<p>Just curious, since I dont have a whole lot of either. Ive done about 30 hours of teaching kids to ice skate at my local hockey rink, and plan on doing 10-20 more hours this summer of something else for the community. But my academics are pretty solid: I have a 4.22 UW GPA and all honors/AP classes. 2110 on the SATS, which I will be taking again. Im hoping my essays will be more important that ECs and CS…what do you think? </p>
<p>NOTE: My grandfather attended Brown, and gives a healthy amount of $$ to them annually.</p>
<p>My friend's community service makes her look like a miracle worker. She also has a perfect GPA and incredible scores on her SAT IIs and APs. I don't know about her SAT I or ACT. So far, she hasn't heard back from Brown. I spoke to her, yesterday. If she doesn't get in, community service and grades don't mean a lot. If she does, they do.</p>
<p>The money your family donated may get you in if nothing else does. I've looked at the stats for the EDs and you wonder how some of those kids got in. It may have something to do with money.</p>
<p>In general, Brown wants the whole package -- grades, challenging curriculum, leadership, ECs, love of learning, strong recommendations. There will always be students who are accepted who may have a weakness in one area, but then there is almost always a strength somewhere else. The committee will overlook the lack of ECs for an Intel winner, for example, or a student who has a job. It generally will not overlook a weakness for a legacy applicant, unless we're talking one who has a building named after their family. Plenty of legacy applicants whose parents give money and volunteer for the school get rejected every year. </p>
<p>If your guidance counselor or teachers write a recommendation that says something like, "strong student but contributes nothing to the school or the community," you are probably doomed. </p>
<p>If you don't do ECs or community service, what do you do when you're not studying?</p>
<p>When im not studying, i mostly play sports and guitar. im in a band with some friends and i play on the golf team (varsity since frosh year) and run cross country in the fall.</p>
<p>As you'll find, the most important thing is generally depth, not breadth. If you can show colleges that you're invested in the few things you do, it could definitely be beneficial. Extra curriculars are never going to be a make-or-break thing on an application (academic qualifications generally weigh far more heavily), but they're definitely important.</p>
<p>The best thing to do is focus on the academics and represent your activities appropriately; they'll generally be able to tell if you overhype something, and I can guarantee they won't like that.</p>
<p>I'm no authority on Brown admissions, but I admit to being a bit of a Brown stalker, lol. Based on what I've seen and heard, what really gets you in is the combination of ECs/essays and how unique you are as a person. Grades are a qualifier. But don't quote me on this, it's just something of an observation of mine.</p>
<p>If your grandpa donates money annually, though, I say your chances have just shot up dramatically. xD</p>