"Those ECs are weak...."- So what's good?

<p>This is very upsetting. I feel like the entire district I live in is against my success. You see, one student in particular gets more opportunity than any other because both of her parents work in the district and pull strings to get her student office. She is president of student council, nhs, interact, and the senior class, all through corrupt voting measures. All for her to get into Harvard
the worst part is that she probably won’t get in. gah, why couldn’t I have lived 50 years ago, when harvard was realistic college reach</p>

<p>^If Harvard was a realistic college reach, it probably wouldn’t be as prestigious…haha
Btw, how does having parents who work in the district get you student office positions? Unless you guys don’t abide by democracy…?</p>

<p>Yea somebody at our school got into Harvard, and no one ever heard of him because he had no good ECs…and his grades were like only top 5% (not top 1%)…</p>

<p>which means anything is possible.</p>

<p>it’s really *****ed up. But yeah, her parents and I’m assuming the rest of the administration have teamed up to give her any benefit they can. She’s number one in our class, which makes no sense because the way our class is ranked is in a way that would bar her from ever being it (kids in IB have the premier shot at #1, she’s not in IB) and she also is president of interact, student council, and NHS. the other person that ran against her in NHS seemingly had more votes, and even asked to not be voted for VP, but he somehow got VP and she got president.</p>

<p>fyi, honestly this isn’t a vendetta or anything, but there is definitely foul play. She gets immediate favoritism</p>

<p>jimbob, it appears you aren’t getting any support here, but I also think it’s horrible that the BSA doesn’t allow gays to be boy scouts.</p>

<p>Dear northtarmom, with all due respect for your wisdom as a senior veteran who’s gone through this process. i must disagree with you. You list INSANE requirements to get into an ivy league school. Yes, they only take the best of the best but how many students have the money to set up a charity organization. Most of us cannot be proffesional actors or nationally ranked athletes. These requirements are almost impossible to meet. Furthermore, they make one looked packaged - as in they make the student look like a college counselor has ben consulted. Colleges hate this.</p>

<p>-Science/math research project (submit to a competition)
-Varsity athlete (captain, varsity letterman, league/state/nationally ranked)
-Getting paid to teach something, such as debate, an instrument, coach a sport, etc.
-Starting some organization, however small it may be, in another country
-math: AMC 12, AIME, USAMO, IMO
-other: USABO, USNCO, USACO, USAPhO
-summer programs: RSI, TASP, SSP, MITES, YESS (last 2 are for minorities)
-debate: league champ/state/nationals
-winner of multiple speech/debate competitions, American Legion, oratorical contests</p>

<p>how about interning at a congressmans office for a semester, as well as interning at the democratic party office during the election?
i’m also in student council, democratic league at school, a competitive to get into student leader group, tennis, recreational rowing, and NHS</p>

<p>nevin021s- I have one of those, too. Isn’t it annoying?</p>

<p>Mine gets all these academic awards, but thinks that Russia has compulsory military service and doesn’t know what “adversity” means. (No, literally- she asked me how to spell it AND what it meant).</p>

<p>Where would you rank being the Junior class’ sole delegate to Girls State or Boys State Conferences?</p>

<p>I have a query … i am an international student … many people must have read my previous posts. .
I have directed a movie … with a couple of friends …
details - I have written the plot , dialogues … everything … and have a special appearance in the movie … it is a 1hr 25 mins movie
I plan to do engineering … my stats are posted in my previous posts … how should i let the admissions commitee know tht i have made a movie
Is It worth adding to my CV ? … will this increase my chances …</p>

<p>P.S.- i had viewed the movie in my school auditorium . where … about 2000 children saw it … including my teachers … the movie is good (not amazing … but good for my age)</p>

<p>^ Hmmm…I’m not sure, but maybe you could ask your counselor/teacher to incorporate it into their recommendation letter?</p>

<p>agree wholeheartedly with nil desperatum</p>

<p>People tell me that for EC’s, it’s better to devote a lot of time towards a few areas rather than little time in many, dispersed EC’s. So what exactly is “strong”?</p>

<p>For example, the only EC’s I have are Key Club (Vice President), NHS, Soccer, and a Food Bank (which I served 250 hours). Is that showing “devotion”, or is that pretty weak?</p>

<p>I can’t believe that so many people on this forum have the preception that good ECs must out of the ball park. People on this forum and a lot of people, in general, think that only the kids who set up their own charities, cure diseases, build businesses that make a ton of profit, play at Carnegie Hall or Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, win Olympic Gold medals, and/or similar ECs are the only good ECs. There are a lot of kids who do not have that opportunity. There are probably kids who do get invited to Africa to help cure a disease, or get invited to Carnegie Hall or the Kennedy Center, but have no money to pay for the transportation and the expenses while there. In reality, not everyone is a prodigy or genius. If people really wanted admissions to be fair, especially in the ECs area, then we should reward the kids who truly deserve to do the “great” things. There are ton of rich kids who are not going to be successful, if you eliiminate money from them. I am SICK of all these elitists who get into prestigious colleges just because they are rich and uses that money to retake SATs/ACTs a gazillion times, and bump their ECs by applying to camps/activities that cost way too much!!!</p>

<p>How important is leadership for EC?
I’m president for two clubs in school and editor of school newspaper.
But is it necessary to dedicate my time to Student Government in my senior year?
Should I run for election? Or should I concentrate on SATs instead?</p>

<p>MADEINUSA817, I TOTALLY SECOND WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT ECS. colleges want to see dedication and ambition, even if such passion is for one or two activities. do what you like to do, and write about whatever it is you’re passionate about in your personal statements. it’s always better to show long-term dedication to one or two things than brief stints in various clubs. like a decent long-term relationship vs. multiple, yet brief and impersonal flings. har. har.</p>

<p>Gen- I understand your frustration, but there are ways to have great ECs without spending a lot of money. Top schools like to see dedication, ingenuity, and passion. For example, if you are a writer, you can submit your short stories and get them published in literary magazines or you can intern at your local newspaper. Unique volunteer work that correlates with your demonstrated passion will also play well with the adcoms. You can create these opportunities for yourself by figuring out what you really like and are really good at and volunteering in that arena.</p>

<p>BUMP </p>

<p>My post please ?</p>