Evaluate on my extracurriculars - aiming for HYPSMC

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi, this is my first thread on CC :)</p>

<p>I am currently aiming for top-prestige schools like MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Princeton</p>

<p>and my number one choice is MIT, since I'm thinking of majoring in Computer Engineering. My greatest goal is to join in the MIT class of 2012...</p>

<p>I will not put up the full list of all the activities I did because it will contain too much items, including insignificant ones.</p>

<p>These are the main stuff that I am planning to write on the application form.</p>

<p><the 7="" items="" for="" the="" extracurricular="" section=""></the></p>

<p>Inventing, for 3 yrs, holds five patents</p>

<p>Varsity Tennis, 3 yrs, several awards + being captain for 2yrs</p>

<p>Robotics Team, 2yrs, Founder / Captain / award in Robotics Olympiad</p>

<p>Student Government, 1yr, The Treasurer</p>

<p>Filmography activities, 3yrs, Co-founder and vice-chief of the school film making club / the vice chief of the school broadcasting departmnet, few awards</p>

<p>Computer Science Team , 2 yrs , a prize in the Informatics Olympiad (not IOI, the international competetion. I'm not good enuff for that)</p>

<p>Volunteering for asian workers, 3yrs, I'm also going to write about how I made personal relationship with one of the asian kids, wrote letters to him for 2 yrs, and that I took him on a travel during the summer to his home country Malaysia to show him his ethnicity and roots. I'm going to wirte this on 'How did you spend your last summer?' </p>

<p><working experience="" section="">
- Assistant at a Computer Graphics lab
- Korean-english translation job on Science books.
- Was a physics mentor in a program for middle-school gifted and talented kids.</working></p>

<p><research and="" programs="" section="">
- My top interest is computer science and physics, so I did a research on a physically modeled computer graphics. I also made a game program based on my individual research.
- Went to the SAAST summer program held in UPenn in the computer graphics field.
- Took lessons on number theory, multivariable calculus, and intermediate mechanics on EPGY online teaching program. These were university-level courses and is closely related to my major.</research></p>

<p>These are my extracurriculars that I did so far and will do until the applications for the class of 2012 comes up.</p>

<p>I would be very thankful for comments on what efforts and changes i should put in.</p>

<p>Again, I'm going to apply for most highly selective schools so I should be careful on making my plans for the extracurriculars..</p>

2

<p>
[quote]
I am currently aiming for top-prestige schools like MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Princeton

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Why?</p>

<p>
[quote]
and my number one choice is MIT, since I'm thinking of majoring in Computer Engineering. My greatest goal is to join in the MIT class of 2012...

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Prestige doesn't mean Jack! Have you ever heard of Carnegie Mellon. It's regarded to be amazing for Computer Science.</p>

<p>MIT and Caltech, Stanford and Caltech are on opposite sides of the spectrum.</p>

<p>Learn more about these colleges before applying?</p>

<p>BTW, The inventing thing will look great on your application.</p>

3

<p>dude yeah mit is my top choice and my ecs look shoddy next to urs. i'm assuming u have good class rank, test scores. personally i wud go to mit, i dropped caltech from my list a while back, it is kind of weird out there and 2 small</p>

4

<p>BoredTeenager:</p>

<p>They're on different sides of the spectrum for everything except one factor: excellent academics. It's not shallow or prestige-whoring of a person to pick the places that have the best reputation for excellence in his or her field. </p>

<p>That said, Carnegie Mellon really should be on that list.</p>

<p>As for the ECs themselves, they're excellent, especially the inventing one. Try to capitalize as much as possible on them/it.</p>

5

<p>1of42, Their approaches to "Excellent Academics" is very different too.</p>

<p>Caltech is theoretical while MIT is more practical.</p>

<p>The poster has clarified that he/she is aiming for prestige.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I am currently aiming for top-prestige schools like MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Princeton

[/quote]
</p>

<p>If they said something like "I am currently aiming for schools with excellent academics like....", then I would've agreed with you.</p>

6

<p>Your ECs do not stand out in the pool for these schools. You will compete against kids who went to RSI, who wone AIME and other math competitions, Intel winners and internationals who blow most of us away with national math/science awards in Asia. As a Korean things are really hard competition wise.</p>

<p>That said if you're 1/1390 and from Kansas, you have a reasonable chance.</p>

7

<p>are you kidding? he freaking holds 5 patents!</p>

8

<p>Um....so ?</p>

9

<p>suze, internationals wont affect your chance at all. they are placed in separate pools, a much much much much more selective and competitive one, and there's a quota.
so feel lucky not to be an international student :)</p>

10

<p>I could patent a screw tomorrow, no big deal. If he has 5 patents that are in use for tech prodcts making millions/yr, colleges will be impressed.</p>

<p>Doesn't matter if he's intnl. He is an ORM competing with Asians from Asia and from the US. There is a % of Asians at each school that somehow varies little each year.</p>

11

<p>dioes colleges compare asian americans to asians? that's so unfair.</p>

12

<p>lol.....................the world isn't fair. People should try not to post answers when they really don't know all the info yet.</p>

13

<p>wow, 5 patents? I think you met the criteria for ECs hahahaha. Also varsity for 3 years and captain 2, that means u were captain as a sophomore? Damn, that's nice.</p>

14

<p>I like your idea for the "This is what I did last summer" essay. I think people on these board are often so wrapped up in making themselves look amazing EC and stat-wise that they forget that they need to be human too.</p>

15

<p>Suze...your credibility is slipping. These RSI kids, that's only 70. 70. That's nothing in this pool. And most of these overlap with the "AIME winners" (you do know you don't WIN the AIME, you advance to the USAMO). The guys ECs will be far superior to nearly everyone else in the MIT pool. You can't just "patent a screw". The guy holds 5 patents, that's good enough for Caltech. Now I won't say anything on your chances, I don't know your SAT/GPA. However, I can say safely you are an extremely intelligent individual. You have extremely competitive ECs despite what anyone else will tell you. If you have a 2100+ SAT and a 10% or better class rank, you look extremely competitve. Exemplary work, and keep it up!</p>

16

<p>Suze- "He is an ORM competing with Asians from Asia and from the US. There is a % of Asians at each school that somehow varies little each year."
No he isn't. Assuming he's from the U.S. he's competing with American Asians. Notice that financial aid doesn't affect your decision if you are a permanent resident/citizen of America, however it does if you're international. So, I think it would be safe to say internationals are in their own separate pool.</p>

<p>*Oh yeah, Suze, I forgot to add this, I don't mean to offend you personally. It's just that some of your posts are well, unfounded and down right detrimental at times. This guy has more than a "reasonable chance" even without a "1/1390 in Kansas" at HYPSMC. He is an inspiration, believe it or not and assuming he has the requisite stats (2100+,10%) I will bet he'll get into at least 3 of these schools. And I strongly believe more people will side with me on this one.</p>

17

<p>Fred, no offense taken, but here's the thing: there is a quota for Asians and it is made up of Asian Americans and intnls. So the pools compete. If there are amazing Asian intnls applying this year, they'll take those and fewer Asian Americans. That's just fact. And several top schools are need blind to intnls.</p>

<p>Fred, do tell, what misinformation can you name?</p>

18

<p>There is no quota for any race, suze. If you mean in the looser and more figurative sense of a pseudo-target in order to maintain diversity, then maybe. But saying there's a quota is throwing your credibility out the window. Also, you can't "patent a screw" - there are certain criteria for originality and other things that have to be met to patent something.</p>

19

<p>OK how about ending the discussion about the international pool right here. </p>

<p>This thread is about helping an applicant on his EC's.. not about whether internationals have worse chance or not.</p>

<p>and about the AIME winning stuff..</p>

<p>yes I had qualified for the AIME yet I can't advance to the next exam USAMO becuz I dont have a citizenship (USAMO requires a citizenship, and yes, I am an international)</p>

20

<p>there's no "official/public announced" quota for asians.
And, when I visited MIT, the officer told me international student are in their own pool. the quota is 8%, there are no quota for each country. But usually it's more likely they wont fill up too many people from the same country.
I'm sure the "asians against asian americans" is not a public policy, but maybe in reality they do somewhat compare. But at least there's no such formal rule. (just like there are no formal racial quota) </p>

<p>oh, btw, for the info, international students at MIT are need blind. just that they are still in their own pool.</p>