<p>To those of you who are into the science/math fields and have been accepted into Stanford: what clubs/activities were you involved in throughout high school?</p>
<p>I have a feeling that you're only asking this because you yourself are a prospective math/science major and wish to know what clubs make you look good for that major. </p>
<p>However, for schools like Stanford, where you apply directly to the university and not to a specific department within the university, your prospective major doesn't really matter. Colleges (especially Stanford) know that students change their minds all the time. </p>
<p>So padding your app with extra curriculars geared around math isn't going to help you get into Stanford's math department, simply because admissions to Stanford doesn't work that way. </p>
<p>Schools where this method might work are NYU, Cornell, Penn, and Oxbridge because at those universities you apply directly to a department and so for theses types of schools having math related ecs when applying for a math major will help you. But sadly, not for Stanford.</p>
<p>hey....i was accepted at stanford...am a math/science dude. I was involved in no clubs...my main activity was research...did well in isef, siemens, sts etc. mostly independent research. it was really my passion so i devoted most of my time to it.</p>
<p>yep, i did a lot of scientific research, then my state's governor's school and various other math/science competition. </p>
<p>but that was only a part of my application. actually, most of my EC's were not related to science at all.</p>
<p>my biggest science EC was probably just the regular science fair routes, along with summer research internship etc...but it can't compare with my other ECs (leadership and music) even though I'm planning to focus in the natural sciences</p>
<p>I did robotics.</p>
<p>i did a lot of music related stuff. marching/jazz/symphonic band, church choir, and a dance group.</p>
<p>the only science/medicine related thing I did was intern at a hospital for a summer.</p>
<p>It does not matter what you do, as long as you are really-really good at it!</p>
<p>is leadership experience crucial for an extracurricular to be considered outstanding? cuz the only thing i have right now is just a medical research internship... that's probably not enough huh?</p>
<p>unless u do ISEF for ur research... in my case im doing case studies and reports, hence not science project material, rather geared towards publishing in a medical journal... anyways medical research is great from what i've heard... u can get in with that as a big bonus EC... get some other stuff ur interested in...</p>
<p>the thing is, i'm a junior... do i seriously have the time to commit myself to something else other than my internship? what can i do really? besides volunteering more, join stuff like amnesty international?</p>
<p>blueducky,</p>
<p>Find something you LOVE doing, and do it well. There is no point joining clubs your senior year to pad your application. There is a good chance that if you do it, you'll spend a year doing things you do not enjoy, and still be rejected.</p>
<p>good way to is make use of talents u have... i was dexterous... hence taught myself the art of turntablism... now i make/produce music... and as well as DJ constantly... </p>
<p>Its to narrow down ur passions and make something of them... my friend piccolojunior (he's got accepted into class of 2012 at harvard) asked me this question, "Name the two most greatest things you like"... He answered Chemistry and Basketball (which shows, cuz he did lotta science related stuff like researching microbiological medicine stuff, and doing USNCO and all those chem related thing... i donno if he mentioned basketball but yah most of his thing was geared towards like 2 fundamental passions... hence his ECs showed (he did primarily research)... oo and if ur wondering i said Djing and Neurosurgery...</p>
<p>anywhoo, narrow ur passions, find a hobby ur good at and make it shine... DJing started as a hobby, but now its kind of like a way of life for me... being signed to a label and professional entertainment company... its cool....</p>
<p>Focus on key stuff right now... if internship is primarily what your doing, make something out of it... it helps if u like to volunteer in various places- soup kitchen etc... those also make for excellent essays if ur not scared to talk to the people u serve... but dont do it for the college app padding.. do it cuz u enjoy it...</p>
<p>Again, said many times in the forum, no set EC+college formula to get into a Top Tier University... just take a shot and convey urself as a unique (we are all unique anyways) and distinct in your own way type of individual...</p>
<p>I know my question made me sound incredibly prestige-oriented and truly geared toward gaining acceptance... but i swear, I am perfectly fine with UC Berkeley and other less competitive schools. I believe that college is what you make out of it -- seriously it's not like UCB will not challenge me!</p>
<p>Surprisingly, i actually did end up enjoying my AP classes.
I mean, i started out taking them cuz "they look good" and cuz they gave an extra grade point average. Now, in retrospect, I learned a great deal and all the hardwork feels so worthwhile.</p>
<p>As for the extracurricular stuff, I have also been a library tutor for like 3 years and i work with the Asian American Donors Program as a volunteer, coordinating bone marrow drives. I actually do enjoy these activities.</p>
<p>It's just i'm a bit nervous cuz I'm not part of any kind of leadership!</p>
<p>Hippo724- Then what does work for Stanford?
Please help!!!</p>
<p>I hardly did anything math/science related in high school.</p>
<p>I played sports. I debated. I did quiz bowl. I volunteered.</p>
<p>No mathletes. No significant science fair participation. No science olympiad. No robotics.</p>
<p>
Um I don’t think so. Leadership does not make an EC outstanding by itself, nor is it necessary for an EC to be outstanding.</p>
<p>Take a football receiver who goes crazy for like 2000 yards his senior season and won all-conference honors and stuff like that. An outstanding EC. But he wasn’t team captain because he wasn’t used as much his junior year or the QB was close with the coach or whatever. </p>
<p>Or someone who goes to Science Olympiad nationals and wins 3 golds but doesn’t want to be President of the club as she doesn’t think she is a good enough leader. </p>
<p>Or someone who publishes a novel with a major company! </p>
<p>Or being the lead role in all the school’s musicals and maybe some bigger productions as well. </p>
<p>Or the student I know who models professionally (like real legit) in his free time. </p>
<p>I could go on and on.</p>
<p>Also to answer the original question I did varsity golf, tutoring (volunteer and for pay), volunteer golf coach, science olympiad, school TV show host, IM sports, and quiz bowl. The main things I focused on were golf, tutoring, and SciOly.</p>
<p>IMO, the critical thing to do once you have reached a threshold level of scores, GPA and ECs is to package yourself the right way so that all the parts fit into an interesting “whole”. My kids did not have strong leadership positions, athletic abilities or musical talent, but somehow they got into Stanford by presenting what they did do in an integrated way that conveyed a consistent personality. To do this, the ECs have to be ones that you yourself would naturally choose to do.</p>