<p>So I will be a junior this year and pretty soon I am going to have to apply for colleges and I wanted to know if any of you guys had anything in mind to make my application stand out. I know junior year is the most critical and was just wondering if you guys had any ideas.
I am really shy
But my interests are helping animals, I have been playing the piano for 10 years, I like biology and I love all things French! Haha any ideas?</p>
<p>My advice would be to look in the College Admissions forum or the What Are My Chances? forum to see what other people are doing.</p>
<p>Have you thought about interning at a vet hospital or maybe doing a summer abroad in France?</p>
<p>If you’re really shy, get involved in something that forces you to interact with people.</p>
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<p>If you do this, choose your club wisely. When I was a freshman I was the quietest kid in the world but I still joined debate. The leaders were stuck up and focused on winning on the varsity level while completely ignoring the newbies, and being quiet didn’t help at all. Marching band, however, completely changed me as a person. Beginning of freshman year, I was the quietest person in the band and I knew that. I also thought that I was too quiet to be a section leader or the drum major. </p>
<p>Now look. There’s a reason why “Fathoms '11” is always in my location. Or why my occupation in my profile page is as is.</p>
<p>If you play piano you could join the marching band and play the marimba. It’s a bit similar to the piano and once you get the mallet techniques you’ll be golden. Other choices: volunteering, clubs you think you will enjoy (you don’t have to stack up, just the ones you eventually learn to like). Animal shelters sound like a fit.</p>
<p>But yeah this isn’t the best forum to ask, try one of the others that people listed here.</p>
<p>Or, if you care about the Ivy League at all you can make your own club</p>
<p>Instead of playing second fiddle to Jimmy-Do-Good and his army of Transcript Sheep.</p>
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This. You asked if there were ways to make your application stand out, and this is the answer. You need to find an outlet for your passions. Whatever interests you, find a way to get involved above and beyond what others do. Don’t just volunteer at an animal shelter. Take the further step and intern with a vet. You never know, the vet you intern for may end up writing you a recommendation, which I’m sure would be pretty significant itself.</p>
<p>The plan can definitely backfire, but if it does, rinse and repeat.</p>
<p>I am incredibly self-conscious when around people I’m not comfortable with. I’ve tried to correct that by doing things like volunteering at a school (it’s a decent context because you get to work with people, but they’re younger than you so they view you in some glorified esteem that gives you a chance to reinvent yourself) and working in retail (making sales calls is nerve-wracking for the antisocial). I have reasons for doing those things besides social improvement (I’m interested in education and I’d like to save money/get work experience), but they are still valuable experiences. There are tons of things that you can do to interact with people, but you should do something since being shy can be uncomfortable.</p>
<p>That said, vet hospital is also a good idea if you can nail it. Summer abroad is expensive. Adcoms look at expensive trips dubiously since they are exclusive to people who have money, but I’m sure it would be a good experience anyway.</p>