<p>Look, juliushark, I am sympathetic to your stress as you express it here, but super selective schools like Harvard take students who are truly committed to their areas of interest and have the initiative and drive to make things happen. If you really want to go to Harvard, you might start thinking about what you can do for others, not just yourself. The idea is less about having a fun place to play guitar with like-minded musicians and more about finding sponsors for a battle of the bands to raise money for a worthy cause, or to take a group of guitar players into a needy neighborhood school and teach less advantaged kids to play and hold a recital, or...? Harvard wants creative thinkers and dedicated workers, and it's true--even then they must deny many hundreds of worthy students because they just don't have the space.</p>
<p>My advice is not to despair, but simply get working. If you are truly working on activities you love, it will be time well spent no matter what the outcome of college decisions. And make sure you have a well-balanced list of colleges, because Harvard is not a match school for anyone--not even those with perfect grades and ECs.</p>
<p>"Look, juliushark, I am sympathetic to your stress as you express it here, but super selective schools like Harvard take students who are truly committed to their areas of interest and have the initiative and drive to make things happen. If you really want to go to Harvard, you might start thinking about what you can do for others, not just yourself. The idea is less about having a fun place to play guitar with like-minded musicians and more about finding sponsors for a battle of the bands to raise money for a worthy cause, or to take a group of guitar players into a needy neighborhood school and teach less advantaged kids to play and hold a recital, or...? Harvard wants creative thinkers and dedicated workers, and it's true--even then they must deny many hundreds of worthy students because they just don't have the space.</p>
<p>My advice is not to despair, but simply get working. If you are truly working on activities you love, it will be time well spent no matter what the outcome of college decisions. And make sure you have a well-balanced list of colleges, because Harvard is not a match school for anyone--not even those with perfect grades and ECs."</p>
<p>the standard keeps rising with every passing comment XD but that's okay I just have to come up with a better club. Can't I just organize events in correspondence with my volunteering organization feed Nova Scotia and the student council? The guitar club can organize a battle of the bands for a cause where you must bring 2 cans of food to get in to the event. or does the whole club have to be commited to the soul purpose? and its not just a place to play guitar. since my school only has two experienced guitarists, we'd be teaching the other guitarists for free.</p>
<p>what do you think of the current events discussion group idea? </p>
<p>I really appreciate your advice and I think this year will be much more productive than last. I just hope the introduction of IB and ECs wont slip my grades</p>
<p>juliushark, what I'm about to say is going to sound harsh, but you need to hear it. Unless your scores are sky high, I'd bet heavily against you getting into Harvard. Your incessant questions about how to start a club demonstrate a complete lack of leadership ability. And given your inability to have a school-wide (much less community-wide) impact thus far, I don't see things changing these last two years. It's not enough to be willing to "do whatever it takes for the Ivy". The students who get into Harvard are the ones who do what they do because they are passionate about it. Your failure to articulate why you even want to attend a top school suggests you are in it solely for the prestige. In summary, you are exactly the type of applicant that adcoms do not want attending Harvard.</p>
<p>Weasel is right. That attitude is the exact type of applicant that is an instant reject at ivy-caliber schools. Trust me, they'll be able to spot it out.</p>
<p>If I were you, I'd think about doing something that I was truly passionate about. Even if there aren't national competitions, that passion should be able to come through in your essays/interview. Maybe you could put on a concert for guitar club, tape it, and send H a DVD? Maybe your club could work on a large essay debating a specific topic, and send it in?<br>
If they can show how much time/effort you've put into the organization, then they are much more impressive than your run-of-the-mill NHS president.</p>
<p>Yes, many students do get away with B.S. clubs/leadership positions, but those are the super-high scorers. You're not one of them. </p>
<p>p.s.- I wouldn't have posted this on CC if I were you. You'd be very, very surprised with how many adcoms check this site</p>
<p>I'm not going to quit guys, I'll try my hardest this year and hope for the best. I'm not applying to these school for prestige and parental boasting rights. I'm applying because I have a passion for learning, understanding the world around me, and finding solutions. My lack of EC credentials has no affiliation to a lack of passion, more so to a lack of opportunity in my school/community </p>
<p>so what have you been doing after school. what are you doing this summer? giving up and blaming the situation is rather pathetic to see. no one's application is perfect but your attitude is horrible.</p>
<p>btw
[quote]
^^ Lmao .</p>
<p>GTFO.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>What is this? an AIM chatroom filled with *******s?</p>
<p>juliushark: You will not get in if you say "more so to a lack of opportunity in my school/community"... if you do not have opportunities, create them, but that kind of attitude is sad...</p>
<p>"you might start thinking about what you can do for others, not just yourself. The idea is less about having a fun place to play guitar with like-minded musicians and more about finding sponsors for a battle of the bands to raise money for a worthy cause, or to take a group of guitar players into a needy neighborhood school and teach less advantaged kids to play and hold a recital, or...?"</p>
<p>I'd just like to respond to this point--everything else has been said, albeit somewhat harshly, by others. Going with the guitar example, I think "having a fun place to play guitar with like-minded musicians" is an excellent way to spend time even without taking it to a larger or more "needy" community. Of course, if you like kids doing some outreach would be a great way to combine the two interests, but pursuing music seriously demonstrates a longterm commitment to something too, and I think that's a lot of what is looked for. A lot of the community things kids get involved in are no more selfless than playing with some musician friends.</p>
<p>k thnx guys for all your help, however harsh it may have been, I need it, harshness and all. I guess I was just overwhelmed or something since no one told me this stuff and I felt that I wasted so much time. I'll definitely start to get active now</p>
<p>I've reread this thread through a less panicy lense and I'm much more confident now</p>
<p>you can still show your commitment for something with limited time. is there anything youre really passionate about? start a club or group for it at school and be a really active leader. or play multiple smaller roles in 2-3 organizations/clubs with a similar objective/purpose</p>
<p>yeah thnx, I've made a plan for the next two years to boost my credentials
I'll be starting two clubs, one for fun, the other with a more selfless mission
I'll also get involved in clubs that already exist that I have an interest in. a student council position would be nice as well but its a huge popularity contest so no guarantees there...maybe ill just apply for a non-elected position like editor or treasurer</p>
<p>
[quote]
I know I'm perfect for Ivy leagues from my personality...
[/quote]
<em>vomits</em></p>
<p>In all seriousness, though, international students are truly at a disadvantage unless they are truly a star either academically or in their community. You have two years less, so focus on what you are truly interested in (your academic "passion"), not just trying to inflate some pneumatic resume, and the rest will come :)</p>
<p>Your academic stats need to be on par before they'll even look at your ecs. I dunno the situation for internationals regarding SAT, subject tests, etc.</p>
<p>My advice would be to just pursue what you're truly passionate about. Good test scores and high GPAs help, but I think it's the whole person that matters. Don't concentrate on your resume so much as doing what you love to do. I'm not sure about the internation situtation, but I think Harvard and other highly selective schools focus more on the applicant's merit than their geographical location. From what I've seen on campus visits and asking one hundred questions in info. sessions :), they want the best: international or no international, they're more concerned with the applicant's ability and him/her as a whole person. </p>
<p>This is just my opinion, but hope this helps. :)</p>