<p>I go to a religious school. This has a positive and negative implication for college. The positive is that i have a strong work ethic because I have an extremely long day. My day goes from 7:40am to 9:45 at night...all mandatory.</p>
<p>The negative side is that because were a religios school, emphasis is placed on religious studies and not secular studies. Therefore, although i have a 99.3 avg through the end of my junior year (current), I have an extremely easy work load. My school only has secular studies from 3:00 to 6:30. Furthermore, my school only offers one AP throughout high school, which I couldn't even take do to a scheduling problem.</p>
<p>Furthermore, because I spend 14 hours a day in school, I have no extracuricular activities, nor have I ever volunteered.</p>
<p>Basically, I would like to know if my easy courseload, no AP's, and no EC, can be overshadowed by my 14 hour day; 4.0 GPA; and my test scores which include a 99.5 NYS Regents average; and a 770 on reading, 710 Math, 720 Writing, and an 11 on my essay on the SAT which I took this past May. It was my first time taking it, and Math is always my strongest subject so im confident that I can get an 800 on Math the next time I take it. I also plan on taking the Math 1, USH, and Bio Subject tests, which I feel I can get a 750+ in. </p>
<p>Can someone please tell me my chances at:
Columbia
Harvard
U of Penn
MIT
Princeton</p>
<p>I’m sorry but no athletics, EC or volunteer work is really going to hurt you…and they will see that your course work was really easy. Don’t you have weekends off or anything? And your SATs are great but not neccessarily Harvard-great. But who knows you have a very, very, very SLIGHT chance if you can stress the kind of school you go too. 9:45? Does that include study hall? I guess you wouldnt need study hall to do homework if all the classes were easy though</p>
<p>Hmmm… yours is definitely an interesting case for admissions, because while highly selective colleges do appreciate a strong work ethic and intellectual vitality (both of which you STRONGLY show in your HS record), they also like to diversify their classes with students passionate in a variety of ECs or extremely talented/successful in an activity such as a sport, instrument, community service, etc. On the other hand, colleges also look for religious diversity and since your high school experience is relatively unique, it could also be seen as a positive.</p>
<p>To be fair, all the schools you’re looking into are complete crapshoots with regards to admissions, and I would be rather surprised if you were accepted to more than 1 or 2 of the schools you listed. The majority of prospective students at these schools also display very strong work ethics, test scores, and academic records while also excelling in dance, acting, soccer, etc. Have you done anything non-academic during your summers, maybe, such as community service projects, a part-time job, internship, etc.? Those would definitely count as ECs, as would any activities you participate in on the weekends. Just try to flesh out what you’ve done and write KILLER essays to show the adcoms you aren’t just a bookworm despite your 14 hour workday (which, by the way, is absolutely ridiculous). Good luck!</p>
<p>^^ I’d be suprised if you got into any of the schools you listed. No EC’s at all? I’m sure you could have done SOMETHING on the weekends. Unless your school sends a lot of grads to top colleges and it has a reputation among them, I’d be suprised if you got into the schools listed when leaving the EC’s section of the app blank.</p>
<p>I was an assistant to the cook this past summer. I cooked lunch and supper for over 300 people. Does that help?</p>
<p>In addition, I want to go Pre-Med. My dad is a doctor, and he did his internship at a top hospital. He still has connections and thinks he can get me in there to help on a research paper…would that really help my chances?</p>
<p>Lastly, NO, the time till 9:45 is not time for homework. We have to do that when we get home after that. That is time for regular religious classes.</p>
<p>OK about the EC. I really dont have time…my school grills us. Not only that, but i have school on Sundays from 7:45 to 3:00, and have to come in once a month on Saturday for 4 hours, too.</p>
<p>Im not even sure what’s considered EC. My school has no organized sports teams. However, I do enjoy playing basketball, hockey, and tennis, and try to play whenever i have time. Does that count for anything?</p>
<p>About music, i did play piano and guitar for 3 years when i was younger. Can i write that on my applicatiom eventhough i haven’t played in like 9 years?</p>
<p>Do any of my awards help?- I did get Valedictorian in Elementary School, and I am pretty sure I am going to get it in High Scool. Im also almost a shoo in for Yearbook Editor next year. As of now im also a National Merit Scholarship Honeree…they haven’t decided the semi-finalist yet.</p>
<p>I also always organize the class trips and weekend retreats for my class. I organize Bar-B-que’s and sports games too…do any of these things count?</p>
<p>Valedictorian in elementary school won’t help you i dont think lol. high school only
What about the other 3 saturdays of the month, and on sundays? You couldve done something. And as another poster said the summer is completely free too.</p>
<p>and no, unless your on the team, playing basketball hockey and tennis on the side a little isn’t anything. definitely see if your dad can hook you up with that research thing. going premed is more selective then other majors btw. i seriously doubt you don’t have time for ec/volunteering. summers and weekends are more than enough. you should find a way</p>
<p>Although the other posters are right that you probably could have managed some ECs in your 6 spare days a month, you probably needed those days to either wind down or work on loads of homework that you presumably were given. Your truly unique situation could act against you in the ways described, but if you write some really thought-provoking, interesting essays about it, it could really make you stand out and help your chances of admission. For Harvard and Columbia, I’m sorry to say, having no ECs will likely get you thrown out of the admissions pool (though it’s still worth a shot). At Penn, however, valedictorians are accepted at around 45%, and given your unique situation, you probably have an excellent chance of being admitted. I’m really curious how everything works out. Good Luck!</p>
<p>um sirensong, I only have 3 free days a month…I have school EVERY Sunday, and 1/4 Saturdays. And EC’s on Saturday isn’t an option for me because in religious (Orthodox-Jewish), and i observe Sabbath. I really don’t know what to do…does anyone have any advice to improve my situation?</p>
<p>Forgot that you couldn’t do anything on Saturday, so that gives you 1.5 free days a month…can’t really blame you for lack of ECs…(except maybe over the summer)</p>
<p>that is why kids shouldn’t go to religious / private schools. It is unrealistic how kids can be put through so much time jsut being at school. No EC’s? means not Ivy league. Of course the schools will consider the context of which you are in, but STILL. All they see is a kid who has NO AP’s, scores not that great on the SAT, and has no EC?!?!!?</p>
<p>I’m sorry dude, I doubt the Harvard, Columbia or Penn will accept, but who knows go for them if u want.</p>
<p>Your school makes it impossible to have ECs so it seems hard to have that held against you. Obviously you’ll need to point these facts out on your application. That said:</p>
<p>Has your school ever sent a student to any of the schools on your list? If so, how does your profile match up vs theirs?</p>
<p>How long has your school been around? Would Ivies/elite adcoms know about the type of curriculum/rigor that’s involved at your school? </p>
<p>Doesn’t the school itself do any outreach type of work that could be viewed as community service? Tutoring, food gathering, etc.</p>
<p>Your background is unique, maybe unique enough to catch the eye of an adcom. A longshot but you never know; you need to get your story out, I think interviews will be a big help for your situation.</p>
<p>I find it ironic that what was meant to be a holistic process has turned into a very mechanical situation for the OP, since apparently having no ECs will kill his chances.</p>
<p>I doubt that is the case. Colleges will look at your unique situation and consider all of the facts. If you truly have no time to devote to ECs then they will be willing to overlook that, similar to the way that they will somewhat overlook a students low scores if their scores were remarkable compared to the rest of their school’s, suggesting that the applicant has made the most OUT OF THEIR SITUATION.</p>
<p>I am more optimistic in your chances at top schools than most.</p>
<p>You certainly shouldn’t count on getting in to the schools you mentioned, and if I were a betting person, knowing only what you wrote in this thread, I would bet against it. No reason not to apply to a couple of them anyways (except for the $100 or so per application). More important for you is to make a list of schools where you have a pretty good chance of admission that fulfill your needs. </p>
<p>What are the best colleges that kids from your school have gotten into in previous years? If almost no kids from your school ever go on to non-commuter-school college, you may have an interesting story to tell in your college application about your own intellectual ambitions and growth, yada yada. Give it a shot, but I still wouldn’t count on getting in to ivies or MIT, unless you’re particularly talented at something they’re in the market for.</p>
<p>The reason I feel the OP has almost no chance is that, with only grades and SAT scores, the applicant can’t set himself or herself apart. If schools were truly very understanding, then every student from that school with good grades for an easy curriculum and high SAT scores would be indistinguishable and therefore accepted. That can’t happen.</p>