<p>Hi, I'm a sophomore. How would my predicted EC's look if I'm going to apply to top colleges (HYPSM, Swarthmore, Harvey Mudd, JHU, Carnegie Mellon, etc.)? Note that my main interests lie in math/science and volunteering.</p>
<p>Math Club - Founder & President (Most likely President for all 4 years)</p>
<p>CSF/NHS
- Hope to be Pres./VP of NHS</p>
<p>Teaching Middle Schoolers Math</p>
<p>Volunteering
- ~ 300+ hours by end of high school</p>
<p>AMC's
- AIME qualification (x2)
- AIME score ~5</p>
<p>USAPhO
- Semifinalist (x2)</p>
<p>Science Research / Summer Camps
- Summer after 10th/11th grades</p>
<p>Extra Courses
- Math Olympiad courses 9th grade
- A few AoPS courses
- Several courses on edX/Coursera
- Courses at a university (may or may not be a CC)</p>
<p>Also, I realize that there is nothing really unique about my EC’s. I think it’s too late to start anything new and excel at it, so that’s probably the way it’ll stay. Are there any other things I can enhance in my current EC’s so that I may have a more interesting aspect/experience to them?</p>
<p>Math and physics competitions and leadership in math club are great starts. You really don’t need a long laundry list of activities, you need to dedicate time to a handful and show leadership in them where possible.</p>
<p>The best way to strengthen your chances is to also develop a leadership role in a community service project; this will also balance your lopsidedness toward all-academic pursuits. No adcom really cares how many hours you log (unless the number is near zero), they care what you attempt and what you achieve. You can work within an organization or create your own from scratch – find an unmet need within your community and start a service to fill that need, promote it (flyers, etc.) and get others to help you. Yes, it can involve math help or other interests.</p>
<p>Frankly, this is a lot of work. But you can’t get into top colleges with high stats alone (even perfect ones) and you won’t stand out from a few thousand other competitors without doing something that’s not cookie-cutter, handed to you prepackaged.</p>
<p>Ultimately, here’s what has to happen before you get accepted: your regional advocate will need to see you as a “real person” not just a statistic and be willing to go to bat for you in front of the committee (over other regional choices). At that point, your advocate will only have a few seconds to summarize you and make a case why you stand out.</p>