I am aiming for top ivy schools, so any associated tips would be appreciated. Here is some information about me.
SAT: 800 Math, 750 Writing, 720 Reading
4.0 unweighted gpa and ranked 2
Taekwondo athlete, referee: won state regions and qualified for nationals three or four times
-trained under olympic taekowndo referee
Track Hurdler: Won Region meet as hurdler 4A school
Dancer since Kindergarten: Choreographed mine and other hip hop dances for number of local festivals
Leader of several clubs at school and apart of many
-started a club for special need students where they are paired with a regular student who meets them once a week and raises their spirits and make them feel special. Currently has over 100 members.
Volunteer over 200hrs
Eagle Boy Scouts
JSHS (Nation Science Fair Competition) State rep to Finals in Washington
First place in category at many state level science competitions
Do I need to do anything to stand out before senior year, like get article in paper published or get research paper published, etc? Is their anything I can to do to make myself standout.
Schools I want to go to: Stanford, UPen, Caltech, Berkeley, Harvard, Carnige Mellon, Georgia Tech
major: business/computer science or other engineering background
Questions:
Am I on the right path and do I have enough to stand against the cookie cutter ivy league applicant or do I need to do more to differentiate myself? What chance do I have in getting into the above listed schools?
All guidance and tips are appreciated! I am trying to figure out the college process on my own and I need help from people who already know the ropes.
What do u mean EC’s that stand out? I am currently in over 10 clubs, won several science fairs, boy scouts, and have decent sport record. I think that is enough ECs, but you are saying they are to much like the norm? I am decent at art and have tried to make myself stand out through dance and art shows. What would you recomend doing to make myself stand out more…
I also have over 500 hours of working on my own research in a university lab, and I currently have an offer to publish my paper in a highschool science magazine, hopefully that can make me stand out as well. Anything I should do over the summer?
You did not speak to academic rigor. I assume you are taking a fair number of AP classes or in an IB program? You are student body President or Editor of student publication. Your ECs are solid, very solid. Do you know what you want to study, ultimate career and do your ECs and academics support this?
I will take 14 APs by end of senior year and I work as the only student representative in the student improvement council with the principal and other administrators. Only thing to worry about is essays then?
You’re not supposed to do things in high school to make yourself seem like a better applicant. You’re supposed to do things because you are passionate about them.
10 clubs? I get the feeling that your ECs are a bit scattered and that your “passion” is missing. That is, you’re doing these ECs for the express purpose of impressing admission officers. This is where the essays come in, so you can explain why you’re in those ECs.
You seem to fall on the “reject path” I have seen before – Lots of clubs, lots of community service, scattered achievements. You should be less concerned with standing out and more concerned with pursuing your real interests.
Thank you for being frank, I will take heed of your advice. My passion includes the arts but I want to also be an engineer, so it is hard to not dabble in several clubs. I see where you are coming from, and I will try to make efforts to highlight my passion versus the extras.
@collegedreamer1 Something you should be aware of is that colleges often have “quotas” that need to be met. So, colleges are looking for students who can fill niche groups. If you are good at or involved in an activity that few other applicants do, you have a huge advantage. This is why:
being a jack of all trades (even if you are resonably competent at some of the activities) is a disadvantage; and
debate team, community involvement (especially if done without some sort of larger goal / passionate desire or reason), “quiz” team, or pointless internships / jobs do no help.
So many students have these things, and colleges have realized that these activities signify someone whose ECs and academic performance have been planned out to impress admissions officers. Admissions officers, however, want real people that will continue to work hard in college – Even when there is no one left to impress.
Just to go back to my main point:
If Stanford has comparatively few declared chemistry undergraduate students, a higher percentage of these studnets will be accepted. However, some majors (psycology / computer science / mechanical engineering) often have tons of applicants. Stanford can’t accept all of these studnets because, among other problems, the classes would overflow.