hi everyone :)) i just wanted to gather some different opinions from people here. so i heard about the World Literacy Foundation ambassadorship and the deadline to express interest is in a few days. some more info here: https://learning.world-literacy.org/
anyways, i’m planning on a lot during my end of junior year / summer / start of senior year and i’m really wondering if i can afford to take this on? it seems like a really interesting program, even though I’ve never really thought about advocating for literacy before, i’d be interested in doing so. i have AP tests in may, and during the summer i’m going to be doing girls state (only one week though) and possibly questbridge summer programs / pioneer research program (pending decisions / have not yet applied). and senior year i have 4 AP classes lined up, multiple extracurriculars, as well as college applications to worry about.
tl;dr: i am interested the world literacy foundation ambassadorship, but it will greatly interfere with other activities. is it worth it?
Sounds like too much. Focus on what you’re currently doing, do it well= much more important. If you’re interested in literacy, start un your own town for a couple hours a week and write about how you would want to expand your participation in college.
thank you for this advice !! i guess my main issue is that i haven’t really “branched out” of the quote unquote “normal” activities. questbridge and pioneer are still maybes, and girls state is not that special. journalism internship or program applications are long due already and im just worried that i won’t have anything to differentiate myself.
Did you complete the Pioneer app?
When do you hear from Questbridge ?
I think you’d be better off working than doing this. Holding a job is seen as a strong EC, it’s not that common anymore, and it’d round out your application.
I have not completed the Pioneer app yet. It’s due this Sunday for priority deadline but the reason I’ve been procrastinating on it is because I’m not sure I really want to commit 10 weeks to a research topic I don’t really know about. But then I’m kind of throwing all my chips into QuestBridge, so if I don’t have a summer program I’m kind of screwed. I hear from QB in around 2 weeks, I think. They say end of April on the website.
i would like to hold a job, but my parents are a little concerned about safety and I’m not sure they really would allow me to hold a job. I’ll talk to them but the likelihood is pretty low. And I don’t know the first place to start
10 weeks may seem long but you’ll get into the topic - ultimately it’s about technical&soft skills. Get to work … or talk to your parents about a job (outside, for safety ?)
i think what i’ll do it apply for pioneer, hope for a QB summer program. if that doesn’t work out, maybe Pioneer? but i don’t know how I would go if I don’t get the full scholarship for Pioneer that comes with QB. if all else fails, I’ll finish girls’ state and talk to my parents about a job. COVID is getting better in our area but it’s still quite serious. and asian-american hate crimes are very concerning to my family since we’re chinese. we do live in an asian majority area but hate crimes are still not unheard of. they also want me to “focus on my studies”. there’s just a lot of factors that might induce my parents to lean no.
Keep in mind that a job helps with future studies because colleges take that very seriously as a sign of someone who’s responsible, has good interpersonal skills, etc.
Well, some lessons from the article: #1: Don’t apply for biological sciences (which, on top of it, have very poor job prospects). Also:
Majors matter, they say.(…)Almost half of the students applied to just six of 85 majors — with biological sciences the top choice, selected by nearly 12,000 applicants. Other popular majors were business administration, nursing science, computer science and psychology.
(…) Reviewers took a close look at whether students took a progression of increasingly more challenging math classes, including college-level AP courses.
(…)
admissions officers wanted active, engaged learners who involved themselves in their school and community. Even during the pandemic, did they seek out opportunities to learn through TED Talks? Did they volunteer for online tutoring or help family members stricken with COVID-19?
(…)
UC application readers also look for persistence, resilience and grit — low-income students who had to work multiple jobs, for instance, to support their families and still excelled in a rigorous curriculum.
In other words, keep learning, ace AP classes, continue with your current activities, hold on to a job… You don’t need something you’d start senior year.
BTW, for Questbridge, your odds are better at LACs in the Midwest & New England where you’d have a hook for diversity (both geographical and being AAPI) so, start learning about them and find some you like.
i won’t I’ll probably be a poli sci or international relations major (depends on the school).
and thank you for this :)) im not too keen on midwestern ones but I’ll look at new England ones. it’ll be kind of an uphill battle since my dad is against me going to a BUNCH of places due to them being an only 4-year institution with no grad school (ie, college vs university). and i have the feeling he has a hate boner against LACs. but I’ll be doing research on them all. thank you !!
… or talk to your parents about a job (outside, for safety ?)
I’ll probably be a poli sci or international relations major (depends on the school).