<p>Heyyyy,
I have to admit, I have always loved Princeton. I have great grades, great SAT's, but unfortunately, to almost everyone I've asked, all have said my extracurriculars are nothing great...too mediocre for top-caliber schools. What do you guys think? is this too scattered of a list...far too mediocre for its own good?
so yes, rate my extracurriculars...and chances for hypsm, completely ignoring grades/SATs(they're okay, trust me) :)</p>
<p>-Local newspaper reporter since 9th grade...dozens of student-related articles published
I really focus on disadvantaged kids in the neighborhood...plus I've gotten two articles in national magazines in my country, as well as larger local newspapers. And I also interviewed Dr. Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and got that published in front page.
-Captain, academic decathlon...county champion, etc. I pretty much started this at my school...18 medals. Also individual state top-scorer.
-Captain, math team...local champ (AIME and the regulars). Also ARML, Stanford tournament, MME, and other what-nots. MU Alpha Theta awards (regional).
-Only student on the local city council's Human Relations Commission, chosen out of over 4000 students. I organized a variety of contests for elementary school students.
-President of school's race-relations committee/climate committee
-CSF, Honor Society
-Science Research in Chemistry (I have two regional medals, one prestigious state medal (California State Science Fair), Intel Scholar, regional science awards. One of my research was on nanoparticles, and I found a unique property regarding them that I am submitting to a research journal...in process of publishing. Very interested in chemistry. UNSCO qualifer. I want to major in chemistry, too.
-science olympiad co-president (many awards)
-Volunteer for local hospital
-varsity golf -classical dance/singing (solo performances in my country)
-founder of an elementary school math club for students in my city (100 students so far)</p>
<p>Those are fine. If anything, your list even looks a little padded. Nothing really jumps out at me as something which you really loved and spent a lot of time on, hopefully you describe it better on apps.</p>
<p>Without knowing your stats, I can’t chance you. You’re not going to get in on your EC’s alone, but you also won’t be denied because of them.</p>
<p>No, this isn’t the greatest list. Think about the hours per week you put into everything. A lot of what you listed are more awards and less commitments. I had about 21hr/week in aggregate ECs which was probably average or even low for Stanford. Try to quantify your EC commitments in terms of hours per week and weeks per year.</p>
<p>i actually do spend a lot of time on each of these…probably 10 hrs.a week on research, 8 hours acadec, and a LOT of time as student member in city council. I didn’t write out hours 'cuz I’m too lazy. But I can say I’m pretty dedicated to all of them, 'cept maybe dance and music.</p>
<p>i have to admit…i made this thread 'cuz I’ve been a little insecure since my RSI rejection. I had top-notch stats, but was clearly rejected because i didn’t do anything national. oh well. just ranting…</p>
<p>no…i am definitely not trying to brag. i’ve seen kids in cc who are just…outstanding. comparatively, i only think i’ve got a mediocre shot (i’m not a concert pianist, that great an athlete, USAMO qualifier, or have any published science articles). worst of all, i am from california (not the competitive area tho), so apparently, i’m screwed.</p>
<p>to dashboard: First of all, do we really know how many of these people on this website are actually telling the truth about their EC’s and other accomplishments? It’s quite possible that they’re stretching the truth (I’m NOT saying everyone is, I’m just saying some people might be).
Also, this is only a small portion of those applying to college, and colleges realize that not everyone is a piano prodigy or math genius. Your EC’s are really great, by normal driven people’s standards. Don’t feel bad because some obsessive people who are just trying to pad their resumes/don’t like half the activities they’re in seem like they have “outstanding” EC’s. Good luck!</p>