Agree with @publisher 1000%!!
@ Publisher, I think youâre ascribing more significance to ânoteworthyâ than is needed. These kids donât need to turn themselves into award-collecting experts, getting local or better media attention or impacting thousands of lives. (Some of that is hierarchical thinking: more, better, best.)
And bear in mind that many top colleges, comfortable as they are with their processes and whatâs in place (facilities, professors, various enrichment programs or support,) can focus more on the four-year experience. (The time spent there, the âcommunityâ they form.) They can be confident that the vast majority of the students they do admit will thrive, contribute, and make their place post-grad- whatever that is.
In the context of this thread, your thoughts raise the question as to whether mere participation in an activity is sufficient for âa good foundation for getting into Ivy League collegesâ. I do not think that it is, therefore, we may just need to agree to disagree.
Publisher, yes, weâll disagree, itâs fine.
I donât hold to mere participation, either. Over time, I have generally suggested aiming for some impact- even small. And inclusion of some ECs ârelevantâ to college life or the collegeâs expectations. Thatâs not decorating valentines for the veterans. Very nice, butâŠ
I see a good balance as the following, more or less, as needed and feasible. I think it offers some CYA, no matter oneâs originating position.
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Things you do out of pure interest- hobbies, pleasures, exploring, whatever it is. Can be all sorts of things. Some of this is âlife.â Maybe you end up not including all of it under Activities. But sure, engage your interests.
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Things related to the possible major, somehow⊠Some of this is vanilla experience (some call it testing or proving the academic interest.) Some is showing and practicing the mindset and skills. Easy is to note the pre-med who somehow works in some healthcare setting or joins some sort of local advocacy. (I wouldnât call hanging at the senior center for an hour as a good example.) The stem kid who participates in math club or robotics. The kid who wants to study politics and did something with a rep or campaign (or advocacy.) Maybe you get a title, maybe not. âNotâ doesnât change the effort or value- to you and to the adcoms. Itâs about that effort, what you pick up in the milieu, more or less. You donât have to love a specific activity.
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Things that show your awareness of needs around you and the willingness to get involved, directly, when possible. Community service, the sort where you deal with those in need. Not sending notes or cookies and you remain at armâs length. Not simply adding your name to some worldwide organization. I distinguish between community service and volunteer work.
I donât think thatâs harsh or denies a kid a real life. I think itâs an easy CYA or call it hedging your bets. Itâs not manufacturing or misrepresenting. It doesnât require forming your own non-profit and naming yourself CEO, lol. Itâs vision, willingness, and follow-through. Frankly, so many kids miss this in their certainty itâs all about spike or best of show. Or all about the opposite: just doing what you pre-decide you want.
Ok? Said it.
By now, with all the extremely judgmental attitude of some posters, I think @curiousstudentlr must wonder whether the admission process at her dream Ivy League schools is a bit like the scene from the movie Brazil Fight for office desk scene from Brazil movie [DZ-015 vs. DV-048] - YouTube
Dear original poster, search this portal and you will find out that it is not, and a lot of interesting but not hyper-super-exceptional people get admitted. Financing it might be a different story but if you stay on College Confidential, youâll see what colleges will give you money as a foreign student, if they want you.
I do not understand in which jurisdiction you are planning to study law and become a judge. You are looking at 7 years education in one (4 years of college and 3 years of law school in the US) or 6.5 years (4.5 years of legal studies at university and 2 years of professional training in Germany) in the other country, and none of it is in any way compatible.
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In order to get accepted to the Ivy League colleges, having the stellar academic is a given. There are a lot of kids with near perfect SAT/ACT still get rejected. There are tons of kids with similar profiles such as a president of such and such clubs, a state champions in the debate team, etc.
Too many kids with similar interest and indirectly boasting their success in their essays. Those kids must realize that they are just one of them. Unfortunately these kids selected the activities that many other kids are already participating. You just donât stand out. Many kids also started these activities once they started the high school. If you have activities that you have started since you are little, thatâs show your passion more convincingly. So your dancing career is good to show. You must have a reason why you continue dancing. Why dancing is important in your life.
If I were you, I would be careful about the participation in BLM in your essay. Any political topic in your essay is risky depending on who is reading. It may offend the reader if he/she has a different political view, and find you dangerous.
Try not to be offensive.
These being said, I think it is not good to select a college just because it is prestigious. What is important is if you fit.
If you havenât already, I recommend reading âhow to be a high school superstarâ by Cal Newport. Note how the kids featured draw on their upper middle class resources to develop activities that would be impressive even for a ârealâ grownup in the ârealâ world, which is how colleges can be pretty sure you will be successful in life and be a credit to them.
Itâs a bit dated, but in order to understand the interplay between âholistic admissionsâ and âinstitutional needsâ you could read âThe gatekeepersâ by Jacques Steinberg. Maybe someone can recommend a more recent take on this.
Your background as a mixed race kid at a Bavarian Gymnasium, taking part in BLM demonstrations (were there any? In Bavaria??) is pretty unique, probably much more so than most people on this forum can appreciate. Leverage it.
With immigration from sub Saharan Africa such a recent phenomenon in Germany, the conversation about race relations in Germany is really just beginning. You could aim to be a major part of creating awareness, and try to convey to colleges what you are building and why you are beginning at a completely different stage, and what a college education in US might mean to you in that context.
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I find this offensive.
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I am so sorry that you weâre offended. I did not mean this. But my point is religious topic and political topic are so sensitive. Like you were offended, while I did not mean it, it is a touchy subject. So if she want to write about it, it should be carefully written⊠that is all I am saying. Not knowing the context and how she will write, I overgeneralize my opinion, I guess. Sorry about that, Tigerle. It is my fault. So sorry.
@PurpleFaithful: Thank you for engaging with me.
You are right that politics in applications is always a risk. However, referencing âdangerous angry Black femalesâ is a racist trope, and risks silencing this young woman about a major part of her identity. I would expect AOs at an elite US university to be schooled against bias in their reading of applications (if they hadnât been until 2020, I sure hope they have been now!) and if theyâre not, itâs not the place she should want to go.
Growing up as a mixed race kid in a racist society (Germany is racist in very different ways than the US is, but itâs racist), she does not have the luxury to ignore racism, and in fact has described her own emotional need to take up the struggle for racial justice.
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OP, you need to be aware that elite universities in the US are admitting students in âbucketsâ, and you are basically applying for a bucket of one: most impressive kid from Germany applying this year. Maybe a handful of most impressive kids from Germany at the larger universities, but no more than that.
You may fit into another bucket for some schools, tick two boxes, as it were: academically highly qualified Black female, which may help your chances a bit (it does remain a total lottery). They do prefer finding highly qualified Black students from the US, of course, but itâs another little bit in your favour.
For the academic piece, you will need to be the kind of student that teachers can call âone of the most impressive kids that I have ever taughtâ. While you do not need to have absolutely perfect grades (I believe that anything up to a 1.5 GPA at a German Gymnasium may be considered the equivalent of a 4.0 GPA for admissions purposes), think about subjects you may stand out in. Languages? Social studies? Seminar projects? The extended essay? Student government? Student theatre?
Search for the blog post on the MIT website about what they expect a letter of recommendation from a teacher to sound like. German teachers will have NO IDEA. Think about how to be the kind of student who can ask for such a letter from your teachers, with the teacher agreeing that they can convey that kind of honest enthusiasm about you.
You still may not be admitted, but being a great student whom teachers are impressed with may open other doors for you in Europe, too. So why not strive?
Dance and caring for animals are nice hobbies, but you wonât make an impact with them. Pursue them anyway, if you enjoy them. They are great for your mental health! They show youâre balanced, and fun. Also a box to tick.
But think about âimpact that would be impressive even if I were already a grown up, a graduateâ. To show that youâll go on how you started.
And sort out your ideas about being a lawyer, or a judge, and how to qualify for it, and where. Those are tight. long term, rules and exams based frameworks and âsome day I want to beâŠâ wonât cut it. You can PM me, if you like.
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A few comments.
OP is new and it doesnât look like he/she has been back to check in. Though itâs only a day, we just donât have further input.
Remember, OP is in 9th. The idea of an Ivy is just an idea. Maybe same as all the other US and foreign kids who start with the known names. Thereâs a lot left to learn- about who they are, what strengthsâŠall the way to whatâs a dream versus a realistic goal. And a lot to learn about college, wherever it is, what it takes to be a solid candidate. OP is just musing, at this point. Imo.
OP doesnât have more than a few months of high school. We know nothing about rigor or courses or standing. Just that thereâs some vague (itâs all vague, at this point) idea about law school. Iâm not sure OP understands that, in the US, thatâs post-grad. We have no feedback about whatâs affordable.
I donât think OP has even explored enough to name one or two of the Ivies that might have âfit.â Itâs all brand new. Itâs the same as all the US kids who lump all the Ivies together.
So I think some here are jumping the gun. Big time.
The chance of getting into an Ivy from Germany is also (I think someone noted this) highly dependent on the competition. No one can predict that, today. But we do know there will be lots of top performing applicants from there.
And itâs affected by how many students from Germany a tippy top college already has (whoâll be continuing as 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years.) They want a balance in the number of kids from various countries. And here we are, 3 years from when OP will even apply. Next to no info.
About the ECs, theyâre light, so far. IF this dream persists, no matter what she âlikesâ to do, for all the competitive (and space limitation) reasons, there needs to be more. The BLM has potential. But we donât know what this 9th grader has done. Or will do. Or whether it has/will have any impact, at all.
And some here are even calling OP some sort of remarkable, based on one, limited post. We need more info to offer solid feedback.
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I have been thinking about spending a year in a foreign country for a couple of years now but at the moment with the pandemic not just influencing our all day life but also having a huge impact on traveling , i am not in a position where I can plan any sort of exchange year. But my school offers exchange years to the US,which would be very interesting to me. I can see how a year in a different country would be live changing and getting to know the american system,people etc. of course would be a big help and it would also give me the chance to be certain about my decision.
It also is a chance for expending your horizon and getting to know new perspectives which can always be helpful for someone like me, who likes to discussed different topics ,because it can really help you improving your argumentation.Thank you ,i really like the english language and I am looking forward to becoming more fluent.
Yes people were protesting here.As a mixed female i had to overcome obstacles such as being the only black girl in your class, the european beauty standards that influence you and make you feel like having an afro or darker skin makes you less worthy or also the feeling of not belonging to any group because of your biracial background which can cause an identity crisis.
I could go on and on but i also want to say thank you for your book recommendations i will definitely consider reading them.Im also aware of how the conversation about race relations is beginning in germany but i also have to admit there have been a huge amount of people that have seen it as trend which one can see when going to protests while the audience gets smaller and smaller.But we really made a difference and this is just the beginning.
I actually joined an organization of afro german young people that are hosting events for spreading more awareness . I went there the first time back in february 2020 but due cover we werenât able to organize more.The people there really inspire me and I hope i will be able to start speak up more there.
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Being authentic is something i will never stop doing and you are totally right being yourself is the best thing you can do because what would the point of going to a school which is not interested in who you are and what you want.
I probably should have chosen another title ,because i am looking for ideas i can try activities out of school which also match with my interests and what kind of person i want to become and how i want to change something.
The pet shelter was an idea because during cover my local pet shelter has a lot of clients.people are at home all day and want a puppy to lighten their mood and the employees there are afraid everyone will return the animals when cover is over or they donât have any interest anymore.
Thank you, I know i should be living in the present its just the pressure because for getting a good education you have to be an extraordinary person who did extraordinary things.
But i also want to say I enjoy helping people and spreading awareness. for me its not just about the colleges its about making a change.I would love to go to an ivy league not just because of the education but also because of all the opportunities one has because of the international student body.
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I definitely not have the privilege to ignore racism as it is affecting every day of my life.I can understand that writing about political topics can be risky but i donât see any problem with how i articulated me taking part in protests.I think the picture of black angry woman occurs everytime a black female even opens her mouth and starts speaking up,there nothing such as aggressive behavior at protest i have been at.
I can see that one should be sensitive when writing about topics like this but what makes me passioned is the fact that when i can achieve my goals i can be a role model for girls like me . A role model that i never had.Thats why i will continue writing about it because it is a huge part of who i am.
Thanks for your comment on this @Tigerle
To clarify:
OP is in her 5th year at a Bavarian Gymnasium, making mostly As. These are selective college prep schools which you are tracked for after 4th grade with a standardised curriculum, no ability to choose higher or lower level classes. Sort of like all AP track, with a high attrition rate. Just holding her own there, even if it were with a C average, already puts her in the top 25 percent of the country, an A average would put her in something like the top 2 percent.
Take the rigour as a given.
The A average, of course, sheâs got to work on, and thatâs NOT a given, because there is no grade inflation, and very little choice in subjects. Calc, stats and some linear algebra are graduation requirements.
And, depending a bit on the city or town she lives in, she may be the only black person in the school. She is, in the truest sense of the word, unique in her environment. Which is the word I used. And she is holding her own. Yes, thatâs remarkable (which is the word you came up with).
About the vague law school ideas: yup, sheâll have to put some thought into where she wants to end up before she starts applying to universities, in which ever countries.
However, I recall a spirited discussion in this forum about how this is too much to expect from any young person until theyâre at least sophomores in college?
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My comment is just grammar related. First, thank you for using paragraphs after it was suggested. It made it easier to read your later postings. In English, the word âIâ is always capitalized. Also, leave a space after a sentence. Iâm not trying to be picky, just trying to help you improve your writing skill. Good luck.
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Unless OPs family is uniquely wealthy for their environment, I think we can safely assume that OP would need large amounts of financial aid and only meets full need schools with deep pockets or full tuition scholarships would work. Salaries in Germany, even for people with post graduate degrees, arenât paid out with US tuition fees in mind.
Itâs a lottery. But why not strive, like I said earlier, great grades and impactful activities open doors everywhere.