<p>Hi, I'm a rising sophomore who is going to apply to the Ivies when I come of age...sadly I am an international student (gasp!) and I am fully aware of my...zero to nothing possibilities of getting in! :D
Again, I am not a star athlete, legacy, nor very very rich. In fact, I would be applying for financial aid, which would diminish my possibilities to a negative number.
Such is the agonies of life.</p>
<p>The point here is,
uhh...so I'm definitely going to have to stand out in the application pool, and I should prepare early on. The thing is, a lot of other Asians (like me, not trying to generalize here, I said a lot, not all) focus a lot purely on their academic achievements, winning trophies and first place for this and that, but I want to start my own "project", doing something that I really like. </p>
<p>This project which I cannot describe in detail, is very philosophical and somehow vague. It explores an idea, an aspect of life, an intangible notion(e.g. hope) in areas of science, art, math, religion, family, etc. by traveling around the country, interviewing people, analyzing data and the sort. I wondered if this will be of any help when I mention/add it to my application. Any advice?</p>
<p>1) For Harvard, applying for FinAid doesn’t diminish your chances</p>
<p>2) Who can say whether or not your project will be unique enough to put you atop the pile? All anyone can say is go where your energy and creativity leads you. What happens after isn’t in your control anyway.</p>
<p>3) Please do not fixate on a single American college. Surely you don’t believe there is only a handful of colleges in the US that are worthy, right?</p>
<p>FWIW: Most selective colleges, Harvard included, like to see tangible results from whatever projects students come up with – in other words, whatever data you collect needs to be presented as a research report that is published or entered into a competition, such as Intel, Siemens etc. Just “traveling around the country, interviewing people, analyzing data” is not going to be enough.</p>
<p>I agree with T26E4: don’t fixate on a single American college.</p>
<p>Agree with above posters. First, do that which you are sincerely passionate about and truly “CARE” about…don’t do it to produce a “hook” or for self-aggrandizement…the top schools can and will be able to tell through the “facade” when the time comes to review your application…</p>
<p>…those who are GENUINE (academically, extracurricular activities, essays) in all that they do will usually rise to the TOP…</p>
<p>…second, become a well-informed knowledgeable student about schools…nothing more ridiculous than reading a thread that starts out with “I want to go to/apply to an ivy”…when I see that…I automatically roll my eyes and assume that individual student or parent is “truly uninformed” (kind word for something else)…better way to phrase it would be “I am thinking of applying to some top schools”…</p>
<p>…top schools are located throughout the US…not only in the northeast corridor…</p>
<p>…most highly-educated parents/students KNOW that Stanford, MIT, Chicago, Caltech, and Duke are not part of the “ivy athletic league”…and they are equal to or exceed many of the “ivy league” schools…</p>
<p>…and last, but not least, get to know what TYPE of top school you ACTUALLY want to attend…and apply to a specific “handful of reach schools” along with “match” and “safety” schools spread throughout the country…become informed, be smart, be strategic, and understand how each top school applies the “holistic” method to each individual applicant depending on “where” they are applying from…</p>
<p>don’t worry, hahaha I’ve not limited my school choices to just the US. I’m also considering European universities also. And no, I am pretty well informed about the Ivies…I’ve attended enough seminars and read enough books on them to know about their excellent education and the possibilities they can bring you. And by saying “applying to Ivy League schools” I mean only Harvard and Columbia. I’m not going to be applying to all of them for the “namesake”. </p>
<p>And again, I’m not doing this just for standing out, I’ve already been doing this for a couple of years because I really, really love doing it. But thank you everyone for the advice.</p>
<p>Get creative. Do you come from a relatively poor country? Is there something unique about you that will set you apart? Have you done anything “quirky” (but not too quirky). As for your project, start a blog or read a book from each country. Do something that’s odd, but not too benign.</p>