<p>whats her name lightfish..she gonna be there in september then?</p>
<p>If we knew what that "extra push" was, most of us would be at Harvard right now. So the answer is: nobody knows.</p>
<p>Talk of passion at our age is slightly frivolous and pretentious. Some of us have seen more than others, delved deeper into certain subjects than others, but at the end of it, are we truly as "passionate" about what we do as we say? Don't take this as judgement (because some people really are, truly devoted), but rather as a calling for closer inspection of what we say.</p>
<p>A combination of general competency, a hint of brilliance, a smidge of mental stability, and a dash of luck will do the trick.</p>
<p>i so don't agree about the money, it is a need blind school and every years thousands of amazingly gifted kids who do not come from affluent backgrounds are given the opp to go there. My cousin got in last year, stellar student, awesome athlete (thats rare right there!) he was amazingly devoted to community service, built shelters and homes in el salvador every summer, every break, spent everyday after school at the local boys and girls club tutoring underpriveledged kids, etc.........this was HIS passion and his years of devotion supported his essays and everything else he did. Was he the brightest of the bunch that got in, NO WAY! in fact in 9th grade he had horrible grades, but in 10-12th he got stronger and stronger, took challenging courses, did very well on his SAT and stayed true to what he loved, basketball, soccer and community service. So thats ONE success story I thought you would love to hear about, P.S. He loves it but says it is truly the survival of the fittest and that everyone is so damn extraordinarily bright! Damn...............</p>
<p>Oh my god, run on sentence much? Haha helpful though. Was he recruited for athletics?</p>
<p>
[quote]
A "passion" is an extra curricular activity that you have devoted an ample amount of time to, in which you are sucessful, and perhaps have something significant to back it up.
[/quote]
That isn't passion. Passion is 100% about love and commitment and devotion and need. </p>
<p>I'm on the Mock Trial team at my school. I spend a pretty good number of hours with it, we're a successful team, and I have some natural ability with it. Well, Mock Trial is most definitely not a passion.</p>
<p>I'm a musician. The longest I've gone without music in my entire life was three days (because of a school trip). Music was all I could think about during those days. If I don't have music, my fingers itch to play. I feel anxious. I get headaches. Music is part of my life; it needs to be, and it always will be. I can feel music inside of me. I listen to classical music for hours and hours every day. Yes, I've given time to it; I've had successes; I have talent. But those things don't make it a passion. I don't know why I love music and need it the way I do, and I don't know whether other people passionate about their subjects feel the same. All I know is that I can't imagine, can't fathom, existing in this world without music. I don't know if that's being passionate, but I think maybe it is.</p>
<p>corranged - it seems a little unhealthy how dependent you are on music, but maybe that's the good kind of unhealthy ;)</p>
<p>^ Unfortunately, it's a passion that far too many people have...</p>
<p>Sometimes, what it takes is not just a passion but a "unique" passion that you can apply somehow in contributing to the university. Eh. I'm starting to despise college admissions.</p>
<p>no he was not recruited for athletics, although everyone agrees he could have been a college level athelete had he pursued it and not developed other interests, sports just came naturally to him, he does some kind of intramural type lacrosse and crew though. Make no mistake he worked his buns off through grades 10-12, and often it meant having to make decisions about whether to play on a team or study. He made some sacrifices for sure, but look where he is, whos crying now? Passion is such a relative word, it is different to different people, to some its about doing and pursuing something that feels so natural, so right to others its about feeling the pressure to become passionate about something and feeling like you must go at it full throttle but its not in your heart necessarily. His devotion to com.service was pure passion in a sense I have seldom seen and I truly think that is VERY transparent to the admissions people. I know he was an " on the fencer" candidate, they requested i think 3 intereviews with him. I go and visit up there every few months, I have been twice so far and fell for his roomate, a total hottie from CA!</p>
<p>
[quote]
corranged - it seems a little unhealthy how dependent you are on music, but maybe that's the good kind of unhealthy ;)
[/quote]
haha. Quite possibly. :p It wasn't really a choice, though. It doesn't control my life, but it is most definitely a part of it.</p>
<p>Savoirfaire, it depends on the instrument, as well. Playing the contrabassoon (or any bassoon!), harp, english horn, or timpani is much more unique than playing the flute, violin, horn, or percussion.</p>
<p>I just took an S-shaped dump.
I'm serious.</p>
<p>The two people I know who got into Harvard EA are both really really nice... but really really boring as well.</p>
<p>pri, you obviously don't know your two friends, otherwise you wouldn't say they're boring.</p>
<p>He never said they were his friends...</p>
<p>This girl from my school knows the dean and has dinners with him. Other acceptees from my school were either way too smart and talented or legacies.</p>
<p>The way I defined passion isn't the way you'll find it in a dictionary, but it is exactly the way a college admissions officer will, at least subconciously, define it.</p>
<p>Harvard is known for choosing applicants who have a record of extraordinary accomplishment in one particular area. Why favor focused excellence rather than general well-roundedness? I would suggest that those who have a very highly-developed skill have demonstrated that they are unafraid to set high goals and have learned how to be self-motivated enough to have success in achieving them. I'm not sure that the particular area of your accomplishment matters, but if it also connects with an athletic or artistic skill that others on campus find useful, you can contact those people and enlist them as supporters for your application. That's my best guess at a functional definition of a hook for Harvard.</p>