Feeling unexceptional... what should I do?

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm not posting this thread to brag about my numbers; I'm posting this thread because I'm really frustrated with this whole scoping-out-colleges process. I mean, yes, I do want reassurance, but I'm really not looking for ego stroking right now. </p>

<p>All I ever hear in college discussions -- and see on college forums -- is "Hey, yeah, good scores and grades are great, but colleges want more. They want you to really stand out as a person. Tons of top colleges frequently turn down students with perfect SAT scores because they just don't bring anything new to the table!"</p>

<p>Well, yeah, that's reassuring... to everyone EXCEPT for those students. -___-</p>

<p>Okay, here's me: I'm a junior right now with an unweighted 4.0 (weighted freshman year was 4.64, sophomore year 4.78, and this year should be 4.78 or 4.93 depending on whether or not 'Art 2 GT' is weighted. Next year will probably be ~4.93.) So far I've gotten a 4 (Government) and a 5 (Computer Science A) on my AP tests, and I'm taking four more this year and five or six next year. I got a 234 on the PSAT last year, but that didn't count for anything; my school administers it sophomore year as a practice and junior year as the NMSQT, and I'll receive this year's scores in January. </p>

<p>I took the SAT last month just to see where I stood and ended up with a 2390 (Critical Reading 800, Math 800, Writing 790 because I got a 9 on the essay... not that I had any idea what they were looking for in the essay anyways, since I didn't prepare at all. :/) </p>

<p>I am and have been involved in extracurriculars in which I'm interested: Math Team (grades 10+), Art Club (10+), National Art Honors Society (11+), French Honors Society (11+), National Honors Society (11+), Literary Magazine (9 & 10), Photography Club (9 & 10), Debate Team (11+ but I haven't done anything yet), Model United Nations (11+ but I haven't done anything yet.) </p>

<p>Now, that all sounds well and good, especially since I mentioned that I'm in these extracurriculars because they're things that I enjoy. But on paper, people like me are a dime a dozen. I'm a white female (from a very affluent county) with high SAT scores, a 4.0 and difficult course schedule, and a pile of extracurriculars. </p>

<p>And I'm not just unoutstanding on paper -- I'm the first to admit that (standardized test-taking skills aside) I'm pretty damn mediocre as a person. There's nothing EXCEPTIONAL about me -- or, rather, I've never DONE anything outstanding. </p>

<p>Now, I guess that's my fault. For the past few years, I COULD have been out there doing advanced research and curing cancer and saving underprivileged people's lives in my spare time. But you know what? I don't live my life in order to look good for colleges. I'm a teenager, and I'm trying to enjoy life. I'm sixteen right now; I spend my weekends hanging out with my friends and doing homework. </p>

<p>The thing is, now I'm starting that process of looking at colleges, and it seems like all of them are either beneath me (not in prestige, but in selectivity -- I feel like if I go to a school that isn't very selective, all of my hard work in maintaining a 4.0 will have been for nothing) or too good for me (they'll look at my application and their eyes will glaze over, as nothing sets me apart from the millions of other high-achieving students of the nation.) </p>

<p>So what should I do? Should I settle for a school that'll be like "oh, nice numbers; you're in"? Or should I try to set myself apart? </p>

<p>I've got a year. Suggestions are welcome.</p>

2

<p>I don't think it's so much about being exceptional, as it is about being special. You're just supposed to be interesting. As a person you sound fun and normal and I'm sure that will come across in your essays and recs. The fact that you have a perfect record while still being cool and sociable is pretty special if you ask me. I wouldn't worry about it. As long as you come across as a good person who learns for the sake of learning and not for Harvard's college application is pretty exceptional these days. ;-)</p>

3

<p>Thank you mucho; it's really reassuring to hear my most positive thoughts from an objective viewer. :] </p>

<p>Oh, and I forgot to talk about the essay. Hmm... see, the way I see it, the essay WILL probably be the deciding factor. I just don't consider myself an interesting enough person to write an interesting essay... you know what I mean? So we can add 'uninteresting' to the list of flattering words I've used to describe myself... hahaha. </p>

<p>And I mean, I've had a firm grasp of the English language since I was, like, six... but college essays are so polished nowadays that even my GRAMMATICAL PROWESS (capitalized to sound badass) won't come across too strong. So I feel the same way about the essay as I do about my numbers: I'll just look like everyone else. </p>

<p>Maybe something interesting or life-changing will happen in the next year or so, and I can write about that... <em>shrugs</em></p>

4

<p>you have the grades and SAT scores, so dont worry about that, just worry about standing out now. What are your hobbies? what do you do? if you find that you just sit at home all the time then get out there and take up something that is quirky and out there - try cooking or rock climbing, surfing, swimming, mud wrestling, underwater basketweaving for all it matters - just do something! that way when your college apps come about, you'll have something you've done for a least a year that you're really passionate about.
Colleges want quirky people that do things that are cool but also really exciting and fulfiling.</p>

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<p>That's exactly what I'm thinking. I guess my problem is that I haven't found my quirky niche yet, and I can't think of one. </p>

<p>I really enjoy art, though, so maybe I can do more of that in my spare time... and maybe enter competitions and stuff? Hmm...</p>

<p>I also enjoy death metal and try to catch as many shows as possible, but I don't think I can work that into a positive character trait in college apps. xD</p>

6

<p>Poseur- Your posts read well and seem genuine. You sound interesting and unique. I would say don't worry about it. Yeah, maybe pursue the art a little bit more, maybe even prepare a portfolio to send in as supplementary material- it'll give you something to do while your classmates are cramming for the SATs :-). You are a safe bet for the best colleges, I.M.O.</p>

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<p>I don't get this whole high school research thing, there is no way that any high school student can do meaningful science research, they just do not know enough of a basis in science, and I have no idea where they would find the facitlities. You will get in somewhere amazing, maybe not HYP, but somewhere amazing none the less.</p>

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<p>Vicariousparent: Thank you! I hope that I can show that I have personality through my essays and what not. I've got a whole year to think of something interesting to say. </p>

<p>And I enjoy your posts, too; you're always extremely helpful and/or have a smartass comment. You're like the forum's surrogate parent... whoa, thought of that all by myself!</p>

<p>BigEast55: Haha, I wonder the same thing. And I've seen "math research" on these forums, too. What, are these kids spending third period proving unproven theorems or something? >__> </p>

<p>Actually, though, I think that someone in my school once developed a really quick and effective way to diagnose a disease through a mentorship program -- not independent research, but still, it happens. (Then, they were denied credit for their invention because it was through a mentor. Sucks! <em>shrugs</em>)</p>

<p>But I digress! Thank you for your vote of confidence. I'm starting to chill out a little as I realize that I don't have to be some kind of crazy superstar at the age of sixteen to (a) get a great education and (b) go on to (hopefully) do something worthwhile. I just get kind of overwhelmed sometimes and wish that I was one of those people who have already accomplished something. Rrrgh. Spending my life lurking on collegeconfidential can really help to put things in perspective, but at the same time it can totally SCREW UP my perspective. xD</p>

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<p>Thx for the compliments Poseur! </p>

<p>BigEast55, some of the specialized (e.g. magnet) high schools have programs where students can spend one afternoon a week working in a research lab in a nearby university. The students rarely actually acheive anything but sometimes they get their name into published research articles. The more motivated students also work in the summer and get some more done. Mainly it shows the colleges that the student is really interested in science. A supplementary letter of recommendation on university letterhead from the research mentor also carries some weight.</p>

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<p>OP - my daughter, currently a senior, is in a somewhat similar situation. She has always done activities that she enjoyed, adamantly refusing to add or change anything for the sake of how it will appear to college admissions or anyone else.</p>

<p>She's applied to a number of highly selective schools, and what we believe to be 2 safeties. By the numbers, she's qualified for any school (ie, 2380 from one-sitting, 2360/sat ii's, ncte, 4.0 without weighting, top 2% of highly competitive high school, 5's on all ap's, etc etc)</p>

<p>I do agree however, that for kids like you and her, the essay is very important. But I think an excellent essay can be written about your interest in death metal (altho I'm not sure what that is!) - or anything else. </p>

<p>I recommend you read the book by Harold Bauld, On Writing the College Application Essay: The Key to Acceptance and the College of your Choice </p>

<p>or other similar books.... my daughter didn't, wrote several pedestrian, well-written-but-boring essays (based on what she thought she was expected to do). Then she read the book, and re-found her voice, and wrote something much more in keeping with who she is.</p>

<p>She doesn't have any regrets of how she's spent her time. She has every confidence that she'll be accepted somewhere, and will make a very good life for herself there, just as she has made everywhere else. </p>

<p>And you'll do the same.</p>

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<p>I just wanted to address the research question, though that wasn't the point of this thread. Yes, a lot of HS research isn't really significant, and is based more on available facilities and mentors and the like than anything the kid brings to the table. But, especially in math (incidentally the field I'm most familiar with), you can do research as a HS student, even one who's not super advanced in math, if the interest is there. Yes, essentially, you do "spend 3rd period proving new theorems." Except in a few way-out-there cases, it's not "meaningful" in the sense that it'll be a significant contribution to any field, but it can certainly be a "meaningful" experience for the kid to play around with something that's unsolved--even the harder contest, Olympiad etc. problems have solutions, usually not very long ones. US math competitions, especially, often rely on speed, even when they do require ingenuity and what the pedagogy people might call "creative problem solving."</p>

<p>Anyway, you sound like a great person. You seem articulate, interested in learning, mature, and not at all like a grind or someone who's fallen into the typical CC college-focused mindset. Kudos to you. I feel like I'm in a bit of a similar situation, being by no fault of my own one of those perfect-test-scores high-grades people while preferring "real" learning and doing what I like over collecting awards and titles. Hopefully colleges will see that, and maybe it'll be refreshing for them. In the unlikely event that that doesn't happen, so what? Life goes on, you'll still be able to get a fine education even at one of those gosh-darn terrible state schools , and you'll be happier for not having wasted your time obsessing over something relatively unimportant or sacrificing your own personality and voice to it. Keep it up, kid.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
There's nothing EXCEPTIONAL about me -- or, rather, I've never DONE anything outstanding. Now, I guess that's my fault. For the past few years, I COULD have been out there doing advanced research and curing cancer and saving underprivileged people's lives in my spare time.

[/quote]
Nice use of sarcasm to make it sound like its ridiculous to expect an ordinary HS kid to have done anything exceptional to stand out ;)</p>

<p>You're obviously a bright woman, given your grades and scores. But the top colleges are deluged with apps from bright kids. It can be hard to really grasp how many other bright kids there are out there, because you probably really stand out at your HS. But there are thousands and thousands of other HS's out there, and each has a couple of really bright kids. Across the entire country, which is where the most selective colleges draw from, there are far more smart kids than they have places for. So the most selective colleges look at not just scores but essays, recs, and ECs to winnow it down.</p>

<p>And your ECs are mediocre. As far as I can tell, you've just joined some clubs. No leadership positions. No taking part in citywide, regional, or state contests. No significant awards. No activities that you can say you initiated or organized. In other words, you just took part in what was provided without showing any particular passion or achievement. Now this is fine for your personal enjoyment; you've taken part in clubs and activities you find interesting and hopefully have had some rewarding experiences. But the selective colleges are looking for something more than just member of this and that. As Stanford says in its FAQ
[quote]
In addition to academic excellence and intellectual vitality, we are interested in students who have made significant contributions to the life of their school or community. We do not favor one type of activity over another; nor is it necessary to participate in a large number of activities. An exceptional experience in one or two activities demonstrates your passion more than minimal participation in five or six clubs. We want to see the impact your participation has had on that club, in your school, or in the larger community. With extracurricular activities, a sustained depth of commitment is more important than a long list of clubs you have joined.

[/quote]
So what could you have done to stand out without having to cure cancer or eliminate poverty? Really its up to your imagination. Let me just throw out a few examples off the top of my head. You have an interest in Art from the clubs you've listed. So rather that just join a club you could aim for achievement, for leadership, or on outreach. You could enter art you've made in contests and perhaps win awards. You could use your art talent to get a part-time job or internship using your skills in advertising or some other commercial area employing artists, perhaps also getting awards or other recognition for your work. You could organize a student art show at your HS, or perhaps arrange a showing of student art at a local mall or public place. You could organize fund raisers to buy art supplies for your HS. You could organize an art contest at your HS or in your community. You could set up lunches where local artists (plentiful I'd bet in your "very affluent county") talk to kids in the art club about their work or careers in art. You could volunteer to teach an after-school art program for younger kids since the arts have been cut back so much, even in many affluent areas. </p>

<p>These are just a few ideas I came up with in 2 or 3 minutes, and in just one area you've shown an interest. Imagine the difference in your app between writing "member Art Club (10+), National Art Honors Society (11+)" and "I set up an after-school program at the FancyTown community center to teach beginning drawing to middle-schoolers, recruiting fellow students to help me teach the course. At the end of the school year we held a drawing contest and the winning entries were featured in an exhibit at the public library. I received the Mayor's <code>FancyTown Teenager of the Year</code> award for my work in bringing arts to the community".</p>

<p>The point is the most selective colleges are looking for kids who do more than just join the clubs at school, but go that extra mile to achieve or create something.</p>

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<p>IMHO the whole admissions process at the elite colleges is geared towards discriminating the "genuine intellectual scholar with real passion(s)" from the "fake, award collecting, grade grubbing non-scholar whose only passion is to get into an ivy". </p>

<p>Hopefully the process succeeds more often than it fails.</p>

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<p>I like many of the suggestions you have been given. I also think that doing a good college search will aid you as well. Often, students here on CC apply to "all the ivys" without giving any thought to how those schools are very different from each other. Look closely at schools that are highly regarded but may not be quite as prestigious as the Ivy League schools. Look for schools that offer what you are looking for and for whom you seem a good fit. If you go into your college search with the idea that those schools are beneath you, then you will be eliminating quite a few excellent schools before you even start. Open up your mind a bit to the kinds of schools you look at. Look at schools outside of your geographic area. </p>

<p>My youngest son had stats similar to yours. His main ECs were in theater and music. He never had time for community service. He was in a play every semester and played 2 instruments. Those activities and school pretty much ate up all his time. As a senior, he was principal player on his instrument in our local youth symphony and he won an honorable mention for composing in a local event. Other than NMF, that was pretty much the extent of awards and leadership. He applied to 4 schools - Swarthmore, Oberlin, Middlebury and Univ. of Rochester. He was waitlisted at Swat and admitted to the other 3. He got substantial merit awards from Oberlin and UR. He was not interested in any of the Ivy's for a variety of reasons. He is a very happy sophmore at Oberlin now. You will likely be admitted to some excellent schools if you make good choices in where you choose to apply.</p>

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<p>@ mtpaper: Thanks for the suggestion; I'll definitely check out that book. I think that the essay-writing process will be really fun, once I think of ideas, since I do enjoy writing. </p>

<p>@ bagpiper: Hmm, thanks for shedding some light on the research thing. I'll look into that for my senior year (my school offers Independent Research as a class); although I'm not sure if I'm capable of it, it would be cool to do something self-motivated as opposed to most classes in the highly-structured high school environment. And it's great to hear from someone in a similar situation -- I'm sure that you'll do amazingly. :]</p>

<p>@ mikemac: I think that you misunderstood the tone of my post, as I am in complete agreement with you. I know that there are tons of people with good numbers out there, and that what sets some apart from the rest is the extra motivation to do something different. That's what's gotten me so anxious, lately -- the thought that I haven't done anything. And you're right; the curing cancer comment was low. ;] I was just trying to reflect how hopeless I feel about it all... it seems like I almost have to cure cancer to stand out! </p>

<p>Thank you for your suggestions. I really like the idea of pursuing something artistic outside of school. One thing, though, is that the clubs in which I'm involved do do things. Right now, for example, Art Club is painting a colorful mural for a modestly-decorated local preschool. And I'm going to be doing tons of service through National Honor Society as well as the Art NHS and French NHS. (I was inducted into all of these this year, which is why I haven't done much yet.) It's just that instead of contributing things to society as an individual, I'm just playing a small part in bigger things. I consider these things worthwhile and enjoy spending my time on them, but I feel like I should distinguish myself individually. </p>

<p>Now, I'm faced with a conflict -- I don't want to become one of those "fake, award collecting, grade grubbing non-scholars"... lol. So I kind of feel like I should try to accomplish things for myself rather than just to look good to colleges. This is why art seems like an appealing option -- I can do something that I enjoy and achieve things. I'm going to look into art contests and stuff. Maybe writing ones, too, since I like writing. Hmm...</p>

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<p>(Sorry for double-post!)</p>

<p>Shennie: Very true... the search and selection process is going to be the most important thing. The thing is, I have <em>no idea</em> what I'm looking for in a college. I have a vague idea that I MIGHT want to do neuroscience as a major (cognitive neuropsychology fascinates me), but I'm wayyy too indecisive to know for sure. My major fields of interest range from computer science to art to writing to neuroscience to philosophy... I'm kind of all over the spectrum. </p>

<p>But if I start making decisions not only as to what kind of college I want to attend but also as to what kind of path I want to take overall, it will be a lot easier to know what I'm looking for and thus what these colleges will look for in me. Grrr. I'm waiting for my true calling to just COME to me one day. xD</p>

<p>Oh, and your son sounds very accomplished from the information you gave. Even just looking at that post, I can tell that he has that passion that colleges admire. Looking at MY resume, colleges will just see a pile of assorted extracurriculars. Bleh. Hopefully, in my applications, I'll be able to elaborate and demonstrate exactly what I do in each of these clubs and what I get out of them.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
BigEast55 writes: I don't get this whole high school research thing, there is no way that any high school student can do meaningful science research, they just do not know enough of a basis in science, and I have no idea where they would find the facitlities.

[/quote]
You might find this recent article from a SF newspaper interesting.

[quote]
When Robert Ovadia got his invitation, he couldn't believe it.</p>

<p>He and four other students from his biotechnology class at Abraham Lincoln High School not only had an offer of paid summer lab jobs, they also would have a chance to square off against the world's powerhouse science universities. In their Sunset District classroom, biotech teacher George Cachianes told the seniors they could be part of a team that would compete at iGEM, the international Genetically Engineered Machine competition. Cachianes is proud that the opportunity is offered to the low-income and middle-class students who go to Lincoln. "It's a comprehensive, nonelitist, take-all-comers school," he said.</p>

<p>The invitation came from UCSF Professor Wendell Lim, whose lab explores how cells process information and send signals. Lim knew his teenage proteges would face fierce competition from college teams at Harvard, Princeton and dozens of other elite universities around the globe. Lim thought high school students might be a perfect fit for synthetic biology. In some ways, the very young could bring more to the maverick field than established biologists, he said. "The kids come up with these crazy ideas," he said.</p>

<p>(ed. they placed in the top 6) The high school team had scored higher than Harvard, MIT, Caltech, Princeton, the University of Cambridge in England and more than three dozen other universities. </p>

<p>Drew Endy, one of the iGEM co-founders and a 2007 judge, said the UCSF team "blew me away." Endy, an assistant professor of biological engineering at MIT, said other scientists have thought about creating an artificial organelle, but no one has done it. The UCSF team came up with a plausible tactic to make it work, and the students nailed their answers to the judges' questions, he said.</p>

<p>"They didn't make the final under some special exception for high school students," he said. "They made the finals on their own merits by going head to head with the best teams around the world."</p>

<p>Ovadia, a freshman at City College of San Francisco, wants other students to know they can do great things even if they don't go to the most prestigious schools. "Anyone with the want and dedication can do something like this," he said.</p>

<p>Excerpted from SF Chronicle, November 17, 2007

[/quote]
</p>

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<p>Poseur, one other thing I'd add given your angst about whether you'll be accepted into a very selective college. Rankings (and selectivity) aren't everything. As Shennie says, too many kids chase prestige and pay little attention to whether the college would be right for them. There is a book on college admissions I recommend highly, called "Admission Matters". It has a web page at Admission</a> Matters and you might find the free chapter excerpt there interesting.</p>

<p>Also, you've listed 9 clubs that you belong to. IMHO that's spreading yourself to thin if you try to take part in all of them. Take the advice from the Stanford FAQ and pick 1 or 2 that you can really devote yourself to. Personally I'd be wary of the NHS and the service committment. Colleges aren't looking for someone who's racked up lots of hours doing someone else's ideas. Volunteer work is always laudable, to be sure, but it would be better to have planned and led a few focused efforts that you really believe in rather than just spending lots of hours as a participant. Would probably mean more to you, too, irregardless of what any college thinks about it. Look for some of the posts by Northstarmom, a Harvard interviewer, to see more about what top colleges look for.</p>

<p>To throw out one more idea that came to me after your recent posts, why not start writing a column about the local art scene for a newpaper in your area? Combines two of your interests right there. Just don't become the next Blair Hornstine :)</p>

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<p>I do not disagree with the comments by mikemac or others about the need to focus on a few activities and stand out, win prizes, acheive something, etc etc.. This is all (probably) good advice given the ground realities of the admissions 'game'.</p>

<p>However, I think this case illustrates what I see as a big problem with the current emphasis on an applicant's acheivement rather than potential. </p>

<p>Here is a smart, scholarly 16 year old child who is also enjoying being a teenager, who is actually participating in and exploring a wide range of extracurricular activities. She is being told essentially to stop exploring and start showing some results in time to include them in college applications that will go out in one year. She is being advised that she better have found her passion YESTERDAY, or else she will be too late. Excuse me, but not everyone has found their passion at age 16, 26, or even 36. And furthermore, isn't college supposed to be a great time of exploration?</p>

<p>She is being told specifically that she should reject perfectly good EXISTING opportunities to do interesting things, and instead to go out and basically reinvent the wheel- perhaps start her own clubs instead of participating in existing clubs that provide plenty of outlet for her creative energies. This is why some schools have a proliferation of clubs (each with their own officers), all of which basically fold up when the founder gets into college. Because hey, why would anyone want to join someone else's club and be a follower rather than a leader? </p>

<p>If you were to survey truly successful individuals- for example today's nobel laureates- and ask them if they had already discovered their passions by age 16, I am willing to bet that most would say that they did not. And perhaps many of them wouldn't get into HYPMSC today. Which makes me wonder where tomorrow's nobel laureates will come from.</p>

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<p>I'm afraid I can't add much...because you remind me of myself. Very, very much. 2400 SAT, 4.0, but ECs that are nothing wonderful. White female from an upper-middle class area who spends her weekends going out with friends, catching up on some sleep, doing some schoolwork, and maybe going on a debate trip or two.</p>

<p>Frankly, I'm a senior and, well, its too late now for me. But you know what? I look back on high school and am genuinely happy with the way it went--even without research or saving the world. And maybe that'll come through in my apps, and yours too. And maybe not, but hey, if it doesn't...we enjoyed ourselves, and in the end, maybe that's more important.</p>

<p>By the way, PM me if you ever want to talk about being a "normal" smart person applying to the top colleges. I think we'd have a lot in common. Oh, and please excuse the horrible writing style; I can and normally do write much better than this.</p>