<p>inn77 I think your honesty is really refreshing. I think there are tons of kids that feel just like you do but would never have the nerve to say it. (except maybe the part about poor people...yikes) I think if you take the cynical edge out of it, you have the beginnings of a great college essay. You clearly have a thirst for knowledge that leaves little time for anything else. You could put a very positive spin on that if you chose to. It's hard to see you as unmotivated when you are taking that many AP's and college courses simultaneously. I see so many kids who have loaded up on service hours because their parents signed them up for it..knowing that they need it on their college applications. I don't think that makes those kids any better than you. With your sky high scores I think you will have no problem getting in to some great schools...all the extra classes ARE your extracurricular activities in my humble opinion. But on that topic, have you thought about keeping a journal or a blog (or even a photojournal)? Sounds like you need to vent.. this could grow into a hobby or extracurricular you could tout someday as well - something as simple as that could help set you apart. good luck to you.</p>
<p>do what you want in your life, whatever makes you happy. HOWEVER, if that doesn't include some interests in activities and other people, then you won't appeal much to elite colleges. they simply have too many well-rounded students who actually have passions, and they can reject all the bright but unconcerned kids if they want. like it or not, colleges will judge you by their standards. being apathetic, however genuine you are, is a potential killer in elite college admissions. i used to not care about others and didn't do any ec, but then i got out more and actually did some community service, which was one of the best things i've done cuz it made me realized just how proud and ignorant i was. i'm not trying to judge or change your philosophy in life; just saying from what i can tell you are probably not the type of students elite colleges look for. but who knows, you might surprise us all... well good luck.</p>
<p>now that's something special: someone who actually loves to learn.</p>
<p>citygirlsmom, are you blind? my goodness.</p>
<p>I don't find it refressing at all that a kid cares about nothing but video games, I find it really sad</p>
<p>What, as a mom, you would like your child to care about nobody else at all? Just wants to play poker and play video games? </p>
<p>I KNOW love of learning is important, but the arrogance and snootiness and attitude of the OP is just sad and if that is all he cares about is book learning and not his fellow humans, nor his planet, nor anything BUT books does not make for an interesting nor attractive candidate nor person</p>
<p>Well, I am a different kind of mom who wants my Ds to be OF the world</p>
<p>If my kid just did nothing but study, I don't find that charming or endearing or their own path, that is just hogwash...</p>
<p>Not much of a spin if you do nothing but play games with your free time...</p>
<p>Imagine the interview:</p>
<p>so, OP, what do you do with yourself?</p>
<p>Well, when I am not doing homework, I play poker with my buds and play video games</p>
<p>And then compare that to another applicant who has the same kinds of stats AND has some passions beside hanging out</p>
<p>As a human being, I find nothing refreshing at all about the attitudes shared and I can guarantee that will come through in the applications</p>
<p>I'm like you... I don't really care about people, but I love to learn. I've been out of school for so long but I actually read textbooks. I know more than most high school grads. Truth is, I don't know if any colleges actually cares at all about that. They want someone who just looks important. And I guess we aren't so important. There will be a good school who will definitely accept you, but I wouldn't get your hopes up on Harvard or Yale. Maybe something like MIT or CalTech would be a better option.</p>
<p>I know you don't like sports nor do you care much for people (exactly like me) but do you love animals at all? If you love animals then maybe doing work for the local humane society/animal shelter would be something you could do. I want to start doing that, I love animals. I'm sure there is something you love to do that could turn into an EC somehow. I was told before that things like dance and instruments are also considered EC's. Maybe take up guitar or something. I don't think sports and working with people are your only option. If you want to get into a top school then you'll find a way.</p>
<p>I agree that the OP has a right to his own path...but if that path includes going to a list of specific colleges...he needs to take a path that will get him there. Complaining about the system or society is not going to get you accepted into those schools. If you care to change society and its leaders (on a school, local or higher level) then get involved! If you think that the current leaders are a bunch of fakes, then try to change things. And if you do that, then you'll have yourself a bunch of real EC's!</p>
<p>Sometimes you just have to play the game to get ahead. You seem disappointed in the direction your parents took with their own lives. You seem to think that if they were less lazy, they would have gotten ahead.</p>
<p>Well, a bunch of people here are telling you how to get ahead! If you were less stubborn about the principle of using EC's to get ahead, you would be more likely to achieve your goal of being accepted in a good school. But if you refuse...then you are not very different than your parents. (Or how you perceive them.) Doing some EC's at school is not exactly compromising your moral values. Just suck it up, don't over-think it, don't be lazy and do the thing that can get you to the place you want to be!!!</p>
<p>if you truly have a passion for learning, make that shine through your essays. </p>
<p>it's true, not having any ec's will hurt you when you're compared to others who have outstanding ones. work your application to your strengths and if you love learning, then focus on that.</p>
<p>however, when people say stuff like "but if you have no passions about anything else, your life will be empty," that's just ridiculous. who are you to judge? who the heck are you to tell him what his life is going to be like? if you haven't heard, his passion is learning. all passions are pretty much equal and a passion in learning is no different compared to a passion in, say, helping the poor. </p>
<p>"and if you can't do more than just study, you will not succeed in life</p>
<p>sorry, but being an adult, I know that to be true"</p>
<p>okay honestly that's so stupid. you're not the only adult out there. what the heck do you know? have you tried every little thing out there? just because you're an adult doesn't mean you're god or something. my goodness. </p>
<p>okay honestly everything that spews out of your mouth, citygirlsmom, is ridiculous. i don't even want to bother.</p>
<p>but i'd agree that you iin77 you do need SOME ec's. if you love learning, join a book club or something. haha. i don't know. do you like research? if you do, you can volunteer at a college and do an internship with a professor. my friend did that with a psych professor and another one did cancer research.</p>
<p>iin77 sounds like a genius. "doesn't try to learn, it just happens."
you also have such a unique point of view. i would want to have you in my school.
maybe citygirlsmom and iin77 can compromise. i have no idea what caused iin77 to think that way, but he does make good points. but i think it's also true that lots of learning happen outside of academics.
why not just put yourself out there and see what happens? maybe not everything is "something that doesn't really matter" after all. if you don't give it a try, how can you know for sure that there isn't something to gain?</p>
<p>actually, i think, during an interview, if an someone asked him what he does in his spare time and what his passions are, and he answers "learning"... that would pique the interviewer's interest.</p>
<p>it sure as heck would interest me if the interviewee was genuine about it. i'm one of those grade whores and everyone i know is a grade whore. if you go to a school where everyone is a grade whore and everyone wants you to fail, you'd find it pretty refreshing to meet a guy like him.</p>
<p>Sorry, but the OP said WHO CARES!!! And if he cares about NOTHING but books, yes his life will be empty</p>
<p>deny that all you want, get all huffy, its okay...I still find it sad that the OP cares about nothing but books and poker</p>
<p>he talks about love of learning, well gosh, learning is about the world, not just what you read about</p>
<p>but its okay, call me names, whatever you feel the need to do to defend a person who cares about nothing but books, who thinks poor people are worthless and lazy, who dislikes old people, who does nothing worthwhile in this world EXCEPT for himself</p>
<p>as much as i understand your passion towards his... strange perspective, i'd have to say you're exaggerating a bit.</p>
<p>first off, i happen to know many of my parents friends who went from nothing to millionaires based on their passions and i can tell you right now, half of them don't give about old people, lazy people, and only care about themselves.</p>
<p>plus, he said he liked games and poker, but he said he'd give them up and he already did. what did he focus on? learning. basically to sum everything up, he doesn't care about anything except learning. that's interesting. haha. especially when you hear it from a person who's probably around your own age.</p>
<p>why do you find this guy refreshing? I don't get it...and remember, it will be adults who are judging him and if he writes anything like he posts, he won't have a chance, if he just has academics to write about</p>
<p>sorry if you all think this kid is so special, he is not at all special, he is basically self involved, cold, and narrow minded, and no matter how book smart he is now, having few social skills, little experience with anything besides studying, he will have a hard time</p>
<p>go ahead and say ah, it swell he cares about nothing at all in life but books, I know many smart, love of learning kids who actually are part of the world and participate it in
guess for some that is just too much to expect</p>
<p>yeah that is.</p>
<p>hahaha you know why i think it's so refreshing? because at my school, people will do anything to screw you over and get the better grade. they don't give about anything but the grade and you can bet on your life that they won't care about you.</p>
<p>and probably not old people. or poor people.</p>
<p>...yeah. I could subject the OP - and several others on this thread - to a pretty long tirade regarding lack of empathy and/or initiative, but I really don't know any of you well enough to do so, and no one asked for my opinion of his personal qualities. So, I'll spare you.</p>
<p>Instead, let's talk college - and yes, at quite a few of the schools you mentioned, it will ruin your chances. Leaving aside whether or not leadership and community service really are important, they are important to colleges. Colleges are looking for intellectually curious students, of course, but they're also looking for people who have proven that they can contribute to campus life in some form - to write for the paper, play sports, volunteer, sing, do whatever, as long as it gets them out of their dorms and into the community. And if a college is looking for that, your empty extra-curricular sheet, combined with what your teacher recommendations will likely say and the fact that your essay may very well come off callous will probably hurt you. That's just a fact.</p>
<p>On the other hand, you likely won't be very happy at colleges who are looking for those qualities. Perhaps you should consider some Canadian universities, which are far more stats-based and have less of a "collegiate" atmosphere. </p>
<p>Just a final note: If you want to go to many of the schools you've mentioned, however, you should start thinking about your EC's. I realize you're cynical (no patronization intended - I'm your age), but is it possible you just haven't found something that appeals to you yet? I think that to say that all students who participate in extra-curriculars are merely doing it to earn brownie points for college is disingenuous. A love of learning doesn't preclude a love of the non-academic. In fact, it should really encourage it. I love English and history classes, for example. That's why I've gotten involved in my school paper and local politics. Almost every academic interest translates into a workable EC. If you love science and math, get an internship, work in a lab, or publish a paper. Or, better yet, if you need community service, try tutoring some kids who need help in those areas. You never know how "rewarding" something will be unless you try it. Is there a chance you really won't find anything that appeals to you? Sure. But being a passionate fan of academia doesn't mean you have to go on the offense against every other option. Many top students manage to genuinely combine the two.</p>
<p>Best of luck in your college search.</p>
<p>^ i agree. let's end with that.</p>
<p>If this student had a true love of learning as he claims, he would be doing more than just books</p>
<p>I still think his "love of learning" is an excuse to not bother doing anything else, and his being cold and cynical is not at all cute nor refreshing, just sad...</p>
<p>although i agree with citygirlsmom that lots of learning happen outside of academics, it's really not necessary or helpful to be so harsh on a stranger. we don't know who iin77 is, other than the couple of posts he's had. or maybe iin77 is female? we don't know what other circumstances caused him to think that way. so let's not assume too much here.
I do think his point of view is unique though. very interesting. if i owned a school, i'd want him at my school.</p>
<p>OP: I can understand your mentality, because that's exactly where I came from. Having no ECs at all is going to hurt you, if only because it seems that you have done nothing in the past four years, because you have, I'm sure. You noted that you enjoy programming and running. Have you developed for companies or for open source groups? Even if you haven't it's definitely something to put down on your application. Do you run on a team? Even if you don't you can write a sentence about it in your essay.</p>
<p>To tell you the truth, I think that work experience at a supermarket is going to look much better than volunteering at a soup kitchen. Working at a supermarket is something that admissions officers like to see, since it shows that you can hold a job, and although I can't explain it, it feels better than doing the old "volunteer work." If you like video games and programming, maybe you can get a summer job as a video game beta tester, or you can work on making your own game.</p>
<p>Just looking at who got the Regents' invitation letters to UC Berkeley, it appears that the top applicants in the eyes of the admissions committee are those who have a passion for academics. Community is second. If you want to write open source software for the world to use, that can be your volunteer work, and you'll not only learn more from it than if you sat in a soup kitchen, but it will also show that you love learning and there is an air of academia to it. I've seen people with top GPAs and top SATs not get the letter, and I honestly thing that it's because their ECs were: clubs, community service, and music/art/dance. I laugh when I see people with lesser stats get it, but I realize: it's because they spent time designing robots, doing science fair, writing for the newspaper, or researching medical stuff at a nearby university. I think that you should do the same with the time that you have left. Many will disagree with me, but I sincerely believe that one year's worth of science fairs (and a few awards from it :) ) is worth more than four years of community service.</p>
<p>Go for it.</p>
<p>The practical matter first: In terms of getting into ultra-competitive colleges like Stanford or Harvard, you're screwed. I had almost no EC's (just a handful of volunteering hours and NOTHING ELSE) but good academic stats (1550, 800, 800, 780, 3.98 UW, 5's on all the AP's) and was rejected from most of the top schools I applied to.</p>
<p>Now the lecture: Like you, I came up with the excuse that I was simply being "genuine," that I did what I wanted instead of modifying my life to fit the Ivy League mold. But, as I reflect on my HS experience as a graduating college senior, I realize that I was simply lazy and narrowminded. I didn't want to try new things. I didn't want to step out of my comfort zone. Today, I still do things that I enjoy but it includes scientific research, clinical experience, and teaching/tutoring. All of my college EC's are geared towards those.</p>
<p>The moms are correct that you are young and consequently your world view is limited. You simply do not have enough experience to know everything about what you like and don't like. You will never know unless you try. You say you love learning? Show it. Apply for an internship. Do research with a college professor. You think poor people are lazy? Work in a program that puts people to work. No one is saying that you should alter your beliefs simply so you can put some activities on your resume. But PLEASE alter your activities to reflect your beliefs. In other words, it doesn't matter what you believe, but stop preaching and start acting.</p>
<p>Please don't use the excuse that you are simply being yourself. 1) You will never get into a school of Stanford's caliber that way. 2) You're simply fooling yourself.</p>
<p>And if the arrogant, uncaring, apathetic person you described in your original post is truly you, then if I were the head of a top college, I would never accept you.</p>
<p>"plus, he said he liked games and poker, but he said he'd give them up and he already did. what did he focus on? learning. "</p>
<p>If he really cared about learning, I'd think he'd have some kind of activities outside of the classroom that focused on learning whatever it is that interests him.</p>
<p>Participating deeply in science fair, history fair, research over the summer with a local professor, Model UN (for those interested in learning about international relations), Mu Alpha Theta (for people who love learning about math), being in a book club, creating a newspaper -- all are activities that students who are passionate about learning participate in. If such activities don't exist, then they start such activities or go to adult organizations connected with subjects that interest them.</p>