<p>Here’s the thing about college admissions and advice that’s given – students are always told to “pursue extra-curriculars they’re really passionate about” and yet, adcom officers are constantly making judgement calls on whether or not they deem that EC worthy (see above). There’s a HUGE level of subjectivity involved. Our D was involved in numerous activities, leadership roles, etc. in high school, but the one activity she truly loves is cheerleading. She’s competed since she was 6 and is a 6 time national champion, 3 time All-American, varsity 9-12, captain, and started a charity to teach cheerleading to underprivileged children. She’s a the typical CCer (2250 SAT, 4.0 UW, 790/770 SAT II, 12 APs – 11 fives & 1 4, NM, etc.). Her essays were very well-written and discussed her self-discovery during a medical internship that led her to realize why she was so suited for the profession. She was waitlisted at 8 of the highly selective schools she applied to (Princeton, UPenn, Dartmouth, Cornell, Brown, Vanderbilt, WUST, & Tufts). She did have some great acceptances (Northwestern, UVA, UNC, BC Honors, Wake, Pepperdine & Trinity); however, I can’t help but think some adcom readers didn’t realize how difficult cheerleading is. Many people feel it’s just a “fluff” activity and don’t understand how it has evolved into the most dangerous athletic sport. (She told me about her Harvard interviewer who simply could not understand the concept of competitive cheerleading. He scratched his head in bewilderment and said, “But who are you cheering for? What team?” She smiled and said there was no team rather judges who scored her team. He simply looked confused and shook his head. He was in his 50s and the connotation of a cheerleader for his generation us quite different than those cheerleaders today.) I think this, coupled with the fact that she’s one of those over-represented non-URM females, contributed to the outcome on 4/1. She could have rephrased her competitive cheerleading as “dance” and an adcom would have thought she’s multi-dimensional – she does a fine arts as well as a school sport. She could have written about a superficial topic rather than an overwritten one about wanting to be a physician – the truth is, she showed HER passions and was completely honest in the process. Regrets? None yet. Frustrations with the system? Absolutely.</p>
<p>"She could have written about a superficial topic rather than an overwritten one about wanting to be a physician – the truth is, she showed HER passions and was completely honest in the process. Regrets? None yet. Frustrations with the system? Absolutely. "</p>
<p>Pursuing ECs that one is passionate about doesn’t guarantee admission to top schools. If one is successful at those ECs , one’s chances probably increase, but odds are that the very top schools still won’t accept you even if you have an outstanding GPA. By pursuing one’s passions and expressing those during the interview and on the application, maybe, for example, one raises one’s chances of being admitted to from 7% to 22%, but the odds still are against being admitted. </p>
<p>I’ve produced some excellent applications to very competitive fellowship and similar programs and still have been rejected. All I could do is do my best, and that’s how I measured success: Whether I felt I had submitted the best application that I could. </p>
<p>I was disappointed at rejection, but knew that the programs were very competitive, and had many outstanding applicants, and there wasn’t room for all. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, your D got into some fabulous schools! Congratulations to her!</p>
<p>Frankly, I doubt that cheerleading was why she was rejected. Maybe the admissions officer had a migraine the last day that her app was reviewed.</p>
<p>Well, my nephew got admitted into UCLA with that. He is otherwise middle of the road student without too much EC’s to talk about. He went to the top highschool in the sf bay area, good sat, but nothing else to speak of.</p>
<p>My W tipped him to go and he did not even go to Africa, but that whole summer experiences really brighten him up and he wrote extensively the trip in one of his
essays.</p>
<p>cost wise, other than the airfare, the receiving country took care of everything the minute they arrived. It will still cost a lot of money if it is done locally, you have to drive them back and forth. Or if they can drive, the cost of milage still is some thing.</p>
<p>"Well, my nephew got admitted into UCLA with that. He is otherwise middle of the road student without too much EC’s to talk about. He went to the top highschool in the sf bay area, good sat, but nothing else to speak of.</p>
<p>My W tipped him to go and he did not even go to Africa, but that whole summer experiences really brighten him up and he wrote extensively the trip in one of his
essays."</p>
<p>You don’t know what tipped him in.</p>
<p>In many – if not most places – volunteering locally is far cheaper than is the airfare to a developing country.</p>