<p>hey everyone
right now i'm a sophomore and i'm looking for a way to make myself look more "unique" and not have the same ECs and stuff as a lot of other people.
As of right now:
gpa: 4.0(unweighted)
currently all honors classes, 3 APs, pre-IB
- haven't taken any SAT/PSAts yet</p>
<p>ECs
- officer for a tech program at my school
- the secretary for FBLA
- i'm going to start a club with a friend of mine focusing on projects to help people in Africa
- tennis(2 years so far on JV)- i'm team captain this year
- track and field(2 years, hopefully i'll make varsity this year)
- Top Ten Award my freshmen year
- a bunch of piano awards at local competitions such as Southwestern Youth Music Festival
- played a concerto with a professional orchestra at this famous recital hall
- held a benefit concert with a few other piano players to raise money for Red Cross for the earthquake in China( raised over $5000)</p>
<p>I'm really aiming to go to an Ivy league school, but I know admission is super hard and everything is unexpected. Also, as junior year is approaching, everything is going to get much harder and hopefully I can handle all of it. But anyways, suggestions or tips so i can make my activities look more special? Thanks!</p>
<ol>
<li>Raise several hundreds of millions of dollars for nonprofits in Africa</li>
<li>Make the US National Olympiad Teams in Math, Bio, Physics, Chem, and Informatics</li>
<li>Win Siemens </li>
<li>Win Intel</li>
<li>Hold 11-23 leadership positions at school</li>
<li>Score a 2400 on the SAT…twice (once isn’t special enough anymore)</li>
<li>Then, score a 36 on the ACT</li>
<li>Get a perfect 100% on 37 different AP exams</li>
<li>Have a 4.01 UW (4.0 scale) and a 5.01 W (5.0 scale)</li>
<li>Rank #1 in the International Tennis Rankings</li>
</ol>
<p>if u wanna look unique, how bout being unique… ? everyone tries to do the same stuff. do what you love and do tons of it and talkk about why you love it. otherwise u will be 4.0GPA scholar #449 in the pile of apps… my counselor told me to just focus on my interests… is this going to limit me?</p>
<p>No, I don’t understand why people ruin their lives making themselves into something they’re not so that they can go to a college that isn’t right for them.</p>
<p>You are doing rather well right now (GPA + EC’s wise). Perhaps start thinking about what you want to write about for your personal statement since that has a greater chance of making you distinct from other people. Be warned though, Sports + Music are often the most popular EC’s + are often used in personal statements. Find something you truly enjoy doing and stick w/ that. It just might make it easier for you to write something about it.</p>
<p>Do what you’re interested. Don’t do something just to get into college. That wouldn’t make you unique, but sometimes it’s better not to be unique.</p>
<p>Do what you want to do, but do it well and get some recognition (Scholastics awards, Siemens) for it. Keep your grades up. Talk to your favorite teachers outside of class.</p>
<p>“Unique” never comes because someone wants to be. They are usually that way because of their circumstances and/or natural ability. I don’t call that unique, I call that special (in a good or bad way). </p>
<p>Hard work has a limit… just because you swim ten hours a day doesn’t mean you’ll be unique like Michael Phelps. Also, starting a club doesn’t mean its going to rake in millions for charity. So just try your best, and if you are exceptional, you’ll be unique.</p>
<p>In the real scheme of things, all of the nonconformists are just conforming to a different conformity so do what you want to do whether or not colleges will care.</p>
<ol>
<li>Raise several hundreds of millions of dollars for nonprofits in Africa</li>
<li>Make the US National Olympiad Teams in Math, Bio, Physics, Chem, and Informatics</li>
<li>Win Siemens</li>
<li>Win Intel</li>
<li>Hold 11-23 leadership positions at school</li>
<li>Score a 2400 on the SAT…twice (once isn’t special enough anymore)</li>
<li>Then, score a 36 on the ACT</li>
<li>Get a perfect 100% on 37 different AP exams</li>
<li>Have a 4.01 UW (4.0 scale) and a 5.01 W (5.0 scale)</li>
<li>Rank #1 in the International Tennis Rankings</li>
</ol>
<p>And then…you might have a shot…"</p>
<p>Please, please don’t listen to people like this.
If you want to make yourself unique, here is my advice: pick two or three things that you love, and throw yourself into them. If you like aviation, go out and get a sport pilot’s license. If you like to write, write 1000-2000 words a day and work on a novel. If you like to dance, create your own group at school and search out performance opportunities. </p>
<p>Those examples sound kind of extreme, but they’re more than within your reach. The secret is to commit. Dedicate yourself to what you think matters, and you could very well be a pilot, a novelist or a nationally recognized dancer by the time you graduate.</p>
<p>Okay, I’m a sophomore too, and my real passion is debate and philosophy. My school has no program in debate or philosophy so I started an ethics club that also particpates in debate team. I’m currently working on a program that helps students from a wide variety of schools learn to find their own morals and principals based on a series of prompted debates within classes along with lessons, lectures, and recorded guest speakers. I feel like I’m fairly unique because I am pursuing a unique interest of mine even though it certainly isn’t outstandingly prestigious.</p>
<p>Personally, I feel that sarcasm was completely justified as it really peeves me when people ask how to make themselves unique to get into college. It seems like they are trying to live their life as someone they are not…</p>
my counselor told me to just focus on my interests… is this going to limit me?</p>