EC anxiety :(

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>ACADEMICS-</p>

<p>Hey everyone,
I'm a grade 10 student at an Indian school in Qatar (The Middle East).
My class 9 GPA was 9.6 (96%)
My class 10 GPA (so far) is 10 (100%) having scored A1(A+) in ALL Subjects in ALL exams.</p>

<p>I am trying my best to get into Princeton, Yale, UChicago and a few other American Universities. (Maybe one British University, but the Brits are getting extremely hostile towards Indian students)</p>

<p>While it certainly is too early to predict my SAT/ACT scores (I will most probably take the ACT-maybe both) I have fared excellently in similar examinations. Also, my IQ is between 133 and 149 ( The testers won't give me the exact number till I pay them a fee) which comes under the "Very Superior" classification, in which only 2.2% of the general population share my IQ.</p>

<p>ECs -</p>

<p>All-in-all, I have atleast 200 achievements. I am trying my best to be an all-rounder.</p>

<ol>
<li>Public Speaking
I have been a public speaker since I was 5 years old. I was able to read at 3.</li>
<li>Over 12 National elocution titles</li>
<li>Guest speaker at several toastmasters meetings (Since I was 11)</li>
<li>Keynote speaker at the 15 year anniversary of Doha Toastmasters Club(One of the most prestigious clubs in the region)</li>
<li>Honoured by the National Supreme Council of Health for an anti-tobacco speech. </li>
<li>Two time winner of Qatar's Best Communicator award - an award given to the best public speaker of the country (It has only been held twice)</li>
<li><p>Several other national and school-based awards ( I was honoured by the Principal when I was 8 or 9)</p></li>
<li><p>Debating</p></li>
</ol>

<p>This is the EC I am most passionate about.</p>

<ul>
<li>6 National Debate titles</li>
<li>National Best Speaker award from QatarDebates(one of the top debate organisations of the world)</li>
<li>Awarded best speaker twice by the Aligarh Muslim University's Alumni.</li>
<li>National Youth forum - best speaker
-Have defeated University debate teams and college students.</li>
<li>Several other inter-school and school based debate titles.</li>
</ul>

<ol>
<li>Science</li>
</ol>

<ul>
<li>Winner of distinction and credit certificates in several accredited international competitive exams (ACER, IMO, ISO etc.)</li>
<li>1 research paper on sustainable living technologies. Currently working on an economic thesis. None published in journals.</li>
<li>Winner of school's science exhibition (among 200+ students)</li>
<li>Invited to be a part of the National Students' Research Fair (One of the most prestigious in the region)</li>
<li>Part of Project 5S - a project to incorporate green living in schools across the country.</li>
</ul>

<ol>
<li>Art</li>
</ol>

<p>Not much here, except for one 2nd place in a National Art competition and 2-3 titles in art competitions organised by HSBC bank, Qatar.</p>

<ol>
<li>Swimming</li>
</ol>

<ul>
<li>Two swimming ribbons
-Award for fastest learning swimmer
-Best swimmer of the month etc.</li>
</ul>

<p>(Not much here, either.)</p>

<ol>
<li>Music</li>
</ol>

<p>NOTHING :/ - even though I love western classical music and follow several composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Wagner etc.</p>

<ol>
<li>Quizzing.</li>
</ol>

<ul>
<li>1st Place in National IWA Bournvita Quiz contest - hosted by internationally famed quizmaster Derek O'Brien who is also an Indian MP.
-2nd place in Vodafone International Brainhunt - appeared on TV.
-Several other, albeit smaller, quiz titles.</li>
</ul>

<p>I have been featured in various newspapers in Qatar, such as the Qatar Tribune, The Peninsula and by Gulf Times - one of the most respected newspapers in the Gulf that has greatly contributed to pioneering middle-eastern journalism.</p>

<p>I have received honours from many notable individuals and/or have spoken a speech or participated in a quiz in their presence, such as -</p>

<ol>
<li>Derek O'Brien - "Asia's favourite Quizmaster"; Indian MP and politician.</li>
<li>H.E Deepa G. Wadhwa - Former Indian Ambassador to Qatar.</li>
<li>H.E Sanjeev Arora - Current Indian Ambassador to Qatar</li>
<li>H.E Crescente Relacion - Current Filipino ambassador to Qatar.</li>
<li>Dr. R. Sitaraman - CEO-DohaBank and gold medal winning Chartered accountant</li>
<li>Vineet Joshi - Chairman - CBSE</li>
</ol>

<p>And several others....</p>

<p>But seeing the resumes and CVs of other CCers, I feel insecure.
Are My ECs strong enough for Princeton?
What are good ACT scores to go with these ECs for a good chance of admission?</p>

<p>Please recommend some ECs to me!
Please send me links to international competitions you feel I should take part in.</p>

<p>Thanks a million if you took the time to read all the way till here :)</p>

2

<p>C’mon guys! Anything?</p>

3

<p>Stop. More ECs will not help. You are fine.</p>

4

<p>I am slowing down my main activities so that I can focus on important intellectual ECs like my novel and my economic thesis. But yeah, maybe I should stop. But please, can you think of anything I should do - just to add a nice shine?</p>

<p>So, assuming I get a good ACT score, do I stand a shot at Princeton? (A good shot, btw)</p>

<p>P.S - Thanks for the reply MaybeOnMars, you are the first person to reply to my first thread. :)</p>

5

<p>Well yeah focuaing on a few is actually a good idea. A novel I think would add the shine. I will not tell you what to do bexause you need to find the passion yourself- do what you like? Want to write a book? Write a book! Want to save the world economically? Do it! </p>

<p>I am not an admissions officer and I cant tell you what they want. My advide is do what you want and do it damn well. Good luck!</p>

6

<p>I think you have enough national titles to go anywhere you want, to be honest. That’s just my opinion, though.</p>

7

<p>Your GPA is great and you have outstanding ECs. I would recommend just focusing on one or two that you are passionate about from now on though. Assuming you get a 32 or higher ACT or a 2150 or higher SAT, you stand as good a chance as any to get into these schools.</p>

8

<p>Thank you! It’s heart lifting to know I might stand a fighting chance :)</p>

9

<p>@MaybeOnMars - Thanks for the advice! Can you just tell me how important volunteer work is? Because over here in Qatar, it’s very difficult to get volunteer work under 18. Thanks in advance. :)</p>

10

<p>For volunteer work l, you could do the following:</p>

<ol>
<li>Get past the barriers and find a way to do it. That way, colleges will see your struggle and achievement. </li>
</ol>

<p>Or</p>

<ol>
<li> Not do it but explain to colleges why you didnt do ir - if there is no way to get it, they will understand</li>
</ol>

11

<p>If you’re aiming for Princeton, are you going to need financial aid? Because that does play a role in admissions for international students.</p>

12

<p>Worry about getting your SAT 2300+ or ACT 34-36 and try to find your career/academic interests and tailor your ECs towards those if you want Princeton etc. Please don’t mention IQ that number is all but meaningless for your purposes.</p>

13

<p>I will not apply for Financial aid at Princeton, Harvard or Yale - because I know they damage international chances.</p>

14

<p>Ok, thanks for the tip! I’ll focus on my ACTs then :)</p>

15

<p>If someone with similar grades and test scores was matched up against you and they only had a few activities but had immense passion and emotion invested into them…as well as a long list of accomplishments that screams “prodigy”…</p>

<p>They’d get first dibs over you with your gazillion ECs.</p>

16

<p>I’ve heard of top schools rejecting students that have the full package but a boring personal essay with their application. Also these schools know that a lot of foreigners apply with 30 letters of recommendation from diplomats and other titles because their family is very prominent and they have the money to invest in the top schools or are just given grades when enrolled at them. They are social climbers but have no clue what they really want to study and no exact passion academically or emotional drive.</p>

<p>Make certain you are not one of them because they will weed you out.</p>

<p>I knew someone in the US that had 1500s and a 3.9 GPA as well as every club and organization under their belt. They got rejected from every school they applied to.</p>

<p>Essay ruined them. Another had a similar path in the Philippines and got shot down too. The essay and application was just a random cluster of everything they did. It was ridiculous.</p>

<p>Stand out. Don’t blend in with the rest of foreign applicants.</p>

17

<p>I just have 3, and they’re all connected - Debate, Speech and Quizzing. And I won my first public speaking contest when I was 5. I am extremely passionate about these 3 alone. I put the remaining just in case you guys thought I should have more accomplishments in another EC (like sports, for example.)</p>

<p>But now, after receiving the comments of many people, I can safely say that I should continue to focus on what I’ve been doing for a decade - Public Speaking and debates :)</p>

<p>Thanks for the insight, though :)</p>

18

<p>About the essay - I was wondering - what defines “boring” ? I was planning on writing about an experience that changed my life - an experience that actually convinced me to try to study in the USA. But many say that’s cliche and boring. What comes off as interesting, then?</p>

<p>Believe me when I say that I am not that kind of kid. My parents work 8-9 hours a day and we are an upper middle class family, with enough to educate me and my sister at the country’s best Indian school - and still have a little left over to enjoy a happy life. </p>

<p>My additional recommendation letter will most probably come from my Principal - who is the recipient of the National educator award (given to him by the Indian President) and is currently the Chairman of the Gulf Council of my school’s board. But he’ll not write because my family’s influential or anything - but because he really likes me and has been close to me since I joined in the 2nd Grade.</p>

<p>Plus, we share our first names :)</p>