<p>The education is what you make of it...at an Ivy or elsewhere. Geez, if Penn State has exactly what you are looking for, then apply there, and go whole-heartedly. Find profs who care about what they are doing. Remember, the profs at Ivies and large research universities in general care far more about their research and their grad students than they do about their undergraduates, and it shows in their teaching.</p>
<p>Woah @ that long list of clubs. To me it looks like you just joined those clubs so you could put it on your college app. Idk if you joined all of them 'cause you wanted to or 'cause of college application purposes, but yeah.. it looks like a laundry list. x_x</p>
<p>is it really that many clubs? I actually joined these clubs wholeheartedly, as I cared little about my chances at college when I joined them. Plus I'm gonna be adding about 3 more this year, but I swear its not a laundry list, I actually have fun at these clubs, its more of a good time than it is work.</p>
<p>So collegeprep, does Yale weed out premeds by not giving recommendations to some people? I asked a tour guide and he wouldn't give me a straight answer.</p>
<p>Well there's nothing at all wrong with that, SandyRun, but I recommend finding somewhere (a campus interview would work well) to address that fact...to communicate that you really do enjoy the clubs and join them wholeheartedly. This fact, if you can actually make a point of putting it out there, could really set you apart from other applicants. Quite a donation of time and energy, and a true testament to your well-roundedness. But without the elaboration of your most recent post, you do risk getting lumped in with the pile of applicants who have all the same clubs and same well-roundedness, but have it because they think they should, not because they want to. The fact that you've been in a few of the clubs for 2+ years is a very good thing.</p>
<p>And yes, it really is that many clubs. Congrats on the time management skills you must have :)</p>
<p>it doesnt matter what you do. even if you get top sat scores, grades, ec's, recommendations, everything, you still get rejected.</p>
<p>I think it's ridiculous that you've set a list of what you'll be doing. This sickens me frankly. Okay, it's nice to have so much ambition; in fact, I greatly commend you for that. But by asking, "Does xxx look better than xxx when I'll be applying to colleges," and using others' opinions to do what you will be doing in the summer or whatever is wrong -- DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. DO SOMETHING IN WHICH YOU HAVE A PASSION. Please... Man...</p>
<p>Just a note to the OP, based on a lot of responses here:</p>
<p>I don't really think I had a **passion<a href="to%20continue%20throwing%20around%20the%20term">/b</a> in high school. I had a sport that I'd been doing for my whole life, and it was a passion insofar as it was as much a part of my routine than breathing, but it was as much habit as passion (and for the record, was not recruitable). It was useful because it gave me something logical to point towards and say "hey, there...that's my passion...sure." But at admissions interviews and stuff, they'd always ask me, and I'd have to BS something. I had TONS of things that I enjoyed, was good at, wanted to do...more than I knew what to do with. Lots of clubs, scattered awards, scattered leadership, here a year, there a year...I didn't know what I wanted to pursue as a major, let alone as a career. So my advice to you is more or less based on what I did, which was pursue everything I coud that interested me or that I thought might be good for me, and go in to the admissions process being able to honestly say "Y'know...I'm 17. I just don't know yet, so I'm trying as much as I can." I talked to my guidance counselor about the situation, and she addressed it very positively in her recommendation, and then I chose one thing (the sport) to focus on in my essay (I figured that I needed to buckle down and write a pretty narrowly-themed essay, since other involvements were kind of helter-skelter. More indecision might have been overwhelming). </p>
<p>My sister is 100% the opposite. She's known (and I mean KNOWN) her field of interest since she's been about 4, and she's had EXACT goals since she was about 15 (which is more than I can say even now). She's found various ways of showing her enthusiasm--course selection, work experience, summer programs--but it's all pointed in one direction. The "Do what you want to do, do something in which you have a passion" advice has never confused her for a moment.</p>
<p>So no, I don't think that your "I'll do X, Y, and Z" plan is a perfect one, but I do understand it, in a sense, as long as X, Y, and Z all have some kind of appeal to you. If you haven't found one single thing that just clicks with you yet, then don't stress. Call it the curse of the multi-talented, and play it up ;)</p>
<p>Just be careful of how you frame your situation, knowing that you may be treading a very fine line between something awesome and something totally cliche. "I have diverse interests" and "I've just done what I think you'll like" are two totally different messages to send to a college, but the two--in resume form--can look identical. Do your thing, and if your thing happens to be "I like ten different things," then roll with it...just know what you're workin' with!</p>
<p>Hi Chronicidal,</p>
<p>That is my understanding. If you do not meet Yale's criteria (and I don't know what the criteria is), you can still apply to med school on your own, but apparently the med schools know that Yale undergrads are expected to have the approval of this committee or whatever. It does sound really odd, though, doesn't it?</p>
<p>dude, dukehereicome, make your own thread.
1) youre a sophomore.
2) you had the misfortune of being posting after editorinchief88. I totally agree with him. So. Looking at your "resume" do you actually care about your volunteering, or is it for college only?</p>
<p>Shut up. You're so annoying..honestly. Stop "predicting" what you plan on doing. Nothing ever works out that way.</p>
<p>haha dont worry dukehereicome lol i think everyone is in the same position as u...i mean i also have a list of things i want to do...dont worry about what others say.... go for what u can...o yeah im a soph too so dont worry i totally understand</p>
<p>Hey Duke judging by your attitude (and previous posts) , I somehow doubt you're mature enough for Duke.</p>
<p>Also please refrain from typing in ALL CAPS.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how colleges look at employment as a form of extracurricular activity? I'm sure it depends on what type of work you are doing. I think the largest chunk of time I have dedicated to anything is my job, and I'm a math tutor and grader at Kumon Learning Center. My community involvement apart from that is not extremely extensive, but I got 2320 on the SATs and am aiming for something like Columbia. I have 1000+ hours at Kumon and although I know that's not the same as volunteer work, I hope colleges will see it as something contributing to society. Does anyone have an idea on this?</p>
<p>I also wanted to add another question, but please answer my above one first if you can. I know that being a minority can help in getting into very selective colleges, but what about just being foreign? I was born in England, and lived in France till I was 10. Is this something that colleges might see and think that it separates me from other applicants? Input would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>I think it would be very helpful for your college applications for you to show that you have done something meaningful outside of the classroom that you were not paid to do. Being a math tutor is nice and contributes to society, but you are being paid to do it.</p>
<p>If "building" is at all appealing to you, spend a week this summer volunteering on a building repair trip (a lot of groups are going to Katrina and Rita devastated areas) or build a house with Habitat. I think squeezing in 40 hours of useful work that you are not being paid to do would be very good for your college application.</p>
<p>A food bank or soup kitchen would also appreciate your help.</p>
<p>TubaPlayer, try to show that you love Math and helping people etc. in the College App. Colleges usually welcome Employment. Just stress that you take great pride out of your work, as it complements your love for math with your love for helping others.</p>
<p>Try to show that you have a unique perspective as a result of being from Eng/France.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for your help. I just started volunteering at a hospital and I think I'll have about 100 hours by the time I do early application to Columbia. If anyone else has an answer to my previous questions I'd greatly appreciate it.</p>
<p>Just use the fact that you've stayed in various nations to your advantage by saying you appreciate diversity and have an unique perspective on life.</p>
<p>TUBA PLAYER R U SERIOUS?! no way man...on my resume my 1400 hours of tutoring have come from working at...drumroll...kumon math and reading center. and yea I actually am proud of my ability to act as an effective teacher.</p>