@skieurope @twogirls Also, I mentioned it because my school doesn’t offer any non-profits to volunteer for, which is why my friend and I were thinking about starting one.
Not that in most cases anybody needs to volunteer for a non-profit (although it’s very noble), one thing a student should never say is “my school does not offer…”
There should be no expectation that any/all ECs have to be school-sponsored. Outside the US, it is rare for a HS to sponsor any ECs, But there is almost always opportunity within the larger community.
My daughter’s school didn’t have any non-profits either. I don’t know of any that do (?). She was very involved in typical school activities ( sports, yearbook, student council, science fairs etc) and also volunteered off campus in the community. She applied to college and was happy with her acceptances.
I would not attempt to start a non-profit.
@domt73 I wish that in my high school career I would have pursued things with more fervor and excitement. my advice would be to start a lot of things, especially because you’re only a sophomore. See if you can develop passion and excitement for them along the way, and pursue what you are passionate about. I would also encourage you to not take the advice of people online too seriously and, in the end, do what you think is best for yourself.
What are other awards that are out there for leadership/service, academic or environmental science/engineering. I want to see what there are so I can achieve to get them.
Look at post #20 and also speak with your guidance counselor. Other than that…you have received a lot of good advice and now it is time to get out there and do something. It seems to me that you are looking for a list of things to put on your college application, when in reality you need to be DOING. Here is an example:
In 9th grade my daughter joined the yearbook.
In 10th grade she continued with the yearbook. At the end of 10th grade she was offered the job of assistant editor.
In 11th grade she was the assistant editor. In March of junior year they offered her the editor job for senior year.
In 12th grade she was the editor. She worked for hours…and hours…every single day. Part of this job required her to make 2-3 school trips into the city with the yearbook crew and teacher to meet with the yearbook company about a variety of topics. While there…the company entered them into some kind of national yearbook contest because they were so impressed with the yearbook. Entrance into this competition was a direct result of the group’s hard work. They sat in my kitchen for hours…and hours…working.
They won an award…not first place…not second place…but some kind of award and national recognition. While this was too late for my daughter to report as it came late in her senior year, it was not too late for their assistant editor…who was a junior and was now able to put this recognition on her college application.
Recognition comes from doing the work, by spending hours and hours …doing the work. This is what we mean when we say you are working backwards.
We are going around in circles. Let us know what you have specifically done within your clubs, school, etc…What do you have planned for the summer?
You seem to be looking for people to spoon feed you a list of awards/activities that will get you into a top college. That list does not exist. Get involved in things that interest/excite you, work hard, take initiative, and good things will likely follow.
@twogirls I am working part time at the nursery on sundays, working at a pizzeria from Mondays to Fridays, and volunteering at my local park.
^ Are you doing that now or in the summer? Working is a very valuable EC, FYI.
@twogirls Working now and going to work throughout the summer also. I’m also going to try to study for the SAT and SAT II (Chemistry and Math I in August) and do my AP summer work.
I am thinking on using Khan Academy. What does you guys think?
Do you guys think using Khan Academy and using practice books would be great for the SAT?
I am not familiar with Khan Acacemy for SAT purposes. I do think that using practice books would be helpful. I would make sure that you stick to a schedule, learn why you made your mistakes, eventually begin to take tests under timed conditions etc.
Studying is a good idea. I would not go on cold.
NSHSS is a complete joke.
They welcome you into their “honor society” with no idea of your grades. The get absolutely no input from anyone at your school. They have absolutely no idea what sort of student you are.
They “honor” you by inviting you to pay $60 to have your picture in their book.
I wouldn’t suggest you list membership on any sort of college or scholarship application. It will cheapen the rest of your application.
I agree with @twogirls that we go around in a circle. The OP has two similar threads going on at the same time. This thread and the NHS thread. There are many people who have given the OP very good advice.
I also agree with @happy1 that the OP seems to look for people to spoon feed him/her. Only if the OP stops calling more people to respond to his/her questions and starts re-reading all the advice and checking the links provided in this and the other thread, he/she would have plenty of things to do that could strnthen his/her application. That includes expanding the college list to include several matches and safeties.
Still don’t sure why the OP only focuses on MIT, Columbia and Stanford.
@rphcfb I want to find awards so I work to achieve them, like the Presidential Service Award. I want examples, I’m not feeding off of anyone.
@rphcfb Also, I even said the schools I’m interested in, including safeties like South Carolina, Florida State, Temple, and UW Madison.
@domt73 ,
There is no one magic award, one magic volunteer activity, etc. to get you into those tippy tops colleges.
You do not seem to get it. You have received 4 pages of advice on this thread and 5 pages of advice on the NHS thread. Shouldn’t it be sufficient?
A few comments here…
- you do not have any test scores ( only psat) and some/all of the schools that you reference above will likely not be safeties
- if you want to work toward the Presidential Service Award…that’s great. Keep in mind what you have been told…you need to a get out there and actually do the work. You should be passionate about the work itself…and not fueled by the possibility of an award.