Hi guys,
I was looking for a way to productively use my time over the summer. I thought that I could spend time writing a research paper or something of a similar kind.
How helpful would this be for college admissions?
Also, if any of you have a good suggestion for extracurriculars, please do tell me. I am still in the very early stages of deciding what extracurriculars to focus on, so any advise is welcome.
P.S- I am currently in my junior year and intend to major in CS.
I aiming for Stanford, MIT, CMU and other top Ivy’s.
It would be helpful if published, or accepted for publication, by a respected journal. Otherwise, not so much.
Any other suggestions for other extracurriculars pertaining to majoring in CS.
What do you have under your belt already that makes you aim for top schools?
- AMC 12 DHR
- AMC 12 National 1st ranker
- A few other prestigious exams (I think 6 other exams) where I got national rank 1 and national rank 3
- SAT, SAT subjects tests are at the top level
- A few country specific exams where I was put in top 0.5% and 1%
- And other common things: School rank 1, Best student of the grade etc.
- Some habitat for humanity
Basically, I don’t think I will be able to add to many academic achievements to the current profile because of the very hectic school schedule. But, I can work on extracurriculars as part of a group or individually.
So please give me some ideas for CS specific extracurriculars.
I forgot to mention @yucca10
You can create some useful software, app or website, or contribute to open source projects.
Could anyone give some more ideas or give me a list of suggestions for impressive extracurriculars?
That would be really helpful as I figure out which extracurriculars I should focus more on.
Extracurriculars are supposed to be the things you enjoy doing. What’s “impressive” for AOs is not the specific ECs but what you make of them. If you achieve excellence in art, sports, or volunteering, this is as good as a research paper (or, in case of sports, may be better).
I agree with post #1 from skieurope. From your academic achievements, I surmise that you are well-verse in writing codes and applications, and have been productive in these areas. It would be helpful in your college application to demonstrate that, you see the connections between your work and our society at large. What purpose would these codes serve? Say, you have developed another algorithm to calculate pi to yet trillion more digits; what tangible impact would that have on us? Have you used your talents and knowledge to help others? Perhaps you are already pursuing this, such as in tutoring others? These tutoring ventures need not be at grand scale of city-wide or state-wide levels; helping out your fellow students at school is just fine; however, continuous commitment is imperative.
Brown recommends sending in a graded paper, whereas Princeton requires one; preferably in English or history, and not expository. Perhaps keep this in mind when writing your future history or English assignments, explore the connections and impact (good and bad) of technology on our society. Show the college admission officers, through your ECs that you are not isolated in your computer bubble and your are committed to serving others.
“Could anyone give some more ideas or give me a list of suggestions for impressive extracurriculars?”
Raise $15 million and give it to Harvard?
Seriously, there is no golden ticket (although a $15 million donation is the next best thing). No one on these boards can give you marching orders with any sort of guarantee. It isn’t WHAT you do. What makes the difference is the stretch, the challenges, the creativity, and the growth. Do what you enjoy and take it to the next level. Colleges do like to see leadership and concern for others, so if you can incorporate those types of challenges in whatever path you set for yourself, so much the better.
You’ve done some work for Habitat for Humanity, for example. So how can you incorporate CS into that? Can you do some CS work for the local office? Can you rig up a house that you help build into a “smart house”?