<p>thanks zagat... ouch about "Bottom line is you need to be really good or it hurts." :(</p>
<p>A friend called me yesterday to ask if she could check the yes box next to applying for financial aid and then not apply. She wanted them to think she was a scholarship student at our prep school which we all know yields better outcomes than being another wealthy prep.</p>
<p>i'm now confused on whether colleges like rich kids or not lol...</p>
<p>any other comments on traveling??</p>
<p>does it look good to have foreign service trips?</p>
<p>Colleges like rich kids cause they can pay, lol.</p>
<p>Just don't seem like a spoiled brat and you're okay. That's about it.</p>
<p>bummer: Yes, if you can explain them in your application with passion for it.</p>
<p>fabre: Just be humble about it. If it's a pleasure trip to like Cancun, they don't need to know.</p>
<p>alright, thanks xjayz. i will keep in mind to discuss my service trips instead of blabbing about my leisure trips ;)</p>
<p>Actually I heard foreign service trips can be a really bad thing... Which types of people can afford volunteering at an orphanage in China? I'll laugh if you say "poor people..."</p>
<p>TTG</p>
<p>That doesn't mean its bad. You're still helping people in a way that ordinary people can't. That's a positive way to use your affluence rather than some of the more posh trips mentioned previously.</p>
<p>I tend to look down on service trips to other countries because honestly, there's no need to glamorize. You don't need to look for poor people who need help; they're right around the corner. Most kids I know who go on service trips do it for a vacation in an exotic locale, and do some service on the side to look good for college.</p>
<p>Of course I'm generalizing, but that's what I've seen. I go to a private prep school paid for by my parents' employer, but I'm a typical middle class kid who can't afford to pay for anything but doesn't qualify for aid. When adcoms look at my transcript, though, they'll see I went to private school and ask themselves "Why didn't she do anything more enriching?" :rolleyes:</p>
<p>"That doesn't mean its bad."- Exrunner</p>
<p>Yes, it is bad. It's a form of exploitation- you're doing what should be a sincere and honest act of helping others, and using it as something to put onto your college application... no wonder people from other countries hate us.</p>
<p>"You're still helping people in a way that ordinary people can't. That's a positive way to use your affluence rather than some of the more posh trips mentioned previously." - the rest of Exrunner's comment (yup, I used it all)</p>
<p>Indeed, you are using your affluence, but for what many may consider as a posh community service activity... I wonder if one would stay in a villager's hut, or stay in the five-star hotel built on those very people's labor...?</p>
<p>TTG</p>
<p>I think a more important question here is are you kids doing community service in your own communities or do you just do this abroad? If you are doing service activities here in the US, too, ones that you are hands-on, genuinely involved in and committed to (not just simplistic token activities - the kind private schools usually push such as turkeys to the poor at Thanksgiving and "Jump rope for Hearts".) Because that sincereity or lack there-of will come across in your application - don't think Admin Officers will be fooled.</p>
<p>It's not too late to volunteer this year at a Veterans Hospital or a Boys and Girls Club or Habitat for Humanity. You don't need alot of money to really make a difference in the world...in fact, you don't need any money at all.</p>
<p>wow this is getting complicated... leisure vs. service, sincerity vs. affluence... gotta be careful then...</p>
<p>Yup. With all this traveling, do you speak any lamguages fluently? That's a positive.</p>
<p>i speak a few languages... 4... does that matter?</p>
<p>I think that would be considered impressive, yes. What languages do you speak? I'm fluent in Swedish, French, and English, and am teaching myself Spanish.</p>
<p>i speak english, cantonese, mandarin, and am learning spanish...</p>
<p>Um - by taking leisure trips to foreign countries, I am funnelling money into their economies and helping the poor. w00t - that's like guarenteed harvard admission right there.</p>
<p>Actually I have traveled to a couple(2) of the less fortunate communities in South America to help out. I fundraised through my school and donated a total of about 5600 dollars. If you mean like that- I am pretty sure it helps!</p>