<p>There is much talk on CC about, "you can't get in because you don't stand out." Well, to those people that have used this phrase before, can you explain yourselves? What are some things that make you "stand out?"</p>
<p>hmmm I'd say because I'm:</p>
<ol>
<li>National Champion in a healthcare competition</li>
<li>Girl with a Neurological Surgery Internship (plus a General Medicine/BMT and a General Medicine/Cardiac Internship)</li>
<li>I'm in a "one-woman solo band"</li>
<li>(I didn't put this on my app but I'm going to send it in somehow via supplementary information) In Bangladesh my family is very important/politics related. Ex: my uncle was Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary to the Prime Minister</li>
</ol>
<p>I didn't stand out at all, but still got accepted to all my colleges, decent schools too, including Univ. of Illinois, where I go. </p>
<p>We're not all overachievers. I was one in the classroom, but I never really joined clubs/organizations at high school. I meant too, but I got lazy with it. But my grades did more than enough.</p>
<p>ohh miss zanna, what do you mean by a neurosurgery internship and general medicine/cardiology internship?</p>
<p>How is something your uncle did relevant to your college application?</p>
<p>Standing out, in my opinion, is doing something different.</p>
<p>How many applications do you think some schools get from students who play football? Or who sing? Hundreds, probably- and I'm not bashing singers or football players, by the way. XD</p>
<p>But how many applications do you think they get from someone who is a trained acrobat? A fire swallower? A magician- and not the corny kind? Or someone who dresses up like Pooh-bear and performs for community events?</p>
<p>Stuff like that stands out, along with outstanding academic achievement. I also think that stuff that stands out is pursuing something above and beyond your school. Such as a singer who not only sings at school, but sings in an all-state group, band, or anything outside school. </p>
<p>Hope some of this makes sense. xD</p>
<p>
[quote]
ohh miss zanna, what do you mean by a neurosurgery internship and general medicine/cardiology internship?</p>
<p>How is something your uncle did relevant to your college application?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I have internships...I don't get what you're asking. What do you mean "what do I mean?" haha</p>
<p>And something my uncle did is not directly relevant, but it's "diversity" and it plays a role in my newly discovered liking of politics. When I found out what an important factor he was to their government, I earned a new respect toward politics and I am now determined to learn more. Coming from a family of politicians, it's strange that I never seemed to fall in love with it the way they did until a couple of months ago.</p>
<p>applying from South Dakota or Idaho is "standing out"</p>
<p>^hahahah true. I feel sorry for the kids in MA ;]</p>
<p>Would shadowing a ER physician and seeing 10 plus surgeries with a cardiologist help me stand out?</p>
<p>I stand out because:</p>
<p>Highly talented in Philosophy.
MA State Champion Powerlifter, nationally ranked.
Physical Therapy Aide at a clinic in my town, a job usually filled by PT students.</p>
<p>I also have that all around feel...Varsity Football, Drums/Bass Guitar, two jobs, and community service.</p>
<p>I had terrible grades, and and was 32/177 at my private Catholic school...but I got into Bard without applying for a Performing Arts major. They obviously saw something.</p>
<p>I never say that phrase, but I believe I clearly stand out from the crowd...</p>
<p>1) All-County/All-Region/All-State/All-Eastern Korean male Bass Clarinetist. How many of those do you see? I also play alto/tenor/bari saxophone + clarinet on the side. Haha yeah...no piano (yuck) or violin</p>
<p>2) Went from no honors to all honors -- sacrificed some A's for B's on the move, but it was a HUGE jump and overall, most likely a plus. </p>
<p>3) Bowling...how many asians bowl...seriously</p>
<p>4) I come off as creative...I was named "king of rap" in spanish once for winning a 5 minute create and memorize a rhyming rap exercise...I wonder how many koreans have that on their recommendation? (I know 1 person in Duke's handbook :))</p>
<p>I stand out because I'm an Indian Male from the 'burbs of New Jersey applying to combined medical programs...can't stand out more than that, can I?</p>
<p>I don't stand out... I like it that way.</p>
<p>"^hahahah true. I feel sorry for the kids in MA ;]"</p>
<p>That's me, haha... and I'm white and attend a public high school with (almost literally) 0% diversity. Yep. No hooks there!</p>
<p>To be honest, I don't really stand out in one area. I've only done extremely well in my classes. However, there's a difference between getting good grades in science classes and interning or winning major science competitions like Ohh Miss Zanna (writing out your user name sounds silly =) ).
My greatest chance of standing out is the fact that I'm well-rounded. But... it seems as though colleges DON'T want students that are 'well-rounded' anymore (probably because in the Ivies and top LACs, all of the applicants are well-rounded already...)</p>
<p>I really need to stop reading threads like these, because they make me extremely pessimistic about applying to schools next year...</p>
<p>State for HOSA Spelling/Terminology
State for Sci Fair (2 competitions)
Regions for UIL Spelling/Vocab
2 Varsity Choirs (co-lead) for UIL
President of my HOSA chapter</p>
<p>...and I'm Hispanic:)</p>
<p>would this make me stand out?</p>
<p>Sacremento Convention Center Solo Concert Piano Performance</p>
<p>Winner of the 2006 Contemporary Festival</p>
<p>Solo Concert Piano Performance in Shanghai Normal University</p>
<p>Editor of School Newspaper</p>
<p>Vice President of Public Relations for Chinese American Citizen's Alliance Youth Council</p>
<p>Organiser of 2007 UCLA National Youth Leadership Conference</p>
<p>Started my school's first math team</p>
<p>... too bad my SAT scores aren't as shining as my EC's =(</p>
<ul>
<li>Chosen to represent Saudi Arabia at Major International conferences discussing world issues</li>
<li>Founded MUN at my school and participtaed at International conferences</li>
<li>Trilingual (Isn't something AMAZING considering all foreign students are bilingual and some are trilingual)</li>
<li>Varsity Captain, but tutors middle school children in English (yeah, I'm cool like that)
...plus, I'm from Saudi haha</li>
</ul>
<p>Remember, awards aren't the only thing that make you stand out. </p>
<p>Me:
-I compose music for my rock band
-Web Designer and Progammer
-I run online game servers
-quadrilingual
-Model U.N. leader at school
-3 varsity sports (one for all four years)
-Organizing charity sports events
-three jobs, one with 30 hrs/week (this one was a summer job): I had to work for anything and everything I wanted/needed in high school
-Habitat for Humanity
-Low income (<$25000)
I'm most talented in music, can do random improvs of any genre except jazz maybe.</p>
<p>Ohh Miss Zanna,
What I meant was I usually think of a medical internship as something you do after graduating from medical school, and you're still in high school. So, do you work for a neurosurgeon and cardiologist, do research with them, shadow them, or whatever? It's not a criticism, just a question.</p>
<p>hahaha my bad, I guess the term is only used around here. I have an internship *but I'm not an *intern.
I shadow them mostly.
Besides that I do a little vital signs, patient interviews, case studies, etc.</p>