<p>... ^</p>
<p>dangit, I forgot to include something on my app then, cause i'll seem incredibly lazy...</p>
<p>ugh, 4 years of music camp down the drain... :'(</p>
<p>There is a difference between an English public school and an American private school, and it is very much more easy to go from UK to US than the other way around. Going to a public school in England has different implications than a private school here, generally speaking. There are private schools in England, and public schools are private but not the same thing. <em>everyone not familiar with England's education system goes, Uhhhhhh....?</em></p>
<p>Going from an English public school to a top American uni should be rather easy compared to any other way of doing it. A-levels carry a lot of weight, as we don't have something comparable nor anything as difficult. If you got AAA on A-levels you would be VERY much set to study at a top uni here, <em>providing</em> other things match up. English schools tend to be more focused on non-academics in addition to stellar academics than an average US school nation-wide. </p>
<p>It does matter what school you went to here. People go to Ivys from all different types of schools, but they do know what kind of academics your school has.</p>
<p>bah..everyone gets confused...i think mine is listed as an
independent, public school...dont really care what its considered, its huge, its old and its amazing :D</p>
<p>anyway..nice to know that A-levels carry someweight overseas (especially seeing as ill be doing 5 A levels + 1 AS).</p>
<p>as i said the thing im most worried about it what is
considered "Leadership" (ive seen people put going to karate class for X years under this section ...?!?! etc)..</p>
<p>i might be a bit self-biased here, but i really don't think that any academic EC - contests, internships, debates, etc - can compare to enduring athletic participation. I mean, competitive athletes practice everyday for at least 2 hours, do physical fitness, and attend numerous matches and whatnot. Even if it doesn't sound as awe-inspiring as some collaborative research project with a Harvard professor, the amount of devotion and time spent on sports is not tantamount to some academic interest that people decided to pursue at a later age. Example: being fifth in state for some extremely prestigious and well-known-to-ivies contest would probably be worth more in the application process than being ranked 5th in state for some sport, yet the amount of work needed to attain these goals are definitely incongruent.</p>
<p>Naw - the thing is - ANYONE can just show up to practice. Sure, it's a great time committment, but you're in high school, and you should know by know how to manage your time. Just because an activity consumes a lot of time doesn't mean it's a good use of your time. </p>
<p>And no - the amount of work is not incongruent. Do you really think Siemens/Intel/National Forensics League (NFL)/robotics national champs (even state champs) did ANY less work than you did for your sport? I don't think so.</p>
<p>Dude, If you are a top 5 player in your state you might work more than some science nerd, however if you aren't a ranked sports player, then you definitely have to work harder to become a science nerd.</p>
<p>There is no such thing as a good EC, unless you love it, put a lot of time into it and are good at it.</p>
<p>As a mother of a child who is a college admission's officer at a very selective college, I can tell you he is tired of reading about students going to Central American countries to build homes, while of course admirable, he is leery of applicants trying to pad their resumes, versus real passion and interest in a activity or pursuit. Be genuine in pursuing your EC's.</p>
<p>even though i can see where you're coming from, it's ridiculous to say that sports are more important than academic "sports" like debate, science olympiad, public speaking etc. Do you know how competitive and hard-working the competition is for speech and debate? I have seen people work day and night over congress bills and shed tears over perfecting their speech. i myself have spent countless hours working on my speeches and practising them. to win an international speech contest, i basically had no social life for the three weeks leading up to the contest. it's tough to shine in ANY kind of EC if you want to be nationally/state ranked.</p>
<p>Trust me.. a Division 1 athlete is the BEST extra curricular you can possibly have out of high school... Even science or Math Olympiads do not compare to that..</p>
<p>I think the best ECs are the ones that relate to one's major. For example, if your major is in Chemistry, have some ECs that show that you are passionate about chemistry.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if my interests/EC's have been too random for an admissions counsellor to follow. I'm most likely interested in History or English..but there aren't too many ec's for that!</p>
<p>Here's my preliminary list (spring of Junior year):</p>
<p>President, Drawing Club
Art Club
Student Government
Concerned Citizen's Committee
Key Club
Earth Club
Culture Club
Social Action Committee</p>
<p>(reason why they are varied is b/c I switched schools earlier this year.)</p>
<p>Don't know quite how/if to list these activities:</p>
<p>Competitive figure skating
YMCA Learn to Skate instructor
Habitat for Humanity
Relay for Life
Nominee: Global Young Leaders Conference
Internship with a NYS Member of Assembly</p>
<p>Pending:
Research at local laboratory (cancer, otherwise)
Historical research paper published in a highly regarded publication that publishes high schooler's research papers
Hospital volunteering
Crew or Volleyball or Fencing, maybe soccer (I'll have at least one school sport..not sure which one to do yet)</p>
<p>In regards to Crew, the college counselour at my school mentioned to us today that we should try to join crew if we can, and are interested, because it could be a real edge in the admissions process for highly selective schools. Any thoughts on this sport in particular?</p>
<p>"Nominee: Global Young Leaders Conference"
^ Don't list that.</p>
<p>Remember, long-term and time-intensive activities are the most impressive. Looking at your list, you seem to hold membership in a lot of clubs. But how can the admissions officer be sure that you've contributed significantly to these activities? </p>
<p>Crew shows dedication, like any other sport, but it won't be a "hook" unless you are recruited.</p>
<p>I agree with the passion thing only. As long as you pursue womehting that you are really passionate about, then you can excel. </p>
<p>And now the true question. I have been trying to figure out how to do this for ages, albeit unsuccessfully, so how do you give a title to your post??</p>
<p>Could losing a significant amount of weight (30 pounds+) be listed as an EC, or an award, or in an essay? How would I put that on an ap, if at all?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I don't think that will be a valuable part of the app.... unless, however, losing those pounds provided some kind of great life experience for you. If that's true, then that could potentially be something for the essay.</p>
<p>mj93...i'm sure you can spin that out to be a great essay.. (as long as you connect it to other important things in your life).</p>
<p>Will admissions officers take into account the fact that I reside in a rural area that doesn't offer much for high school kids to do? (It is only in the past year that my school has added clubs that I would be remotely interested in, and there is almost NOTHING to do outside of the schools.)</p>
<p>Yes, they would Ririka. And that could even work to your advantage. In
A is for Admission
an admissions officer states that the most important thing that affects how an application is viewed is the background of the student, namely his/her family's education, his/her parents' fiscal status, his/her environment and how the student adapts to it in order to get as much as they can from it. So if you live in a ridiculously small rural area, it would be great if you could show that through your essays and show as well how you personally tried and managed to overcome that.</p>
<p>in regards to the sports vs. intellectual sport thing, both require a lot of dedication, and I don't think that one is necessarily more important or more impressive than the other, even though I fall on the side of the more academic bunch. Unlike athletes, academic team players stay up all night and day and (may even) have to sacrifice social interaction, and devoiding yourself of talking to others or even isolating yourself when you're friends get to do whatever is mentally taxing. At least in sports, one gets to stay physically active and socialize with others as a requirement for their sport.</p>