<p>Our dd is a freshman. Was wondering how cheer looks on the application process. She was in student council in middle school. Does student council weigh better on the app? What key extra cirriicular activities do you feel carries alot of weight. Thank you kindly in advane</p>
<p>We have to collapse our threads! I just started one "Ivy League Cheerleading" somewhere...I have freshman daughter also. Can't she do both student council and cheerleading? That really shows leadership. In my daughter's school cheerleading takes up much more time than student council, so I would rank it higher unless she's student council president.</p>
<p>Only on CC! My advice--chill. Your daughter should do the activity that she likes best. to the extent that it should make a difference, prevaiing wisdom is that passion--not the label of the activity--is what matters.</p>
<p>Actually I refused to let my older daughter try out for cheerleading bc I wanted her to do a "real sport", but she begged so I let her and she really liked it; my younger one is even more passionate about it.</p>
<p>No idea of how it looks to committees (probably similar to other activities that take up a large chunk of time), but I cheered in high school and go to a top LAC, others attend top universities, and there was one of us in my year who ended up at an ivy.</p>
<p>Frankly I think cheerleading probably looks very good. And cheerleading sure isn't what it used to be - it's a real sport these days.</p>
<p>This kind of question comes up a lot on CC and to be perfectly honest, was not a concept I had ever considered until I started reading CC! I can't imagine choosing an activity or area of interest over which one might look "better" for college! That is foreign from my personal experience and that of raising my two kids who are now attending selective colleges actually. They simply pursued their passions with no discussion as to which were better for college. Most of their interests/activities were also lifelong and not spurned when the "college admissions" process was on the horizon.</p>
<p>Colleges are not going to care very much WHAT the passion or interest area is....but rather your level of a long term commitment, a significant contribution to the activity, leadership and/or achievements, and possibly related activities (this last factor varies depending what it is). If your child loves cheerleading, why would she NOT do it? And actually if she is into student government, why can't she do both? I am not saying she should do a laundry list of activities but it is very possible to be engaged in more than one thing. My own kids were. There is no answer to your question as to which EC activity "carries a lot of weight." Pursuing one's passions and achieving in those areas with commitment, leadership, initiative, drive, and so on is what matters, and not the name of the activity. For instance, student government is no big whoop if all your D did was join and go once a week to a meeting and was elected by popularity. But if she initiates some endeavor that she accomplishes with the government, that says something quite different. In some endeavors, one can go beyond school and achieve regionally or on the state level. If your D does cheerleading, does she compete? Are there captains? Can she start a cheer club for younger kids? Can she be a choreographer for the routines? </p>
<p>Your child should pursue her passions fervently and in depth and hopefully make a contribution and achieve something. She should not pick and choose an activity to look good for college. It won't. What will look good is genuine passion over many years, significant levels of participation, contributions, accomplishments at a high level on the school or regional/state level, leadership, related endeavors, etc.</p>
<p>One more thing....I didn't notice the "ivy bound" part of the question. Ivies have cheer teams...I know my D's school does. So, don't you realize that these schools want kids who will contribute to these organizations on campus? They do. Lastly, I can't help but notice the "ivy bound" concept. I understand you have a good student who is likely bound for a selective challenging college. I hope that "Ivy" is not the goal. An appropriate fit school that is academically challenging makes sense but surely there are excellent schools that are not Ivies. To have "ivy" as part of the goal is not only very narrow but could be a set up for disappointment given the admit rates. And she is only in ninth grade. How does she already know she wants an Ivy League school? Has she looked into specific colleges? Seems early and so I doubt it. Wanting "Ivy" is a bit misguided. I have a child who was tops in school (val, yadda yadda), and if you asked her in ninth grade about colleges, she'd simply say she wanted to go to a "very good college." She did land at an Ivy but that was never the goal. She liked some non Ivies more than some Ivies. She picked individual schools (all selective and challenging) that met her criteria. She picked schools, not Ivies (even though certain Ivies landed on her list).</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your informative post. How wonderful your daughter is in an Ivy league school. Sometimes I think the media portrays cheer in a negitive light and wanted to know if they is really so when applying. So I just really appreciate all the info here and am trying to learn early on. Great site. And thanks so much. I will have her read these posts.</p>
<p>Again, remember that even these Ivy Schools have cheerleading squads. So, it makes sense that they will want kids to fill these various groups on campus. Your child should follow her bliss.....the rest will follow.</p>
<p>I suggest you go find the threads on each Ivy school where students posted their accept/reject status and stats. It will give you a better idea what it takes to get into an Ivy of your choice. Each individual school board has these threads for both EA/ED and for regular admission cycles.</p>
<p>Well, I'll add just a bit of a contrarian note. While cheer (like any other sport) can show a high level of commitment and passion, it is unlikely to show much leadership (since the coach is the primary leader), and, of course, it does not shed any light on the student's academic interests and abilities. Also, at most top schools, a cheerleader is not going to be a recruited athlete. So, yes, it can be a good EC, but it probably shouldn't be the only one.</p>
<p>
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it is unlikely to show much leadership (since the coach is the primary leader),
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So I guess that the quarterback isn't a real leader, since there's a coach? Therefore, football shouldn't be a "real" EC?
You can say that about any sport.
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of course, it does not shed any light on the student's academic interests and abilities
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And football, baseball, basketball, soccer, etc. does??</p>
<p>(I'm not a big fan of cheerleading - personal viewpoint - but please! It's a real EC that can show as much leadership and passion as any other.)</p>
<p>Sports like football and basketball are different in that they are recruited and have a guaranteed tip factor if the coach wants you. In most cases, cheerleading will have no such tip factor.</p>
<p>Which Ivies offer cheerleading?</p>
<p>I just have to comment on the ""leadership' issue. It does not mean one has to be president of something or other. It means one has to show initiative and drive and commitment. Getting up early and spending afternoons and weekends practicing one's instrument or one's sport shows leadership. </p>
<p>I'd hate to listen to an orchestra where every violinist decided to play according to his or her own interpretation of the piece! Or, for that matter, watch a sport where everyone wanted to play it his or her own way.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Which Ivies offer cheerleading?>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>Harvard, for one. And I'd bet, Yale. Harvard-Yale game is this Saturday.</p>
<p>Harvard</a> Cheerleading</p>
<p>"She was in student council in middle school. Does student council weigh better on the app?"</p>
<p>if she was only on student council in middle school, she probably shouldn't include it on her college app.-they mostly want activities from high school. so, i would suggest she just put down cheerleading-there's nothing wrong with that.</p>
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Sports like football and basketball are different in that they are recruited and have a guaranteed tip factor if the coach wants you.
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Very few high school athletes are recruited. And there is no "guaranteed" tip factor at the Ivies.</p>
<p>But in any event, I was responding to two specific statements denigrating cheerleading.</p>
<p>There's a whole cc thread started by another poster on another cc forum titled "Ivy League Cheerleading":</p>
<p>Cheerleading is popular in some of the seemingly most unlikely places. There is quite a bit of technical skill involved in college cheerleading (as well as teamwork, leadership, management of safety and financial issues.)</p>
<p>The thread above includes comments from Molliebatmit, now a Harvard grad student who describes her experiences as captain of the MIT cheerleading squad.</p>
<p>Even Caltech promotes its cheerleading squad, who have won awards at varsity cheerleading competitions in the past.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Harvard, for one. And I'd bet, Yale.<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>Yes on Yale: The</a> Yale Herald - September 22, 2006 - Oh Eli, youre so fine: Cheerleading is here</p>
<p>And isn't GW Bush a former Yale cheerleader?</p>