'm going to be an incoming freshman in high school. For those of you who were admitted to an Ivy League/top-tier school, what activities would you recommend to build a solid resume? Specifically, I’m looking for humanities/political science/international affairs-related activities. Thank you!
The formula to have a non-trivial chance of admission to super-selective schools:
- 4.0 or very close to it GPA in the hardest courses available to you (in all subject areas).
- top-end test scores.
- state or national level achievement, award, or recognition in some out-of-class activity.
- top-end recommendations.
- don’t botch the interview.
And even then, admission is nowhere near assured.
I realize that, but I was wondering if you know of any humanities-related extracurriculars I could pursue. Do you have any ideas for that?
For political science, there is volunteering in political campaigns, though a high level achievement may be hard to show.
For humanities, if you write something (literature, philosophical writings, etc.) that becomes popular and/or acclaimed, that should help. Easier said than done, of course.
You are going at the ECs backwards: your ECs CAN match your potential major, if that’s what you really enjoy, but they really don’t have to. I know a current Princeton student majoring in an IR-type subject who never went near Model UN, JSA, interning in a relevant area, etc. Her ECs were things she loved, pursued intensely, and had top leadership roles in: (serious) theater and chorus, yearbook editor, peer counseling.
Actually, as I think about it, I know current students at most of the Ivies whose major ECs had nothing to do with their actual major: they were related to what the student was genuinely interested in. These students were all in the top few people in their classes and also high achieving in their ECs.
So, my suggestion is to pursue things that are genuinely interesting to you- and shine as brightly in them as you do your academics. You might find [url=<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways%5Dthis%5B/url”>http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways]this[/url] helpful.
I agree wholeheartedly with @collegemom3717. My son recently graduated from Princeton as a physics major, but none of his ECs were related to any of the sciences. Do what you like and like what you do.
I’m a Cornell student, and some of my ECs related to engineering (Rocket Club, Math Club). But most of them were totally sports/music related.
ECs should be things you love and your passion and leadership should come through. Trying to craft a set of ECs in an attempt to bolster your chances to get into college is generally not a good idea.