<p>bbccpp, you misunderstand. The point that everyone here makes is that you do what you love and that in itself matters much more than the college acceptance. What the adcom thinks should hardly matter- if a particular college picks you for who you are, great; if not, molding what you like for the sake of getting into that college will only make you miserable once you’re there. If you don’t enjoy the volunteering, the activities, the classes, how can you stand being a school where these are the very things that everyone else around talks about 24/7?</p>
<p>Too many of the posts on this board are so puzzling. Why do people seem to think that Harvard is some kind of happy end in itself? It may be a lottery but what did people think is the reward? The work? The classes? The giant puddles of slush that you have to hop through to get from building to building? </p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, I love the school very much, but sometimes I’m just genuinely curious.</p>
<p>For summer programs, there’s RSI and MITES for science/research. (but no idea if they’re “appealing to Harvard”)</p>