<p>Hey, i would really appreciate a response to the question above. Thanks everyone!!! (:</p>
<p>do things that interest you. sports teams are great but not nessaccary. the key is involvment, prove it by being an officer, or winning an award. if u want to go into medicine, a program like hosa is great, business-deca, model un, nhs (as a junior some schools sophmore) volunteer programs, young dem/rep, class board etc. DO WHAT YOU LIKE!</p>
<p>Maybe a spelling workshop for starters.</p>
<p>Thanks Rman247!! I’ll consider that.</p>
<p>As for you cellist, yeah, I may need spelling help (regardless if I was aware of my spelling mistake) but just to be ‘grateful’ for your comment, I’ll recommend you to take a sentence structure workshop, because it seems pretty obvious you don’t know how to write/type down things correspondingly.</p>
<p>Prove interest. If you’re doing sports for the sake of doing sports, you’re doing it wrong. If you’re a Tae Kwon-Do champion who has won awards and teaches younger kids the trade, that’s good. If you grudgingly go to practice weekly and do nothing else, don’t bother (this applies to any sport lol, not just karate).</p>
<p>Most people will tell you you need to show passion in your ECs. For the Ivies, you need even more than that. You need to make yourself extraordinary and known; starting a club is nice, but getting a local or city newspaper is even better.</p>
<p>I would suggest trying to work for charitable foundations, get prestigous internships, and practically anything else. There was another poster today who wanted to get chanced that was a national Yo-yo champion from Idaho. Do something like that. ;p</p>
<p>The question about impressive ECs comes up regularly on the forum. There is a thread with comments by Northstarmom, a Ivy alum interviewer, about what constitutes impressive ECs from the point of view of the most selective colleges. The post is at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html</a></p>
<p>2 very interesting articles about ECs that stand out and how to get them (same author, different examples) are at [How</a> to Be Impressive](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/05/28/the-art-of-activity-innovation-how-to-be-impressive-without-an-impressive-amount-of-work/]How”>The Art of Activity Innovation: How to Be Impressive Without an Impressive Amount of Work - Cal Newport) and [Save</a> This Grind?](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/09/12/case-study-how-could-we-save-this-ridiculously-overloaded-grind/]Save”>Case Study: How Could We Save This Ridiculously Overloaded Grind? - Cal Newport) While I don’t agree with everything in them, take a look at these 2 articles and I think you’ll get some original ideas.</p>
<p>Take a hard look at that first link above- the top of the list is pretty unrealistic. It focuses on a narrow range of top achievements. Top scorer in the nation? Paid for national-level media articles? Raised 10k? Those are very limited. Not one kid I know who got into Harvard in the last two years did those. And, every case I saw of community service abroad, it was an expensive program- I kept asking myself why the kid couldn’t find something to do in his/her own community. </p>
<p>You can score points through consistent involvement in a valid activity. Best is anything adults value- some challenge involved, the ability to work with others and increasing responsibility, some impact from your efforts and done for a good period of time. Have a balance of things done to pursue your own interests (eg, internships or science-related volunteering if a STEM major,) things you do for/with your hs (clubs, projects) and things you do for others (volunteering in the community.) And, in all, try to increase your responsibility- if you can’t be pres of SGA or an officer in MUN, go find a non-profit org where you can recruit, manage a team, problem-solve, etc. For heaven’s sake, you dont have to found your own non-profit. There are so many in existence. </p>
<p>Same for jobs- you dont have to be night manager- just hold a job over time, while achieving in school and other activities. You don’t have to be paid by some big corporation or found a top earning company. But, you do have to put in the time and the hard work.</p>
<p>Among some, it’s a joke to keep saying kids have to show “passion.” The common retort (from adcoms,) is: what do high school kids know about passion? Instead, you show drive, ability to identify worthy pursuits and commit to them on a level that increases over time. Activities where you devote time over years and, in theory, increase skills, are good- this is where music (and things like karate or Eagle Scout) come in. You increase your musical proficiency, join the school orchestra, play in All-State, etc. You don’t have to be a pro and play at Carnegie Hall (which, btw, rents out space for many solo or group performances.)</p>
<p>OP, listen to this man^</p>
<p>Regardless of the type of EC…show 1) Committment. Don’t just “resume stuff” & join 10 clubs. Stick with your interests over a long period of time 2) Leadership. Don’t be afraid to run for offices within organizations 3) Excellence. Through your letters of rec. it is good to show that you are highly valued by those who advise and are members of your EC’s.</p>
<p>After watching the process for a few cycles in my area, it seems like getting into an Ivy depends a lot on your high school and the GC. Hear me out. We have the fairly selective private schools in town and many of their kids getting into Ivies. You take the top suburban public schools and they have very few getting into Ivies. The private schools don’t offer AP classes, saying their cirriculum is tough enough. The public school kids take 12-16 AP classes to try to stand out. I simply cannot believe that the private school kids are smarter or harder working or have better ECs than the public school kids. But the private school kids have a MUCH higher rate of admission than the public school kids.</p>
<p>For students from our good public schools, it appears that being a recruited athlete at the very top of the class works well. Also, being the highest ranked URM works well. Other than that, secure your golden ticket and pray. I’ve seen kids with virtually no ECs get in and kids a hundredth of a point away in GPA with terrific local ECs not get in. Was it the essay? A compelling personal story? (both suburban middle class ORMs.) Who knows.</p>
<p>^well, just using MIT as an example, on collegeboard the only very important (i.e. most important) factor they consider is personality and character. so no one can really predict these things nor identify why someone got in or didn’t.
and private schools may have more rigorous classes- they just might not have the same curriculum as AP. doesn’t mean they’re less rigorous.
just throwing some ideas out there…</p>
<p>Missy, it’s true that some elite privates can be extreme. It’s a joke that some can have a handful of valedictorians. Many offer intense test-prep classes. Many point their most promising kids to a variety of internships and other experiences, create leadership opportunities for them, offer lots of academic support and essay guidance. So, when that kid is reviewed, of course, he seems to have a better record. Adcoms generally know which schools these are.</p>
<p>Your solid, promising kid at a local hs starts with the same inherent chances. Adcoms don’t want to load their classes with prep school kids. But, the bottom line is: any kid has to look ready for that school’s competitive nature, show the right combo of academic and EC strengths, and look like he’ll fit and thrive both academically and in campus life. </p>
<p>The “personal statement” is a chance to show judgment (topic and execution,) personal strengths and writing ability- and many kids miss the mark entirely. I don’t usually think about the GC when I see these issues. I think about the specific kid applying to my Ivy. Because he’s the one who will face the challenges and be expected to perform at a certain level here. Likewise, many cannot answer “Why Us?” There are kids who may seem, to others, to have fewer ECs; my own reaction depends on what those ECs are and what the context is.</p>
<p>ps. ^don’t rely entriely on collegeboard for info. I find it far better to read everything a college puts out on its own web sites- read with a critical eye, that is. Eg, Yale clearly states they want future leaders- then they define how broad that concept is. You have to realize there is marketing and there is “admissions-speak,” where they give vague answers that don’t always jive with the actual review process. I highly doubt MIT is just looking for personality and character as we commonly think of those words- if so, the friendly banjo player might get in ahead of the kid who spends summers on research projects.</p>
<p>This can’t be a serious thread…</p>
<p>I want to thank everyone who spent time helping me out. I actually enjoyed reading the long posts, lol, but I have to admit they did boost up my confidence. I guess I will do what I want, rather than caring for the quantity. I guess most are right, it is about the quality of ec’'s and how much one puts of their part in them. THANKS!! (: I’m not the sporty person, so getting into an ivy freaks me out because everyone says you have to be ‘athletic’!!! ‘thats all the ivies are about’!! But thanks a bunch guys!! (:</p>
<p>Needstostudy, a friend’s D is doing very well at an Ivy and is as far from athletic as one can get…she doesn’t look like she’s ever been out of doors. BUT she is an accomplished musician who was also admitted to Juliard.</p>
<p>Thanks missypie!! (: That really helped!</p>