<p>I really want to get into an ivy league school for pre-med or Johns Hopkins. Most of my classmates (who are rich and I am not) are going to all these crazy Leadership Summits in Washington and gong to Harvard Summer Program (which is like $10000 for 2 weeks)! What can I do to better my chances of getting in...other than the usual good grades (aka near perfect of SATs..etc). In terms of extra-curricular activities which STAND OUT on your application (because you need that to get in)! Please, any advice??</p>
<p>let’s start with… what do you like to do? 
what are you really passionate about?</p>
<p>and then show off those passions in your applications. like…volunteer somewhere really meaningful. not your public library, unless you’re really, really, really into books and such :p</p>
<p>i agree with static75, just focus on the passion u love because they love seeings students who actually concentrates on theirs passion rather than just piling up their application wiuth activied, for instance I LOVE drawing and i have been particpating in comepetions over 10 times maybe, i volunteered in a musuem and i tutored young children and soo on !</p>
<p>whats the matter with me ? i mean they love seeing students who actually concentrate on their passion…</p>
<p>Try for the free summer programs like TASP and RSI. College will be much more impressed than if you attended the paid for programs. Look for research opportunities at a local college. Take community college classes. Get a job.</p>
<p>Summer programs aren’t worth anything. Everything those kids are doing you have access to around you. Go to colleges and take classes, get internships, develop a passion for a specific cause, just get a passion.</p>
<p>I am very involved with the RED CROSS - I am the regional youth rep. Should I keep on that and at the hospital and I’m good??</p>
<p>Oh my! RSI Sounds amazing. Wow! I am definitely applying for that next year. Are there any other programs like that (free or lower cost)? I can really explore my passion. I want to become a neurologist. 120%!</p>
<p>Those expensive summer programs don’t do anything to bolster their app.</p>
<p>Do you hold any leadership positions with them? Leadership positions that aren’t just a name but you actually organize events, order people, etc.</p>
<p>It is more important to have passion about something than to try to buy your way. D is at an Ivy now, and only had one major extra curricular, never went to any “pay for” programs.</p>
<p>Yes, I organize charities for Red Cross, youth meetings, and I facilitate workshops. I actually love my job there. And I am applying to volunteer at the hospital to get a feel of medical profession. That is a leadership position. I also applied for an student exec in DECA (business club). How is that for leadership stuff?</p>
<p>And RSI is free…and it shows dedication to the sciences…so it is an application “bolster.”</p>
<p>The expensive summer programs don’t impress top colleges. All those programs prove is that you have enough money to pay for them. </p>
<p>Working an ordinary job or creating or your own learning or volunteer opportunities that involve pursuing things you really care about – that’s what impresses top colleges.</p>
<p>The Ivies are overloaded with academically qualified applicants who have wonderful extracurricular activities. Most people by now have also picked up on the notion that passions are good and so try to highlight a particular extracurricular or cluster their extracurriculars around some sort of theme. Pursuing passions is important just to stay in the running.</p>
<p>What you need to do is find some way to further separate yourself from the masses. Your SES status (i.e. not being rich) is a good start. Modest backgrounds are in right now at the Ivies, so anything you can do to highlight that could pay off handsomely.</p>
<p>Another quality in vogue right now at the Ivies is the notion of discipline or perseverence. Increasingly, schools aren’t look specifically for passions; rather, they’re on the look out for the “correlates of passions” – or, in other words, those qualities, behaviors, and dispositions that tend to be found in passionate people. Discipline and hard work are two of the most common correlates.</p>
<p>Finally, do something that requires you to get “down and dirty,” something that fits the bill, no question about it, of serious hard labor. Several of the adcoms downright drool over obvious risk takers who step outside their comfort zones and bust stereotypes. The urban/suburban girl with sterling academic credentials and a glowing resume full of community service leadership positions really sets herself apart by, say, volunteering one summer at a Christian mission in West Virginia that teaches poor farmers new agricultural techniques.</p>
<p>I agree, exploring something you are passionate about is key… I also think showing leadership and initiative is important too. i.e. starting a club about one of your interests at your High School. Also, you should not limit yourself to only Ivy League schools and JHU. If you’re that smart, it might be good to look into schools like University of Rochester, University of Michigan, NYU, Emory, Duke. Any other top school that you might have a better chance at getting scholarship money to and that have good reputations and pre-med programs. 
Anyway, Good Luck!!</p>
<p>Is it true that if you haven’t received an information or campus info packet from an Ivy League school you won’t get accepted into an Ivy?</p>
<p>No, that’s complete BS. I’ve known many students who never received information packets and were accepted at an Ivy League school.</p>
<p>I think I am hardworking and I am tunneling all my efforts into getting my dream - to go to JHU or another prestigious school. Can someone tell me if continuing on with Red Cross is a good plan…and what about this summer thing where you shadow a doctor in Argentina. What is impressive?</p>
<p>How old are you? If you’re a rising junior and like the social sciences, when you begin school again after the summer, you should apply for Princeton University’s High School Diplomats program. It’s free I went, and I loved it!</p>