<p>I meant, I've heard it's looked upon better if a person actually takes responsibility for themselves rather than do something their parents or whoever obviously set up and/or paid for. Getting a job shows that responsibility while being sent first class to a third world country doesn't as much. (With exceptions of course) Internships would depend on the application process IMO. If they were chosen because they were the most qualified applicant good, but if they were chosen because daddy plays golf with them on the weekend, maybe not so much.</p>
<p>Totally agree with Gina's point (and the last three points for that matter). That is exactly why the adcoms look down upon impressive sounding internships; they can be set up from family acquaintances. Like right now, I am fortunate enough (time/ connection wise) to intern at where my dad works, but that does not mean that I got the intern b/c I was qualified for that intern. Smoda, Mal said Intern > CS > Job in context! Of course, there are situations where a Job> CS or when CS> Intern; but she meant a typical Intern > a typical CS > a typical Job. </p>
<p>@Mal, I will base my argument from the Lyme Disease NPO/ Tutor/ Fry Cook example you gave to clarify my argument. This is how I think each is weighted in the application process. First and foremost, that applicant must have a CS which they have done for an adequate amount of time (2 years or so; 4 is ideal). Once they see that the applicant has CS in his/her list of activities, they move on to the rest of the application. </p>
<p>Say that applicant did not have CS but was both an intern at the Lyme Disease NPO. Assuming this is the typical qualified student applying to H (not some genius!), I do not think he/she can get in w/o the CS.</p>
<p>However! Say, the applicant had CS but not an internship. They would still need very impresive Extra-curriculars and/or awards to gain admissions, but not necessarily an internship/job. </p>
<p>IMO, an internship can act in the place of a very impressive extra-curricular; it is kind of like saying you are the president of student government. So if you think your Ex-Cs are not strong enough for admission, you may need the NPO internship to push your application over the top. Now, adding another CS activity will not have the same power as adding your first job or first intern onto the application.</p>
<p>A job is a very powerful extra-curricular. Although not as powerful as an intership, it adds another dimension to your application: it shows you are financially independent/ responsible and have some actual experience in the "real world outside of school" Again, depending on the strength of your Ex-cs, you may or may not need a job. </p>
<p>So in conclusion, you need some CS to have a chance (kind of like the act of actually sending your app). However, more CS will not push your application over the top! Then you need powerful Ex-Cs to beat those applicants with similar stats/recs/CS/essays. A job and especially an intern can act as a powerful extra-curricular if needed. </p>
<p>*Powerful Ex-Cs are not a laundry list of fancy sounding activities! Powerful Ex-Cs are unique, passion filled (this can be shown by the ammount of time in an activity), and/or related to your intended major/track.</p>
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Community service is not about doing something impressive/interesting in a 3rd world country; It is about showing you are active in your community and not just some selfish snob. IMO, service, like the one stated above, will not benefit you anymore than peer tutoring/ working at a soup kitchen.
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<p>This is very true.</p>
<p>Hrm. I really haven't done any community service at all yet I still got into MIT EA. But I did have a part time job where I worked in a medical office for a year, along with a paid summer internship at Harvard Medical School with a MIT professor (no backdoor or family connections), and a school year long unpaid internship at UCONN's mercury lab. </p>
<p>But I did those because I want to, not for college admissions. Those stuff takes up my time when I could have done CS. So, I think that if you did internships and jobs that last a subistantial time and significant to your career goals or anything like that, you could probably get into HYPSM without doing community service.</p>
<p>^ How about a paid internship…which is what I am doing. This will be my second year.</p>