<p>hahaha I agree 
It can be hard sometimes to look at all these sumemer opportunities longingly! When I have kids…</p>
<p>boardingschools i never said that i am going to NZ because my parents think it is safe on my application, that is just a personal reason on why i am going. I didnt put that one my application.</p>
<p>I think you should. sounds great! go for it</p>
<p>Hey boarding school
That’s exactly what I think. You need $ and the opportunity. You just can’t step into the White House, put $30,000 on the table and say “I need an intern!”. So everythme I read those intriguing ECs, I wonder how they could do so as 15-year-olds. They invented ???, did some lab experiments and fundraised $300,000. I do believe their parents helped a lot. </p>
<p>Then—I’m not playing any weird instrument or sport, haven’t started any organizations, haven’t published books, haven’t been to Africa. </p>
<p>Then how the h*** am I gonna have some real ECs…
(I know it’s about quality, like to what extent you’re engaged and the time and effort you devoted to it. But I’m just so jealous! They get rich parents, they get literally everything. )</p>
<p>but sometimes that doesn’t always win over the adcom?
even with the money and the opportunities.</p>
<p>i co-started a charity organization with one of my friends (who’s at hotchkiss now), raised a bunch of money, paid for a bunch of surgeries for kids in local china, and wrote essays about it but honestly it didn’t really influence most of the schools.</p>
<p>it’s more about the person, not always the ec’s.
ec’s count for a lot, but they’re not everything and they won’t always be the things that help you out. jyun obviously must be amazing at football and such but a lot of people aren’t so talented in things like that and they will recognize that.</p>
<p>your personality matters to them. they aren’t always looking for superstar kids, they try to make the community a good place and this means a mix of different students that have different talents.</p>
<p>I’m hopeful again =)</p>
<p>And those rich kids won’t understand the great feeling I’m having now. They lose the opportunity to experience the ups and downs of their lives.</p>
<p>Woah hold it there. U don’t need to be rich to have wonderful ecs. Nd it’s no fair to blame others for having wha you do not. Gonnastop my family battled bankruptcy nd I know the ups and downs of life to a great prospect. I still had time for ecs bc I was given an oppurtunity to get a wonderful education. Nd that intern thing is overexaggerated. I got in as full fa, so let’s not attack others (lemmings) for having the oppurtuntity to do such a wondeful deed</p>
<p>Oh haha I’m not attacking him/her. Just read it somewhere that some kids did amazing lab experiments and I’m just wondering…</p>
<p>Oh well then life is fair. You’ll get what you want.</p>
<p>And my family went through a really tough situation too. I understand how it feels. I’m still trying to recover…</p>
<p>I was specifically told that I was excellent in everything except ecs and that it was the reason I was rejected at a certain school.</p>
<p>I have heard all kinds of reasons under the sun for denial from my friends and my other acquaintances. One stellar applicant was told the cause of rejection was a teacher comment in 6th grade about better time management even though he had straights As. It’s hard to believe what they tell you as it covers the entire spectrum grades, SSATs, ECs, recs etc. etc. Take it with a grain of salt… The future is bright for all of you, the mere fact that you are BS applicants, you are well above the average student pool. You will succeed whereever you go.</p>
<p>Very very very well stated!</p>
<p>yes indeed well stated </p>
<p>i can also attest to ECs getting me into MX, without my athletic ability i would never have gained admission to MX as a junior (the hardest grade to gain admission to overall). I did not have the best grades Bs and B-s at albeit a rather good NYC prep school but nonetheless i would not have gotten into such a fine school without my “hook”. Both me and Jyun used our hooks to our advantage that is why if you have any “hook” you should share it with the schools that you are applying to as quite possible one or more might need a student with the particular skill or trait just like in college admissions</p>
<p>but how do you really emphasize an interest without being a recruit that sends updates and videos and things of that nature…do you include it in essays or interviews…</p>
<p>what do you mean if you sing/dance/play an instrument send a CD also most apps have like "areas of interests boxes were you fill in your important ECs</p>
<p>and yes for the essays i definately wrote about my soccer proweress and the joy it gives me in my essays but that was mainly because i didn’t have a lot like ECy other than soccer and i had nothing else to really write about</p>
<p>It’s true, you don’t have to be epic to get into boarding school. They don’t want cookie cutter people who are good at everything, they want REAL people. Admission officers do their best to create communities were everyone can learn from one another.</p>
<p>well I have some ec’s that I am passionate about, viola and field hockey(for example)…but I am not really a superstar at either, so I do not have any plans to contact the head of either department</p>
<p>contact them the worse that they can do is say that they cant help you with your application, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by contacting the Coach or teachers</p>
<p>I have like no Ecs that are amazing and most of them I have only been doing like 2 years and there are only 4 of them. Anything I can do to improve?</p>
<p>hmmm that’s a good way of looking at it…I will definitely consider it more. But when did you first contact them, would starting now for the 11-12 year be too early</p>