<p>Take Egocentrics 101, you'll get an A+.</p>
<p>Logos, if that's addressed to me - what can I say? I have nothing against doing community service. The OP asked for the "best way to increase chances" and I think the best way (or at least a good way) is to do what you enjoy and do it well; if that means community service, great, but if not, there are many other equally good ways to use a summer.</p>
<p>yea i guess i feel that..hope i get my internship this summer..o god pelase!!!!!!</p>
<p>Ivy-League admissions at the undergraduate level are, quite frankly, rigged.</p>
<p>There are huge preferences for athletes, legacies (the ones that come from deep-pocketed families), and protected minorities (anything but White and Asian).</p>
<p>To clarify, huge preferences does not mean automatic admission. It has never meant that. It just means what it says - you're looked at preferentially.</p>
<p>So, if you want to up your chances at admission to one of those schools, stuff that helps includes the following:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Being good at a sport, and I mean really good. If your academics are already good, then this can be the X factor, particularly if the sport is individual-oriented.</p></li>
<li><p>Being the child of alumni who can afford to "donate" to the school.</p></li>
<li><p>Search your family tree for non-White and non-Asian family members. If you can find some, do some research with the race of discovered family member and start associating yourself with it. Don't go all out at once, do it gradually. Learn more about it each day, and soon you'll be an expert on a certain culture, and you'll thus be able to contribute to the "diverse" environments these schools ostensibly crave.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>We can generalize #1 to "be good at SOMETHING" that can make you stand out.</p>
<p>Ivy-League admissions, particularly at Harvard and Princeton, have gotten to the point where anybody with a "diverse viewpoint" and "extraordinary life circumstances" (read: has a certain skin color) is qualified to attend. That doesn't they will be accepted all the time. It means they are qualified to be there.</p>
<p>"Ivy-League admissions, particularly at Harvard and Princeton, have gotten to the point where anybody with a "diverse viewpoint" and "extraordinary life circumstances" (read: has a certain skin color) is qualified to attend. That doesn't they will be accepted all the time. It means they are qualified to be there."</p>
<p>That is a statement that indicates you are very uninformed. Truth is that the overwhelming majority of applicants to places like Harvard are qualified for admission. For instance, Harvard's dean of admission last year said that 90% of students who apply qualify for admission. The reason that most applicants are rejected is due to a lack of space. Because of the depth of the applicant pool and the fact that the yield will be so high, places like Ivies can afford to select applicants based on creating the most diverse, well rounded class possible.</p>
<p>Consequently, the New York City valedictorian with 2400 SAT scores will be turned down for a tuba playing comic strip cartoonist from Nebraska with a 2200 SAT who's second in their class. And the skin color or ethnicity of that person won't matter.</p>
<p>safest way to get in; donate a library ;)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Truth is that the overwhelming majority of applicants to places like Harvard are qualified for admission.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Our statements are actually not in conflict. I've always believed that to be a student at a school like Harvard, one has to be good. The repeated use of the phrase "qualified" to students who honestly aren't by supporters of racial preferences has really made the word worthless. I am making fun of their usage.</p>
<p>There's nothing wrong with creating a well rounded class. I'm for that. The universities are selecting students who are good at something, whether it's political satire, sprinting, or film-making.</p>
<p>Thus, the tuba playing comic strip artist salutatorian from Nebraska should be admitted. We're talking about a student who had her work published in newspapers on a regular basis. That is truly extraordinary. And maybe that student from New York is, as well, but you only used one word to describe her (valedictorian) while you used three (tuba, comic, salutatorian) to describe the Nebraskan student. So, I don't know.</p>
<p>What I am not for is assuming that having a so-called "critical mass" of students of a certain skin color results in "diversity."</p>
<p>Wow thank you everyone for your help! CC really is the most helpful spot on the internet. (AND A BIG WOW TO STUDENT615 AND FABRIZIO FOR THE LARGE AMOUNT OF TIME THEY SPENT POSTING SUCH HEAVY MATERIAL). You should write that for community service : (College confidential/100 hours).</p>
<p>Ok so here's my updated list of plans after reading everyone's posts:</p>
<p>4th Quarter:
-Find 3 LinkLeaders
-Find one tutor each week to assisst me in volunteer tutoring</p>
<p>Summer:
-Set Up Link Crew for our school
-Start a community service project
-Spend about 200 hours on an internship</p>
<p>And I don't know if these will help with your suggestions (about my passions, etc) but here's my resume as of now:</p>
<p>EC's:</p>
<p>Long-Term Commitments and Employment</p>
<p> 50 Hours spent analyzing experiments in the lab of Temple University (2005)
1400 Hours working as a math and reading tutor at Kumon Learning Center (2004-Present)
Independent Research Project centered around Antacid Efficacy (25 Hours, 2005)
Created a number of functional, interactive computer games using skills such as graphics design, skin importation, and basic scripting of triggers, events, etc
20 Hours Spent doing Various Lab Experiments at Rohm and Haas
Host for laser shows and astronomy-related presentations through the Upper Dublin School District (2005)
Organizer of star gazing events in areas of Upper Dublin (2004)
Worked as Personal Tutor for Math. Fee of $15/hr, tutored all math levels up to Calculus BC. (50 Hours)
Worked as Personal Tutor for Chemistry. $50/chapter, taught all levels of Chemistry I. (50 Hours)
Worked as Personal Tutor for English. $20/hour, helped in note taking, created organized unit outlines. (200 Hours)
Worked as Personal Writing Tutor. $20/term paper. Read and edited over 50 term papers, providing quality criticism. (200 Hours)
Worked as Babysitter for various people (50 Hours)
Took Lessons on how to use the computer program Flash (25 Hours)</p>
<p>After School Activities<br>
Secretary of Junior Class (2006-2007)
Member of German Club (2005-2007)
Member of Golf Theory Club (2005-2007)
Member of Chess Club (2005-2007)
Member of Ultimate Frisbee Club (2006-2007)
Member of Debate Club (2006-2007)
Member of Astronomy Club (2004-2005)
Intramural School Basketball (2006-2007)
Director and Planner of the Junior Prom Planning Committee (2007)
Spirit Week Officer (2006)
Director of Class Fundraising (2007)
Director of Class Sales (2006-2007)
◘ Member of NHS (2007)
Athletics
Member of the JV Tennis Team (2005-2006)
Member of JV Spring Track (2007)
Intramural Soccer Player (2004-2007)
Intramural Basketball Player (2006-2007)</p>
<p>International Studies
Attended a private school in Germany, and received certificate for completing curriculum (2006)</p>
<p>Misc.
A score of a 5 on the US History AP Test</p>
<p>AND AWARDS:</p>
<p>Mathematics</p>
<p> American Mathematics Competitions Certificate of Distinction for Superior Performance on the AMC (2006)
American Mathematics Competitions Certificate of Achievement for a score of 90 or Above on the American Mathematics Contest 12 for grades 10 and below (2006)
Certificate of Participation and Recognition for Striving for Excellence as a AIME Participant and winner of Mathematic Awards (June 5, 2006)
School Semi-Finalist in the AMC/AIME testing (2006)</p>
<p>International Studies
3-time participator in selective German standardized testing (AATG)
1-time Semi-Finalist in AATG German Standardized Testing
Award-winner for most orally advanced German II student in Montgomery County (2004)</p>
<p>Literary Accomplishments
Gold-key winner at the regional level for The Scholastic Writing Awards
Awards and Publications of a number of writings (7) in the Creative Communications Competitions
Award for completing the Reading Program of Kumon, and being ranked among the top 40 in the nation (2004-2005)
Certificate of Merit for Creating an Ad and editorial for the Intelligencer Record
State Level Finalist for Reading and Analyzing an Article and Responding to a Prompt</p>
<p>Misc.
Certificate of Achievement for the Successful Completion of JA Success Skills (12/20/05)</p>
<p>And some more intangibles:</p>
<p>Unranked Public High School
Location: Pennsylvania
Ethnicity: Persian/South African</p>
<p>So basically what I'm trying to do is see your opinions of my intangibles without seeing the 2 key factors (GPA and SAT), so that your viewpoint is not subjective. </p>
<p>Once again I highly appreciate all feedback, you all have been amazing thus far, and thank you for all of your help.</p>
<p>Wow, that's a huge amount of EC's.</p>
<p>One thing I am concerned is you don't have a strong grasp in any one field. What I see is a huge list things here and there, especially under "After School Activities."</p>
<p>Now don't get me wrong here; what I see is 3 main concentrations: tutoring, math, and medicine. But then, it's hard for me to make out those concentrations because not one is hugely emphasized with awards and distinction.</p>
<p>Don't worry so much: I think I'm probably at the same situation... (<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=320655%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=320655</a>) ... where I have about 5-6 concentrations... but what my sol'n was ... ok I'm now in my junior year... I'm going to stick with the concentrations I have now and only develop those further. Then I really have my "rounded-student" look done well.</p>
<p>I hope this helps...</p>
<p>I do have a separate question related to this thread though:
Under work experience, if I teach piano over the summer... is that considered work experience? and is it as good as working, say, in an office? ...because if I teach piano... it'll probably be at home... or I could work as a teacher assistant for my current teacher... oh and I'm shooting for top ivy+ too</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>That's too long and filled with some trivial things. Pretend you're doing your college application right now and you can't attach a resume (for example, Stanford because I like their no-BS app). What do you put in your EC section (7 lines, grade level, hours/week, weeks/year, honors/positions/letters)? What about work experience (3 lines, dates, hr/wk) and the optional question "To what use have you put your earnings?" Describe how you have spent your last two summers (short paragraph). List any academic awards or special academic programs (independent research, science, summer) (8 lines).</p>
<p>So. 7 ECs, 3 jobs, 8 awards, 2 summers.</p>
<p>I'm concerned that some of the short-term projects that you've engaged in will be difficult to convey on a college application. Some examples:</p>
<p> 20 Hours Spent doing Various Lab Experiments at Rohm and Haas
Host for laser shows and astronomy-related presentations through the Upper Dublin School District (2005)
Organizer of star gazing events in areas of Upper Dublin (2004)</p>
<p>If you can affiliate your astronomy-related activities with a club or organization, it'll be easier to include it on the application.</p>
<p>I spend the 20 hours at Rohm and Haas doing independent research, not at all affiliated with anything else. As for the laser shows and star gazing events, I volunteered to take up that post in Astronomy Club, although it is not technically considereda leadership position, so I can't use it to my advantage.</p>
<p>SandyRun,</p>
<p>You're welcome. I'm glad that you found my posts helpful.</p>
<p>I recommend spending some time and recalling your experiences with tutoring and labwork. Try to remember moments where you found yourself in difficult situations but managed to succeed. This can result in a good essay if you can show the reader that you are hard-working and won't give up.</p>
<p>For the after school activities, pick the ones where you spent the most time and made the biggest contribution to. Which clubs would be much worse had you not been involved?</p>
<p>Do you speak Farsi or Afrikaans? Do you identify with Persian or South African culture? All of these - tutoring, after school activities, heritage - can result in distinguishing essays if you think them through.</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>wow Fabrizo, you're views of the college admissions system regarding diversity are incredibly warped and borderline racist. once you get up to the level of Harvard and Princeton, theyre good enough to attract all of the URM that are just as qualified as whites and asians. Don't attempt to attribute the fact that so many qualified whites and asians get denied to your skewed opinion that "protected minorities" take all of there spots...</p>
<p>...well you didn't SAY all that ;)</p>
<p>So you ARE certainly an involved and well-rounded person. The next trick will be making depth stand out, rather than solely breadth (you have a great deal of both, but the latter is the definite emphasis right now). Chronicidal's suggestion (Stanford app) was a good one for this. What you want to do is condense the information without sacrificing too much of it. For example, all of your paid tutoring work can be easily summed up as "Worked as a Personal Tutor (all levels of Math/Chemistry I/English/Writing) - 500hrs." This retains all of the important information, but in a quarter of the space, PLUS you can legitimately claim 500hrs of work rather than 200+200+50+50, so the huge extent of your dedication is far more obvious. The entire "Member of..." list can be lumped together whenever an application actually has enough space: "Member of various school clubs and organizations, including Astronomy Club (2004-2005); German, Golf Theory, and Chess Clubs (2005-2007); Intramural Basketball, Debate, and Ultimate Frisbee Clubs (2006-2007); and...etc. Right now, it's just a long list that yells "I was in 20 clubs without being an officer in any of them" (which is totally fine, but not something you need to highlight so blatantly).</p>
<p>Basically, what you want to do is have your resume say "I did X (blah blah blah), Y (blah blah blah), and Z (blah blah blah," rather than "I did X and Y and Z and A and B and C and D and E and more." The former, if done well, will allow your talents to speak for themselves; admissions officers will see it and get a feel for your interests and skills, and the depth of your involvement will be obvious. Your most impressive accomplishments will really stand out, allowing adcoms to safely assume that you're an awesome guy and that they're only seeing the tip of the iceberg. The latter, while still very impressive, is too broken down, so it ends up looking like your biggest commitment is creating a laundry list of activities. It says "this is everything I've ever done."</p>
<p>The things that stand out to me are tutoring, math, writing, and astronomy (medicine is there if I look for it, but I found it less memorable. German is there to a slightly lesser degree). You might try focusing even more on these. Beefing them up, so to speak, both in involvement and description. International study, for example, is a GREAT thing to have. If you frame it well, it could do a great deal to set you apart! And yet you've written it in such a way that it can be easily glossed over. I think that reframing your involvements and focusing on expanding/deepening them would be a more valuable use of your time than starting LinkCrew + a service club + doing your own service, all three of which will just add more bullets to the list. But don't feel like you have to stifle your interests to please adcoms or CC posters. If your heart really lies in service work, then by all means, gain some experience! But don't do it just to lengthen your list, because that's totally unnecessary. At the very least, try to create/find service work that's relevant to past involvements. </p>
<p>Another thought is that you might use part of your short answers or essay to talk about the huge variance in your interests--the blessing and curse of well-roundedness and how this relates to a certain school (broad strengths, interdisciplinary approach, "I've used high school as a time to test the waters and I look forward to college as a place to blah blah blah" sort of approach...I don't know). In other words, you might make some sort of effort to ADDRESS the impressive breadth of your accomplishments so that adcoms see that you haven't just tried to join everything in the world...you really do have wide interests.</p>
<p>Glad you're finding CC helpful :)</p>
<p>Tyler, all the views are pretty warped on CC, you'll learn that once you go through a full admissions cycle and are around for a while. All this BS about volunteering and beefing up your resume, it's ridiculous. I'd say do what you want to do. It's things like this which is why I NEVER, EVER considered applying to an ivy because I didn't want to be around that kind of business. Colleges don't want kids who play them...that's all I'm saying. They want REAL PEOPLE with real passions. It doesn't seem like you show any with planning out a fake interest in Link Crew or a service project here just to make yourself look better. Sure the laundry list of activities looks impressive (I have a pretty hefty one myself), but you have to remember to shine through with the passion and the impact of what you've done through your activities, not just the label of "club member", etc.</p>
<p>Hi SandyRun,</p>
<p>You say you want to go to medical school, and you want to go to an Ivy league school for your undergraduate degree. Let's assume you have the grades and test scores to pass first cut for an Ivy. That would mean you are also a student that many other colleges would love to admit, and they may offer you merit scholarships to do that. If you go full pay to an Ivy league school (around 40K per year), then add on medical school tuition for four years, you are looking at a mountain of debt. You are also likely to be a smaller fish in an Ivy pond than a bigger fish in a less competitive pond, and that may influence your chances of getting into medical school. I know of one girl who was accepted to Yale, and to Rhodes College in Tennessee. Yale offer her a bit of financial aid. Rhodes offered her a full ride in their honors college program. At Yale, you are competing with other Yale students to get a "recommendation" from the school when you apply to medical school. Without that recommendation, you're sunk. Rhodes has an excellent track record for getting their students in to medical school, and so do several other Ivies. So think about Ivies for grad school, and go somewhere with better teaching and more to offer you (plus perhaps much less debt) for your undergrad. </p>
<p>Just a thought.</p>
<p>Tyler09,</p>
<p>It's Fabriz*i*o.</p>
<p>How does my "incredibly warped" view of the college admissions process border on racism?</p>
<p>I do not support racism in any form. I do not subscribe to racist beliefs. Please find one instance of racism in my post.</p>
<p>Our elite universities are indeed good enough to attract all the "under-represented" minorities of our country. Since we agree on that, why keep racial preferences? They seem to be useless given that these students will apply anyway. If you prefer the phrase "under-represented," that's fine with me. I know you are talking about protected minorities.</p>
<p>You've straw manned me, by the way. Where have I said that protected minorities take the places of White and Asian students? I have not said that, but you have. Kindly remember that I wrote the following paragraph:</p>
<p>To clarify, huge preferences does not mean automatic admission. It has never meant that. It just means what it says - you're looked at preferentially.</p>
<p>If you don't mind, learn the difference between you're and your and there and their.</p>
<p>What collegeprep said is really a critical matter of dilemma and most HS seniors can't choose btw the two. Definitely, it depends upon what actually SandyRain's goal are. It's actually kinda tough to reject Yale/PRinceton and go to Rhodes College (just to say) But yet, that's I guess the most crucial factor many able, high performing kids face.</p>
<p>I'm in a similar position. I find that the ivy-league way of living and campus are not for me, yet I have always strived for an ivy-league education. On the other hand, the honors college of Penn State has exactly what I'm looking for in terms of their way of life, even though the education might not be up to par with the ivies. Yet another decision I must make...sheesh.</p>