<p>I always get this thing from many people.</p>
<p>"Always try to get into unusual hobbies and ECs but that you also enjoy. If many people do tae kwon do or karate as martial arts, you can go for yoga, which sounds very unique. Sudying with your friends every saturday about russian or mongolian culture is very unique too. things like these is what many admission officers look. uniqueness and creativity of mind."</p>
<p>is it true? it seems quite OK and logical to me. </p>
<p>any opinions?</p>
<p>Depends TBH.</p>
<p>Unusual is good... if you love what your doing. EX dont do something for the sake of standing out b/c if it matters to you youll be writing an essay on it, and if you just took it to take it you'll have a much harder time coming up with that essay.</p>
<p>Unusual things do make you stand out, but explain what makes them special. Something i say no to tho is the expression of "selling yourself". Just be yourself and be confident in what you do, i can tell you from experience thats much more important.</p>
<p>Unusual hobbies and ECs only stand out if one pursues them out of real interest in the subject. If one is pursuing such things to polish one's resume, that makes one stand out in the wrong way -- as a fake.
It's simply not possible to fake passion for an interest. </p>
<p>The bottom line is that if one is genuinely interested in something that one's peers or parents think is weird, it may help you with admissions (and life) to pursue that interest with creativity and passion. It won't help you, though, to pursue some rare EC that you don't care about.</p>
<p>Just remember that no matter how unusual your extracurriculars are, they won't make up for subpar grades and test scores, or a weak high school curriculum. Admissions officers place the most weight on academic accomplishments, and extracurriculars are just a tipping point, not the whole ball of wax when it comes to getting into any school. You have to have the complete package.</p>
<p>i read in a thread that there was this sophomore or junior that was worried about not having any ECs or sports or talents. here grades were OK as well as SATs, though i don;t remember well. but one thing, everyday after school she went home and loved russian cuisine and always cooked russian food. she would then translate russian cuisine recipes into english or something like that and luckily got into 6/8 ivies.</p>
<p>That's not necessarily true Carolyn... my best friend got admitted to Cornell and Yale due to "extraordinary passion and character"(his words not mine). I can assure you that he wasn't an academic superstar.</p>
<p>Ivy league colleges don't want academic automatons. They want real people with real passions.</p>
<p>yeah i agree with voodoovince.</p>
<p>ughh....
can anyone tell me how good my ECs are...
1. Coordinator and graphics designer of the yearbook
2. Vicepresident of the computer club
3. codirector of the LEO club
4. play varsity soccer and made it to semifinals.
5. play guitars...no prizes though
6. practice a little computer programming....and also won 3rd prize in an international software competition once...</p>
<p>Pleaasseee....can u tell me how good they are...really appreciate ur effort for this....Thanks to anyone who comments on them</p>
<p>Yes, the ECs are good. But I don't know you, and I really can't make any judgement as to whether they demonstrate passion or not.</p>
<p>Keep this in mind, though. Passion is everything - it is what sets you apart from 10,000 other applicants. It is the difference between being lettering on an application or a larger-than-life character in an engaging story. If one of these ECs has defined you or your life, great. You have the beginning of a convincing case for the admissions office.</p>
<p>I was a mediocre student. I got into an ivy. I made a lot of mistakes, but I think that I convinced the adcoms I was human. It really angers me that a lot of people on this forum encourage people to be academic robots. </p>
<p>I say this to everyone. If anyone ever tells you that you can't get into an ivy-league college (or any college really), tell them to screw off. Even if you're only a mediocre candidate, it wouldn't be the first time and certainly won't be the last that they've admitted someone like that. Shoot for the stars, kid. You never know.</p>
<p>really encouraging words voodoovince....but wat abt schools that are not IVYs...I bet they only want a student who has As in his acadmeics but no As in his activities.
As far as passion goes...there is that short answer that says you to answer about the most meaningful activity.......I did give an honest answer and I liked it...hope they see it that way too.
And voodoovince....wat did u show to the adcoms to convince them that you were "human?"</p>
<p>A lot of it was in the interview. A lot of it was in my personal background. I'm an economically-disadvantaged (poor) white kid from a wealthy area, not a URM. I am testament to the theory that anything is possible.</p>
<p>My dad was laid off during my sophomore year, and I had to get a job, work around 30 hours a week to supplement family income. My grades fell dramatically. I fell in with a bad crowd, started smoking, etc. The stress on my family continued to build to a breaking point. My parents got divorced, and I failed two classes.</p>
<p>Suffice to say, I recovered in my junior year. I got 4.2 GPAs both semesters, while still working 20-30 hours a week to help with family income. My GPA rose dramatically and my teachers noticed my commitment, writing me excellent (and personal) recommendations. I also got really into my niche, politics. I wrote my essay on this and I think it was quite important in my admission.</p>
<p>Senior year is pretty much a continuation of Junior year.</p>
<p>I can honestly say I've seen both sides of the tracks. I've decided which side I want to be on, and I'm not going to look back. That's what I told them.</p>
<p>hmm....sounds really fantastic.....no wonder they admitted you even if you were mediocre in academics.......hey but not allof us go thru the same stress as u did........so we're pretty much in the normal categry</p>