What If -- kids did whatever they felt like in High School?

Applying to College
1

<p>A thought came to me while trying to figure out what to say to the mulitudinous posts about which ECs, which classes, etc. would be "better for college", or "position me better for an elite college", etc.</p>

<p>Here's the tension I'm feeling, and I'm sure others have written about it at length that I have missed: What if a high school student, in order to best position themself for an elite college acceptance, embraces all the prescribed activities that would typically be recommended by a college admission consultant -- (take the hardest courses possible, do as well in them as possible, read a lot, pursue ECs over an extended time to develop proficiency and leadership in those ECs, prepare thoroughly for standardized exams, etc), and in so doing,</p>

<p>never takes the time (because there <em>is</em> not time left after all the prescribed activities), to explore non-college-enhancing activities that might be more beneficial to this student in the long run? Things like water color painting, social service, six different sports for one year each, debate team in addition to MUN, or reading lots of books on existentialism even though such a class is not even offered in school, etc. etc.</p>

<p>It occurs to me that a person might be better served to simply pursue what they feel like pursuing, at the pace they prefer, even if the short term result is a lack of apparent qualifications for an elite college. </p>

<p>How many kids' choices of time and activity are primarily shaped by the desires/requirements of their parents? </p>

<p>Has the ever increasing competition for acceptance into the Top 50/20/5 colleges removed options from high school students at too early an age?</p>

<p>Has the very high bar set for curriculum rigor, grades, test scores and ECs meant for many/most high school sophomores and juniors that there really is little or no time for reflection, exploration and discovery of personal tastes, styles and goals?</p>

<p>I enjoyed my college years very much at tippy top school, and as I reflect back I did not give one minute's thought in high school to whether my classes, ECs or test preparation (I don't even know if there were formal classes -- I certainly did not take one) was positioning me for admission to an elite college... it just sort of happened. I pusued what I felt like pursuing, which included MUN, several sports, student government, oratory contests, religion, etc. I don't infer that natural exploration today in a vast majority of the posts on this website ... how could it naturally evolve with all the focus on "doing what you need to do to look good to the elite colleges"?</p>

2

<p>Personally, I think that it is silly to make the goal getting into an elite school. The goal should be to stretch and push yourself, to discover the things in life that you love, to grow as a person, to figure out how you can be a contributing member to society. </p>

<p>Students who make the goal to attend an elite college have missed the boat somewhere. Students who pursue their passions, who push themselves, who accomplish great things because they want to are much more likely to end up attending an elite school. And ultimately, there are lots of really great schools out there. Finding a school that fits you rather than trying to fit yourself to a specific school is a much better strategy in my view. </p>

<p>However, we are a very brand concious society. Many folks assume that if it is a well known product that it must be superior to a lesser known one. And it doesn't really matter if the well known product doesn't meet my needs, I want it anway because having it says something about me and the kind of person I am.</p>

3

<p>Just a counterexample: I've been accepted to an "elite" college, and I assure you, I've spent plenty of time doing what I felt like, if my bookshelf and video game shelf is any record. I've read about 30 pieces of nonfiction or literature outside of class every year, developed political opinions, and learned to draw. And that's after I've poured hundreds of hours into playing videogames. </p>

<p>Doing what looks good to get into an elite college and finding time for yourself aren't mutually exclusive, if you manage your time well.</p>

4

<p>i've done what i've wanted. all of my EC's are because they truly interest me and they're things i really care about. getting in and doing what you want can overlap... if your activities are the type of things that show the drive that they're looking for. a lot of the posts on this site now make me very sad. do what you love because you love it, guys! don't just do things to make yourself look better. then you appear fake, which is the absolute last thing the adcoms want.</p>

5

<p>armistice, anissa --</p>

<p>that was my approach as well. However, reading many of the posts on this website, I get the feeling yours and mine is not a common approach. That's the reason I created this post. It might create some interesting dialog.</p>

6

<p>Okay, I'll admit it: some things I've done I probably wouldn't have done if I wasn't concerned with college admissions. Though most of my activities I do because I truly enjoy it (reading psych journals for fun, singing, guitar hero :P), I might not have stuck with a sport so long, tried as hard in some required classes, or spent as much time in the summer taking SAT practice tests. But, I figured that the short-term loss would be worth a better chance at a college I really wanted to go to. If I were to do it again, I don't think I would do anything differently.</p>

7

<p>I most certainly agree with pursuing your own interests over doing things that you may not necessarily like to do in order to be "attractive" to elite schools.
Granted, BU is not in the Ivy league, but I'm extremely happy to have been accepted there as it is my number one choice, and I by no means ran around signing up to every activity under the sun only to boost my resume. I ski-raced for 7 years and was a member of the National Art Honors Society, and I did some community service here and there. Ski-racing was incredibly time consuming, but I was passionate about it. I remember sitting in the cafeteria freshman year and being told by my friends that just ski-racing wasn't "good enough" for colleges, and that they wanted people to join many activities to show "well-roundedness." I remember thinking, "So this means that I have to do things that I don't truly love?" It didn't make sense to me. I didn't want to join clubs that I wasn't passionate about, so I didn't. I went at my own pace and proved my competitive high school wrong; that you don't have to be a member of tons of clubs to get into a good school. Then again, I suppose the Ivy League is a different story.</p>

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<p>whitebicycle wrote: "I suppose the Ivy League is a different story. "</p>

<p>Oh, I don't know. Something tells me adcoms are good at discerning genuine passion and genuine intellectural curiosity in an application... could be wrong though.</p>

9

<p>I know it's probably because of my un-competitve area, but I've never thought twice about what colleges would think. I didn't take regular classes because I would die of boredom. I think my only exception to this statement would be that I took Spanish IV and Physics because you pretty much need them for college.</p>

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<p>I've done whatever I've felt like. I don't get it when people do stuff to look good to colleges; I don't get why anybody would care so much about it. But that is what they care about, and I respect the differences in what we care about.</p>

11

<p>Well, a lot of people think where you graduate college determines, for good or ill, the opportunities you will encounter in your professional career. I have stated in another thread that that notion is probably mostly true for about 10-12 employers out of tens of thousands of employers.</p>

<p>I learned something about Asia, and Korea in particular this year that helps explain to me why there is so much pressure in California for Asians high school students to do whatever is necessary to gain admission to highly ranked colleges --- in Asia, the college one attends DOES determine, in a fairly predictible and strict way, the quality of one's employment. So in Korea, national exam day is the focus of the entire year. The police force is redeployed, traffic is rerouted. Select teachers spend several weeks in seclusion writing the exam under the security one would expect of a code-breaking room at the CIA. The results of this one annual exam in Korea determines the ranking of the university one attends... which determines the ranking of the company one works for, which determines standard of living... boom, boom, boom, like dominoes.</p>

<p>In the U.S., admittance to a highly ranked college/university is not determinative of anything, really. But try telling that to the parents of a high school student whose parents come from a country where the rank of the university is EVERYTHING>>>></p>

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<p>I am a high school senior currently getting acceptance letters from quite a few "top" colleges. All I did in high school was do things that I enjoy. Of course, sometimes the things I enjoyed were things that looked good on college applications. But I never showed up for a club meeting or aspired to become the captain of a team because Joe the admissions officer would be impressed.</p>

<p>The Boston Globe once interviewed a bunch of admissions officers and, interestingly enough, they were all skeptical of the "internship craze" that's been developing on resumes. They said that more often than not, securing a high-profile internship is more a reflection of who your parents are than how talented or capable you are. In any case, many of them said that they still appreciate a good burger flipping or ice cream scooping job, because that's what they did for their summer jobs.</p>

<p>My advice to freshmen and sophomores looking for things to do is to relax and find things you enjoy, above all else. Not to say you should do nothing but play video games, but don't worry about "what looks good." I passed up an engineering internship to work with kids at a summer camp and brew coffee at Dunkin' Donuts. No admissions officer seemed to mind.</p>

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<p>What we need is to give kids aptitude tests and emphasize their strengths...instead of forcing them to take 4 units of history and english if they are strong in science and math and have ZERO interest in that sort of thing, or vice versa.</p>

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<p>My Freshman daughter just had that (screaming) conversation with me - she doesn't want to bother with her Earth Science, nor does she want to take chemistry next year. Just leave her alone to write whatever and whenever she wants with breaks for pottery and other crafty pursuits.</p>

<p>My older daughter was accepted into an Ivy League and mostly took classes that she enjoyed - only her enjoyment included AP Physics, AP Calc, etc. She did not take a foreign language past 10 grade as she doesn't like foreign languages and it did not seem to be a problem getting into many top colleges.</p>

<p>Actually, a homeschooling plan would help with this philosophy - not that you wouldn't have to take basic high school requirements but the emphasis could be on those areas of greater interest to you. Oh well, I'm assuming it's too late for you to pursue that route. Just remember, you're almost done with high school and in the scheme of things it's just a blip of time!</p>

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<p>I have sacrficed some academically to get into elite schools, such as swapping a fun elective like sewing or cooking for an extra ap science or math, but I do enjoy those classes. But I still feel like I have plenty of free time to pursue things I like outside of school just for fun, like teching myself another instrument, photography, and normal teen stuff like playing wii, and going on outings with friends. </p>

<p>I think it is necessary, but not necessarily bad to sacrifice a little to get into the schools you want.</p>

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<p>I hate high school course requirements, but I managed to work around enough of them that I got to take three languages and no science my senior year. I also just did whatever activities I wanted without thinking about college. However, I am different than the other people who have posted so far because this did NOT work for me.</p>

<p>This weekend I got rejected/waitlisted from all of the schools that were supposed to be my matches and reaches. Awesome.</p>

17

<p>Considering that you've already graduated, you went through the college admissions process 4+ years ago (i.e. when it was significantly less stressful/difficult IMO). The past few years have been just ridiculous for admissions. I think you have some idea of how students now feel, but you will never truly know the pressure kids in 2009 feel to go to an elite school.</p>

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<p>I got into two Top 20 Schools for 2013.. </p>

<p>Through my freshman year to senior years, I played Online role playing game till 3 in the morning... then drew illustrations on that game. (I became quite professional... won several awards and stuff)</p>

<p>In my senior year I spent almost 8 hours a day on video games,
drew anime, sang pop songs in my bedroom for hours with my friends, and still managed to get in...</p>

<p>I think "doing whatever you want to do (as in 'passion' not... 'slacking')" is the key to getting in to an elite college... but as soon as you see something you do as a prepatory for an university, it loses its meaning, IMO.</p>

<p>I dunno.. I just find that getting in to top 50 universities isn't that hard if you do your stuff.
You just need to do your homework, study a hard for the SAT and do what you like to do and voila you're admitted to a top 50 university.
(Exception would be harsh circumstances.. like if you're poor :-l;;)</p>

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<p>Kids complain about not being able to be independent and that they have no rights in school, yet they make immature decisions about certain things and wonder why there are so many restrictions are placed on upon them.</p>

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<p>I think the stereotype that kids who get into HPYS are miserable and suck collegeboard is not all that accurate. Most kids who get into HPYS are the ones who work hard and achieve a great high school career, while having fun in HS. What they feel like just happens to be something that is hook-esque for admissions. </p>

<p>Sure you have some fakers, who can pull off the appearance of a uber-student, and for that the cost is the ability to do what they genuinely want to do in high school. But most kids are doing what they feel like in high school.</p>