<p>Okay, here are some of my extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>Drama Club 9-11
Interact Club 9-11
National Honors Society 10-11
Varsity Tennis 9-11
Model United Nations 10-11
Chorus 11
HOBY Leadership Seminar 2011</p>
<p>125 hours volunteering at a charity organic vegetable farm
About 90 hours volunteering at a local cafe (Not sure if this counts as volunteer work. I was basically in an employed position, I just wasn't paid. I was promised pay after volunteering but it never worked out. I was never actually doing anything charitable, but the manager assured me that it counts. What do you guys think?) </p>
<p>And that's about it. I have a 3.8 UW GPA, rigorous course load, top 10% of my grade, and currently a 2070 SAT (it will hit 2200 before I apply). I'm looking at top schools though, including Johns Hopkins, Cornell, and Tufts, and I feel that these activities just aren't good enough. </p>
<p>I'm really trying to find something to show my love of science to colleges, like doing research or having an internship, but it's so hard to find one! I need something interesting and science-related to spice up my application. Any ideas?</p>
<p>Wow! I think your organic vegetable farm thing could really help you stand out, especially if you can relate it to your passion with science. When I was 12 I looked up the email addresses of some research labs at a local research institute and was basically like “I love science can I volunteer pretty please?” and I ended up volunteering at a cystic fibrosis lab 
You don’t need to actually apply to a program, you just need to ask around. You don’t need scientific connections (no doctor parents or anything), just determination.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your advice! I never saw the vegetable farming as unique; I always simply thought that it was just volunteer work and virtually the same as volunteering anywhere else. That’s really cool about the lab too, I’ll have to research some labs in my area. Do you think that volunteering at a lab makes the same impression as having an internship at one?</p>
<p>Volunteering is usually an internship in a lab setting (if you’re job shadowing or apprenticing) but when you contact the lab make sure you say that you are looking for an internship not just general volunteering anyway. I’m not even really sure if there’s much of a difference between the two terms but just to be sure you should call it one when you are applying.</p>
<p>You need to be sincere, above all else. Don’t just worry about how your ECs “look”–do what you care about. If you can’t get the internships you want, make sure your essays reflect your passion. And please do yourself a favor and a) research a greater variety of schools that have strong programs in your area of interest and b) make sure to find a few “match” schools you could be happy attending.</p>
<p>One of the hardest things to me is being able to show passion on my application. I’m extremely passionate about science and love volunteering at the farm, yet I’m unsure about how to reflect this onto my application. Is my only opportunity to show my sincerity on my extracurricular essay? I’m not really sure how admissions will be able to pick up on my passion if I have few opportunities to show it.
Oh, and no worries, I already have a broader range of colleges that includes match and safety schools that I would be happy attending. I only mentioned a few of my favorites.</p>
<p>
That was a job without pay. If you want to put it down in you app, list it under job. Just so you know, you were taken advantage of. What the manager did was illegal. When an internship is unpaid, it needs to meet certain requirements set out by the labor department, and one that’s very important is you couldn’t be doing something which is to be performed by a paid employee, and often it needs to count toward your school credit. Your manager should have paid you minimum wage. </p>
<p>Volunteer work is usually for non-profit charity work.</p>
<p>Yes, organic farm is interesting.</p>
<p>Believe me, I’m well aware I was taken advantage of… it just wasn’t worth it to make a big deal over it though. At least I can use it for work experience. Thanks for your response!</p>
<p>I am a parent. I really don’t like it when young people are taken advantage of. It wasn’t your fault, the manager should have known better.</p>
<p>Thank you for your concern. I agree, she should have known better. I was angry after I learned that I wasn’t being hired, but I felt that it wasn’t worth making a big deal over.</p>