i'm definitely not upset about it though, i prefer it this way than the other way around.</p>
<p>The kid from my school who got the Harvard Book Award last year got waitlisted at H and accepted at Y and P. If I'm not mistaken, the award is given by the alumni commitee, not the school itself, and their tastes in a student can differ. Needless to say, it is an impressive award for any school.</p>
<p>Book awards from any college have little or nothing to do with admissions. They are local awards presented by local alumni groups. They have no input from the college as to who should receive the award. It's really just advertising for the school.</p>
<p>What if I'm also spending 6 weeks at Cornell U and getting a recommendation from a Cornell professor? Is that too much.. Cornell-ness? (especially since I'm not applying to Cornell!)</p>
I strongly advise you not to get a college recommendation from someone that you have worked with over the summer. Unless the both of you have a close relationship and you feel that he has a better understanding of a certain part of your personality/character as compared to a staff member at your school, this is a very bad idea since selective colleges discount these sort of endorsements as they make it seem like you're trying to take advantage of a educationally renowned professional to give you some sort of edge through connections. Think about it Mindy, EVERY student who attends Harvard SSP would then get accepted to Harvard through a letter or recommendation from the professor who taught the class during the summer when he/she was there, but this is obviously not the case.:rolleyes:</p>
<p>^ TASP is a different situation. There will be < 15 students in the class, and the professors and I will have many opportunities to connect personally (through TASP dinners). Plus, the class is 95% discussion-based, so I'll have plenty of opportunities to display my insight and personality.</p>
<p>I might get a letter from my factotum instead, depending on which I feel more confident about (factotum v. professor).</p>
<p>Actually, I'm thinking that the factotum might be a better choice, since I will be living with him at the Telluride House. A factotum recommendation would be somewhere between a peer recommendation and a teacher recommendation, I think.</p>
<p>LOL Mindy, I guess that sounds reasonable but it's kind of weird that you're already coming into TASP with the mindset that you will get a letter of rec from the seminar. TASP is so much more than some mere tool or key to an Ivy league college and most of the people who went last year told me they did not get a letter of rec from there. Understand that the professor/factotum that you're thinking about impressing over the summer will probably have had experience and acquaintance with dozen of TASP seminars and hence hundreds of TASPers in the past so you will be compared in relation to them i.e. it's probably much easier to get a "best student of my career" type of recommendation from your Theory of Knowledge teacher at school than a TASP factotum. Regardless, chillax a little and start getting excited for the social aspects of TASP like I would have been right now!!!;)</p>
<p>Nishant, I'm rather surprised by your comments. Your assumptions are a little hasty.. and rather insulting, I must say. For instance, I am not using TASP as a "tool" for college admissions. It is an opportunity to explore myself intellectually and connect with other bright students personally. I expect them to seriously consider the opinions that I bring to the table, even if they aren't completely fleshed out. </p>
<p>Despite your accusation, I have no intention of "impressing" the professors and factota in order to receive some sort of college recommendation. That would be a shallow and frankly idiotic way of wasting away my TASP experience. I do trust, however, that since they have been chosen to oversee the TASP seminar, they will reflect upon students' personalities and learning styles carefully.</p>
<p>Furthermore, you assume that my TOK teacher hasn't encountered many brilliant students throughout her career, which she most certainly has. TOK is also a discussion-based class, and thus, it's easier to express yourself personally and creatively.</p>
<p>Besides, pianoking mentioned that most students in his seminar (UMich 05) did get recommendations from their factota or professors.</p>
Hmm Mindy, I never explicitly accused you of planning ot use TASP as a "tool" to get you into college, but rather that you give off the wrong vibe when you ask somewhat idiotic(no offense) questions like whether getting the Cornell Book Award or getting a recommendation from a Cornell staff member at TASP will hurt your chances at Harvard, when I'm sure you know what the answer is yourself. I personally believe that you are genuinely exited about the unique educational and social opportunities/rewards that a summer of TASP promises to offer, but others on CC and more importantly people who you will meet later would think otherwise at the point where you're agonizing over whether it would be more beneficial to ask a TASP factotum or a professor for a letter of rec more than a month before the program is scheduled to begin.</p>
<p>
I wholeheartedly agree with that judgment of yours.:)</p>
<p>
I very well understand that but I hope you realize that this doesn't always work in your favor, especially when you're being compared and living with 16 equally brilliant individuals.</p>
<p>
Umm, if you're not up there as one of the most brilliant kids that your school's TOK teacher has ever taught, that doesn't bode very well for you considering in TASP, there will be leaders globally in the forefront of politics/IR/humanities that you'll be up against. Harvard won't give you any mercy if your excuse is that your TOK teacher has worked with too many intelligent kids for you to specifically stand out.</p>
<p>
All the better for you then I suppose, am I correct?;)</p>
<p>
Really? He indicated to me quite the contrary when I chatted with him on AIM but this is really a moot point anyway.</p>
<p>You will find that I am one of the most honest and forthright people on CC so please don't take any of my my harsh comments to heart. I call it as I see it...thats how I live mt life.</p>
<p>Nishant, I believe that referring to my questions as "idiotic" is rather tactless (especially for someone pursuing a degree in IR/diplomacy). Until this point, I have remained unfamiliar with college "book prizes", and I was rather confused by the Cornell label. Thus, I chose to ask the question. I'm sure that you're already familiar with them, but clearly, not everyone is as well-versed as you in terms of awards.</p>
<p>In addition, despite your accusation, my question certainly does not entail "agony". Heck, I'm expecting the best 6 weeks of my life! Why would I be agonizing at this point? =)</p>
<p>Furthermore, I certainly hope that TASP professors will not "compare" students, as you say. Keep in mind that these are supplementary recommendations in order to shed light on a different aspects of my personality. Thus, I will not give them the formal recommendation form used for the required teacher recs. Of course, if I participate little and don't contribute at all to the discussions, I would pale in comparison to the other students. However, I trust that the professors will look at each student individually and reflect upon his/her unique learning and communication style, interests and passions, insight, and personality.</p>
<p>Also, while my TOK teacher has encountered many brilliant students, they have stood out in their own unique ways. I don't feel the need to necessarily "compete" with the other students. Students stand out in their own ways.. through their unique interests, contributions, opinions, etc. </p>
<p>However, I appreciate your concern, and your points are well taken.</p>
<p>Mindy, you are one of the most amazingly qualified individuals I have seen on CC and I have no doubt in my mind that you will accomplish many amazing things. Your resume is very enviable and your persoanlity/character really shiens through. It would be Harvard's loss not to accept you IMHO. Although, sometimes your humanitarian ideas do seem rather idealistic, I acknowledge that our world needs to see some more opportunism and foresight from our leaders and next generation if we really want to make the world a better place and end poverty, famine, etc globally.</p>
<p>Grrr now back to studying for the scourge of my life that is standardized testing.;)</p>
<p>Thank you, Nishant, and likewise, your passion for international affairs is clear to probably anyone who meets you (although you're more geared toward hard politics, policy debate, etc.). Good luck at Global Scholar, and tell me how Mr. Singer's lecture is. I'm a fan of his book, One World: The Ethics of Globalization.</p>