<p>So this post is going to sound really odd and you'll probably think I'm a crazy person overtaken by the college apps process. i probably am. but anyway- i go to a big public high school that typically gets 1-3 students into my dream school, Stanford, each year. so needless to say you need to be one of the best students in the class to get in. i think i am- i have the highest SAT score of the senior class, i'm ranked #2, and been dedicated to several ecs for 4 years. but there's this other girl that has gone through high school doing much less- she's got straight A's but a much lower SAT, far fewer ecs and leadership positions, and no dedication to sports or anything beyond one year. But midway through junior year she decided she wanted to apply to stanford too. ever since then, with the help of her parents, she's started volunteering like 4 hrs a week and searching out nice resume builders. This year its gotten even worse and her dad helped her get a nice lawfirm internship, she went on one of those like $6000 summer "leadership" trips, and again she is doing everything she can to find resume items that can be done real quick and easy. So now, being my paranoid self, I'm worried that my 4 years of thorough dedication will be uprooted by her 11th hour "passion" for a bunch of new things. There are already a number of classmates I think have better shots than i do of getting in, and I am a believer in the whole quota/only a few get in from each school thing. Will colleges be able to see through her? Will they look and see that she has only been doing these flashy activities for less than a year and realize that she's just doing them to look good on an app? Or should I be worried that she'll be able to make it look like she really is a top student. By the way I'm sorry if this post sounds really mean but I just am really annoyed at her because I can think of like 10 people whose work throughout high school makes them deserve stanford much more, but I'm also jealous of the great opportunities she's found to polish that resume. Thanks for the input; sorry for the long post.</p>
<p>Instead of obsessing about what others are doing, concentrate on building the strongest app that you can. You are wasting your time to focus on your classmate.</p>
<p>Also, those expensive summer experiences don't impress colleges. Colleges also often can see through "internships" that are basically sit-on-one's-butt jobs with family friends.</p>
<p>Colleges really can tell the difference between quick and easy resume fluff and activities that represent hard work, leadership and a longterm commitment.</p>
<p>I hate extracurriculars. I seriously think they should be disregarded or maybe for only like 50% of the students they can look at extracurriculars cause college is about learning. I am one of the top students in my school too, but I am mostly interested in volunteering in my community. I am active in my local church, but we just help out local places. I also volunteer regularly at the homeless center. These activities tend to be looked down upon in college admissions to elite colleges since they lack "leadership" and "competition", but I seriously doubt FBLA students are "leaders", just rich kids who go to "business conferences" (with so many different competitions which make it ridiculously easy to be top 10 in the nation in one event) which always is followed by a trip to Disneyland. My school has a lot of rich kids who are in FBLA. Literally everyone is top 10 in the state or nation at one event, and I hate how elite colleges discount legitimate compassion rather than feigned leadership. </p>
<p>Northstarmom makes a valid point, but this girl's experiences look way better than just normal activities. I doubt admission officers would think the law internship is fluff. They cannot simply assume that she didn't get the internship herself and are thus forced to believe she is a real go getter. </p>
<p>Just my 0.02. I think she is going to beat you to Stanford. Sorry man. Its the truth. If you ever read The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan got Daisy, and Gatsby got death; nevertheless, I still think Gatsby is worth more than Tom Buchanan anyday.</p>
<p>I second the previous post.</p>
<p>Coolapplicant, she is not your opponent. Don't become a head case because you feel threatened by her actions -- instead focus on what you need to do to best control your own application. Adcoms will examine your ECs for commitment, longevity, achievement, and impact on you and others. One-time stints are not of the quality they seek.</p>
<p>Work on your essays. Be certain that you are attending to recommendation requests from people who will say superlative things about you. Prepare yourself (by knowing who you are) for an interview opportunity. </p>
<p>This girl may well be accepted, but she'll have to do it on her own merit... same applies to you. If you're ranked #2 in your class, and you have better SAT scores, what are you concerned about anyway? Believe in yourself and ignore her.</p>
<p>The chances are slim, but best of luck to you.</p>
<p>If this girl is doing everything her senior year, colleges will take it with a grain of salt. If you have done a lot of great things starting your freshman year, it looks much better than starting junior and senior year. The leadership conferences are pretty BS anyway. Quick and easy resume items never help because it is obvious the applicant did them just to get into college. Unless she gets a lot of help writing her essays from tutors and stuff like that, you should beat her out. From what you say, you and her can still get into Stanford.</p>
<p>The school I really want to get into will have a lot of competition from the class geneous (8 APs before senior year, 4.0 GPA, 2400 SAT, great ECs) and I doubt i hole a candle to him. However, that will not deter me (much) from applying to my first choice. Will I get in? Probably not because it was a huge reach without any competition in my school.</p>
<p>fastMEd: I don't see why you would complain about "how ridiculously easy it is" to be top 10 in the nation. I don't see anything easy about earning one of about 440 awards in an organization of over 215,000 members. In my school, only two people in the class of 2007 have national awards. Considering we were ranked 3rd in the nation for Nationals last year, I don't think you could exactly call that a simple task.</p>
<p>Honestly, why are you complaining when you're putting yourself superior to these things? I'd expect you to take advantage of them, since they're so far below your skill level (and because you want to go to business schools).</p>
<p>Aer - I am well aware of the supposed difficulty of Lynbrook's FBLA. Keep in mind that most of the 215,000 are simply members of their local club rather than participants in "leadership conferences" which tend to cost upwards $1000. Consider yourself lucky that you can afford to join FBLA and go on "leadership conferences" to Disneyland and compete in activities that hardly have anything to do with real business like "business math", "business programming", and etc, but never think that it is the ultimate mark of prestige or honor. There are many people who cannot afford to pay hundreds of dollars to be "business leaders". I am one of them.</p>
<p>FBLA is not the only way to show interest in business. Tell me that again when your only source of income is from your parents.</p>
<p>Never been to Disneyland, thankfully. =) And Speech and Debate is much more expensive, but I don't see you ranting about them even though the stakes, by your opinion, are probably much higher to gain credibility.</p>
<p>What I don't see is why you complain about the supposed illegitimacy about FBLA. FBLA sucks, so what? Is that all you're going to say? I don't actually see you taking any action to do anything to advance your supposed interest in business. Talk doesn't get you anywhere.</p>
<p>EDIT: When your extracurriculars prove something beyond volunteering at the church and the homeless shelter, you can tell me that again. I've never claimed to take an interest in business. And how's that for hypocrisy? You don't exactly have a job either.</p>
<p>Many people have hobbies outside of extracurriculars for college. One of mine is reading investment books particularly those regarding technical analysis. I will laugh when you are rejected from Berkeley.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that whatever school you eventually attend you are going to be surrounded by many other classmates like you as well as like this girl - high achievers and go getters. You may be #2 now but in college you may be in the middle, with all the other #1 & 2 kids. Most kids enjoy college because they can finally learn with others of similar abilities, but it is hard for those who cannot handle being "average" in college after being at the top of their class in high school.
Let go of your jealously and focus on making your application the best it can be. There is really nothing you can do about her.</p>