ECs for Ivies

Applying to College
1

<p>I am applying for IVY leagues and I was wondering if you guys can rank my EC from 1-10.</p>

<p>Leadership</p>

<p>Founder and Captain for Science Bowl
Founder and Captain for Science Decatholon
Founder and President for National Science Honors Society
President for Spanish Club
President for Math Honors Society
Captain for Math Team
Officer for Model UN
Officer for Music Honors Society
Officer for National Honors Society
Section Leader for Jazz Band</p>

<p>Awards</p>

<p>National Merit Semi-Finalist
AP Scholar with Distinction
Physics Student of the Year
Biology Student of the Year
Junior Math Student of the Year</p>

<p>Science Olympiad:
State Gold Medalist: Elevated Bridge
State Silver Medalist: Picture This
State Silver Medalist: Exp. Design
Regional Gold Medalist: Exp. Design
Regioanl Gold Medalist: Elevated Bridge
Regional Gold Medalist: Picture This
Regional Silver Medalist:Forensics
Regional Bronze Medalist: Exp. Design</p>

<p>Science Bowl:
3rd in the Regional
5th in the State</p>

<p>Math Team:
Three 1st places in the Regional
One 1st in the Local</p>

<p>Science&Engineering Fair:
1st in the Local
2nd in the County
5th in the State</p>

<p>Science Decatholon:
3rd in the Local
4th in the State</p>

<p>Work/Volunteering:</p>

<p>200+ Hours in Dental Institution
200+ In Nursing Home
100+ Tutor Trumpet
100+ Tutor Math
100+ SAT Tutor</p>

<p>Summers:</p>

<p>Senior Summer: Research with Profesor in local college for Siemen Competition and STS
Junior Summer: Internship in local college hospital & Tutor
Sophomore Summer: Internship in local college hospital & Tutor</p>

<p>I know I do not have many National Awards, but please be critical and tell me what I have to work on. THANKS!!</p>

2

<p>Your EC’s are a bit scattered but do show commitment and pattern in Science. Hopefully this is a field you intend to study more in school, yes? Play up these. Some of them are a bit ambiguous, such as “officer of…” or “student of the year”, what some call “fluff”, and should be eliminated. Only because you have a limited space to list your EC’s and those come across as titles as appose to awards. You need to promote yourself with only the best work, which can be found in your numerous Scientific awards. </p>

<p>I’m also a strong believer that unless you received a near perfect score on your SAT, or are only tutoring in a specific section where you performed exceptionally, don’t say that you are a tutor. As far as your work/volunteer section, it is a bit here-say and the “200+” or “100+” seem arbitrary UNLESS you can somehow specify the tutor sesh. and volunteer work in your resume. </p>

<p>Overall I give you an 8.5. You just need to focus it. It’s hard to get National Awards, the opportunity in itself is difficult if your school does not participate in nominating students. But don’t worry, colleges take that into consideration.</p>

3

<p>You poor child…what do you do for fun???</p>

4

<p>thank you so much Zooeyking for the evaluation. I got 2360 on my SAT btw.</p>

<p>keylyme- maybe you never tried science olympiad or decatholon or anyother clubs that I have participated in because I, yes, first decide to do these events for my college app. but then I probably had the best time in competitions, going against smart people around me. Playing video games are not just “fun” for me.</p>

5

<p>I am a parent and I just feel for kids who are so over the top obsessed with getting into an Ivy. I don’t see a lot of “regular kid” fun in your profile, that’s all. Not sure what you mean about video games; my kids don’t do that either.</p>

6

<p>ur mad regular for an ivy. do something fun, they like that. trust me.</p>

7

<p>regular meaning, okay? b/c i have good stats, so i just want my ec not to hurt me.</p>

8

<p>Just a nit here, but isn’t the official name “National Honor Society?” (Not “Honors”). I see many people write it the wrong way and it is painfully ironic.</p>

9

<p>I think by “mad regular” she means that you are not unique; applicants like you are basically a dime-a-dozen at these schools. Your resume looks too groome - like you tried to hard to be an Ivy candidate. Like I said, there needs to be a hint of regular kid in you. Ivies want real people, not automatons.</p>

10

<p>To echo what others have said:</p>

<p>I think the Ivy’s are going to want to know which of your many EC’s actually meant something to you. What are your passions (besides getting into an Ivy League school) If you can’t rank them in terms of importance, how can you expect the schools to?</p>

11

<p>edit, edit, edit</p>

<p>distill it to the highlights</p>

12

<p>never hurts to keep everything on there, just make sure to highlight key activities/interests in the essay. listing few ecs faces the challenge of proving you did something meaninful as well. so long as it isn’t too fluffy, you might get an acom that just happens to connect with a particular ec.</p>

<p>btw, keylyme, why is “regular kid” fun necessary? there are those who do enjoy academic competitions like the OP, no need to follow norms to enjoy yourself, especially since regular kid fun at college is often just getting drunk :P</p>

13

<p>It seems like a list of generic clubs. The problem here is that the admissions officers will see too many applications similar to yours. I’m sure you have some other extra curricular activities that you might think are irrelevant, but try to include those. </p>

<p>You’re obviously interested in science, but joining and starting clubs is very common among Ivy League applicants. Emphasize the research you did with the local professor and consider getting a letter of recommendation from him/her.</p>

14

<p>I just think the op doesn’t even seem to have any youth in him. There’s lot more to fun in college than getting drunk. His list just seems like he’s trying too hard - he needs to lighten up.</p>

15

<p>Average for mid tier ivies, nothing stand out for HYP.</p>

16

<p>College-goer,
The problem with your list of ECs is that it is just that–a list. For your list to be “judged” it needs to be fleshed out a lot more.</p>

<p>Unless the situation in your school is highly unusual, the list of clubs on your resume doesn’t mean a lot because the clubs don’t DO anything. Being in a club, or the president of a club, or even the founder of a club that doesn’t accomplish anything, doesn’t mean anything to the schools you want to consider you.</p>

<p>If you are considering applying to Ivies and other top schools, it’s a given that you are a strong student and are involved in the same sort of academic honor activities that all strong students are involved in. Realize that every school in the country has its top students, its academic honor clubs, etc. What sets you apart from every single one just like you is what the top schools are looking for.</p>

<p>As far as the academic teams you are on, does your attainment of the leadership position mean anything other than that you are a strong student or that the teacher chose you?</p>

<p>My experience as an interviewer for a Top 20 school has revealed that when I ask an applicant a question like “Gee, I see you are the president of the Spanish Club! Tell me about it…!” I usually get a gulp followed by, " Well, I’m the president and my friend Andy is the vice president." If I am lucky, the student might add" and we had a Latin dinner once." </p>

<p>In other words,
it doesn’t mean a lot. Same for the science teams. When I ask a student about what they do (other than study/compete) it turns out that the office doesn’t mean a lot–the teacher/advisor does all the legwork involved .</p>

<p>Top schools are looking for students with top impact. Top leadership with real results. As president of the science bowl team, did you start a science bowl team in the local middle school with underpriviled kids and mentor them in science and science related activities? Or did you tutor students in your own school who were having trouble passing the science portion of the state graduation exam?</p>

<p>As Spanish club president, did you set up language tables at lunch to practice language skills outside of class? Did you begin a book group to read popular contemporary books written in Spanish, to be discussed in Spanish? Did you do some outreach activity to a Latino community in your area that required you to use your language skills?</p>

<p>The top schools are looking for students who take things to the next level.</p>

17

<p>^boysx3 sums it up perfectly. :)</p>

<p>You have a long list of amazing accomplishments; now you just have to tie everything together, breath life into it, and provide a picture of yourself as a person who loves science/math and pursue these activity for genuine interest, not merely to impress an admission officer. When people see a laundry of awards and ECs with leadership roles, they may get the impression that you were just trying very hard to play the college admssion game.</p>

18

<p>Wow that is impressive. Instead of worrying about working in a soup kitchen u demonstrated ur intelligence by ur awards.</p>

19

<p>Thank you so much so these advices. Since I have one more year, I’ll try my best to take the extra step. I do have strong passion about my science olympiad team. Ever since I was in it (Freshman year), I was disappointed at my team’s results because I was the only one who got all the medals. Now since I am the team captain, I am bringing everyone together, and try to reach as far as we can; motivating them and mentoring them. Thanks for the tips.</p>

20

<p>College-goer, I’m glad you will take things to the next level! Good luck with your applications next year.</p>