<p>Hmm, hostility. Not fun. Can't we play nice, at lest until results actually come in?</p>
<p>fight fight fight fight fight fight</p>
<p>
[quote]
Hey, now, relax!
I was merely joking: I know I won't be accepted.</p>
<p>Though, neither will you.</p>
<p>And, if I were you, I would do something about that fetish for wanting other people to fail =(
[/quote]
I apologize for seeming rude, it's just that the way you responded to my thought out post seemed scornful as if what I said was completely baseless and untrue, and hence got me angry.</p>
<p>FYI: Community service is important. Yes, yes it is. Of course grades are important, but apparently <i>everyone</i> who applies to Harvard has good grades.... so why not be unique, and do community service? =)</p>
<p>Okay, some sarcasm about being unique, but community service is a big factor.</p>
<p>is community service really a big deal? i haven't done any. i always just looked at it as another EC such as sports, debate, drama, etc.</p>
<p>:D Go Harvard! Go Me! :D</p>
<p>I don't think community service is a big deal. I think doing something outside class is a big deal. Most accepted students have some sort of strong interest that they've taken beyond the ordinary. It may be science research, it may be a job, it may be accomplishments and experiences in an area of study taken way beyond what the high school offers, it may be that the same activity can fit in multiple slots. It's a total picture. </p>
<p>For example, my son's major EC was playing with computers after school. Academically he taught himself enough to take AP Comp Sci as a freshman and taught himself Linux, job-wise he did freelance computer programming during the summer and during the school year, research-wise he did two projects for professors at a medical school, and community service-wise he spent one summer volunteering in a senior center (his one and only CS BTW), and finally just for fun he was lead programmer for the most popular mod of Civ 4.</p>
<p>There's a poster here who wrote a few years back about his daughter's volunteer experiences in a hospital. On the surface, nothing special about the EC, lots of kids volunteer in hospitals. But she noticed that Hispanic patients were having trouble communicating with doctors and she developed a system of translation cards that patients and staff could use. That's what made her EC experience special. Not the time, not the description.</p>
<p>Depends on the EC's: I did some youth outreach work in Nigeria.</p>
<p>Service is important to show committment to society, but honestly, having a ridiuclous amount of hours will not make up for a lower GPA. Unless of course, you are like nusi, and have done some profound sorts of work. You know, personally airlifting tons of aid to Darfur personally. That kind of fun stuff.</p>