ECs/Activities...

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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<p>what Ecs/activities can i do that make me look like a competitive english major (and pre-law) applicant at top ivy league schools. like what awards should i aspire to win, what contests should i enter (i live in westchester, btw) and what community service is most related to my intended major? thanks so much. and happy 2010:]</p>

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<p>Editor-in-chief</p>

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<p>What year are you in?</p>

<p>I would say the basic humanities stuff… school newspaper (but that’s not a huge deal), debate if you’re into it, definitely TASP later on would be huge. (I’m not going to explain it because there are a million threads talking about it). Hell, some people have published short stories and stuff… just find something you want to do that’s humanities related and is unique, then get very, very, very good at it (or just get into TASP, which is also very hard). That’s the basic formula.</p>

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<p>You live in a competitive area (my mom grew up in Bronxville), so the most important thing is to keep your grades up. The Tri-State area is one of the most competitive areas to be coming from for admissions so a subpar GPA (or SATs, or SAT IIs) can kick you out of the running pretty fast. The transcript is the single most important part of the application.</p>

<p>So which ECs you can participate in will depend largely on how much time you need to devote to your schoolwork to keep your grades up. Start with school-level ECs (lit mag, the paper, student council) and work your way up to leadership positions. For student council, it’s possible to get involved at the regional or even the state level, so ask your SC adviser about that if you’re interested. Then start looking at competitive things like debate, MUN, Mock Trial and really invest yourself into those activities. Typically, national debate winners (who are excellent students as well) fare very well in Ivy League admissions, especially Yale–see <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/799163-debate-ivy-league-application.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/799163-debate-ivy-league-application.html&lt;/a&gt;). However, to do well in these activities, you really have to devote yourself to them, and again, it may not be worth the dropoff in grades if you can’t handle the workload.</p>

<p>As far as community service goes, there aren’t many that directly correlate with the humanities, but just getting involved is always impressive. Do keep in mind that almost every applicant to top colleges will have at least a few hours of community service, whether from clubs like Key Club or NHS or because they were told it looks good on college apps. So unless you’re very invested in what you do, community service likely won’t make you stand out to an adcom.</p>

<p>For summer camps, keep TASP in mind, as well as the less competitive forensics camps (should you get involved in debate or speech) and journalism camps (Northwestern comes to mind). </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/magazine/30neurosis-t.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/magazine/30neurosis-t.html&lt;/a&gt;
^Here’s an article on Bronxville kids and the admissions process (interestingly, how I discovered CC). It’ll remind you that the process can sometimes be fickle and doesn’t have anything to do with your personal worth. It also has several examples of stellar students who didn’t do every club but rather focused on their interests and strengths.</p>

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<p>Not going to bug you about it or ask you to explain, but what does TASP stand for? I’m in student government, the lit mag, the newspaper, and a community service club (I’m in 9th grade).</p>

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<p>[Telluride</a> Association: Our Programs: For High School Students: Summer Program for Juniors (TASP): General Information](<a href=“http://www.tellurideassociation.org/programs/high_school_students/tasp/tasp_general_info.html]Telluride”>Telluride Association Summer Seminar (TASS) - Telluride Association)</p>

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<p>I think you should go for the Princeton Journalism Summer Program. But there are many things out there, so just explore and find out whats right for you.</p>

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<p>I am going to echo this. </p>

<p>Debate can really create a giant bullet list. Attend several Model Congresses, differentiate yourself among committees and try to receive a Distinguished Speaker Award (given to the best speaker in a committee). It’ll be great to list them. </p>

<p>And try to land yourself in some of the big debate forums (posted on the Yale thread). Those will definitely help. </p>

<p>The key to Ivies: National and prestige awards.</p>