<p>So there's this kid in my grade at my school who has the following extracurriculars: </p>
<ul>
<li>Varsity golf </li>
<li>Vice president of Asian Student Association (he hasn't been to a single meeting! they meet every week!) </li>
<li>Co-president and Co-founder of the SECULAR Student Association (isn't this discriminating against religious students? It is obviously a ploy by the two leaders of it to get leadership...will colleges see this? And hopefully roll their eyes at it? :) ) </li>
<li>Science Olympiad </li>
<li>Co-president of Model United Nations (and doesn't do any help with the leadership in it. I know because I am the other Co-President :) ) </li>
</ul>
<p>He will also be doing "research" at UCLA over the summer. He claims he will be doing "cancer research" but even admitted himself that it will be coffee runs and sharpening pencils, not true scientific research. He hasn't even taken biology yet, what help can he be? In addition, the only reason he gets this research internship is because his Dad works at UCLA in this department. </p>
<p>So basically: </p>
<ol>
<li>Will colleges see that his Vice President of Asian club is little effort? </li>
<li>Will colleges see that his Secular club leadership is only a ploy to get leadership, and is also kind of discriminating in ways? </li>
<li>Will colleges see his minimal help in Model UN? </li>
<li>Will colleges see the direct connections between his internship at UCLA and his Dad's job at UCLA? </li>
</ol>
<p>Just wondering because he keeps bugging and bragging about these things, but I've noticed the trends and flaws in his ECs and I'm hoping colleges will do the same, so that more deserving kids get spots at the top colleges that he will be applying to and I will like the Ivies + Stanford + MIT </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Stop worrying about other students. It’s not beneficial for anyone. You seem insecure and rattled. Stop being so petty. </p></li>
<li><p>In short, yes. His ECs lack a common thread or theme that shows true passion. They are scattered at best, and nothing stands out (even if he were to put tons of true effort into each). This is a huge red flag.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>This is a good point brought up by both posters, and it begs the question: </p>
<p>Are the kids in each respectful school the most direct competition, or should we just think of it as students competing with everyone in the nation for spots at these elite schools? </p>
<p>It’s my opinion that you’re not in competition with others at your school (at least for schools with %s below 8%, see hypms). They take who they want to take and don’t give a damn about quotas, to put it bluntly. If you don’t get in, it won’t be because they could only offer admission to X students at your school (and you were the X+1th student, if that makes sense).</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Is it helpful to have a “theme” with ECs? </p></li>
<li><p>Will admit officers know that the person described here only got the UCLA job through his dad? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>In other words, can colleges piece together the connections and see if the ECs are truly overstated in the apps, or do they not have time to do this? </p>
<p>Colleges are very skilled at reading between the lines on applications. If a student “researcher” does not have her or his name included on the research papers it indicates a peripheral role on the experiment. What will matter is the student’s passion for their ECs, and that comes through in the essays, and multiple ECs, or multiple summers, in the same area.</p>
<p>As others have wisely suggested, focus on your own life rather than worry about this other fellow’s application. You will accomplish much more, and be happier. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>I should rephrase a bit. It is helpful to have a theme, but only if that is a genuine theme. Don’t join a million mock-trial-esq clubs to convey that your ECs are not scattered. Rather, you should let your own genuine interests speak for themselves. Personally, I was really, really into researching a specific type of history. As a result, most of my ECs revolved around that passion. I did not craft my EC resume from the start; it just turned out that way.</p></li>
<li><p>No, it might be tough to tell how he/she got the UCLA job. However, that doesn’t impress top tier schools. It’s actually fairly easy to get internships in university labs. That EC would certainly not play a major role in determining the candidate’s ultimate fate.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>@MikeNY5 How could one show that one has a passion for his or her ECs, even if they lack a common theme? For instance I group my ECs into categories to show that I kind of have a common theme(ie. foreign language ECs, science/medical ECs, music/theatre ECs, writing ECs, speech/debate ECs, etc), but they aren’t directly related as you can clearly see.</p>
<p>I am passionate about EVERYTHING, and my intended majors are either in Economics or in Physics. </p>
<p>I’m not the type of person who does shallow ECs. I do a leadership in each category of ECs listed above 1-6, so I have like 6 leadership positions. I guess that alone will show my passion and focus :)</p>
<p>I’m not sure how to quite convey this to Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, and Princeton, I guess they’ll see it and notice it! </p>
<p>Admissions Committees looks to your teachers and guidance counselor to tell them about your scholastic potential, but also your involvement in extracurricular activities. And they trust that your teachers and GC will tell them the truth about you and your EC’s. Watch the below video and note that the Admissions officers who are reading off of yellow “reader sheets” are often using comments made from teacher recommendations and a GC’s SSR. Comments such as “On Katelin being an inside the box kind of gal” and “The night before her AP Chemistry exam she learned her father had an affair with a 23 year old prostitute” and “His family’s financial situation took a huge hit and they lost their family store and all other assets”. Those comments, and several others from student essays, are guiding the Admissions Committee in making their decisions. Bottom line: If your EC’s are shallow, your teachers will most likely comment on it – or, their lack of comments, their lack of bragging, will allow the Ad Com to read between the lines and realize that your list of EC’s are not noteworthy.
<a href=“College Admissions: Inside the Decision Room - YouTube”>College Admissions: Inside the Decision Room - YouTube;
<p>These are difficult questions to answer. If you are truly genuine about an EC-type, it will show in your app. I agree with Gibby that Recs are SUPER important, but it’s also worth noting that ivy league schools don’t necessarily want 1000 well-rounded students. In an ideal world, a student with good grades, good SATs, and a diverse plethora of ECs would be able to get into the university of his/her choice. However, with the ivies (and especially places like Harvard, YPS), the limited number of spots calls for the obligation of an admissions officer to select a class of “superstars.” In this sense, unless you are the next Stephen Hawking academically (in which case, your respective academic subject would serve as the field in which you shine), you must be a flat out superstar in one EC area. If you’re into art, have your work displayed in MoMA. If you’re a community servant, organize the biggest service effort that your state has ever seen. If you love debate, create a nonprofit that allows kids in every geographic location the ability to participate in debates. You get the point. The trouble here, however, is that fact that, unless you are genuinely talented and passionate about these ECs, it’s impossible to be a “superstar.” This is why, with rare exception, such a low quantity of (otherwise fantastic) candidates with great grades, SATs, and cool ECs are rejected from HYP.</p>
<p>TL;DR, you must be genuinely good at/ passionate about your EC for Harvard. </p>
<p>“Theme” is not necessary. In fact, the top schools like kids who aren’t strictly unilateral- who, in addition to activities in their possible major areas, also show a willingness to branch out. They’re trying to build a community of interesting kids- and they have thousands of top rigor/stats applicants to choose among. “Passion” is a big word…on CC. But CC doesn’t review your apps. Mike, it’s not a plethora of ECs. It’s more a combo that show the schools the attributes they like. You should be digging into what the top colleges say they look for, the qualities they want to find in your full app.<br>
And, for a stem wannabe, UCLA will not be summarily dismissed, just because many kids find these opportunities. You will be competing against those kids. Often, it’s not whether they filed paperwork or did cancer research, but the fact that they got themselves out there.</p>
<p>The UCs are the only ones I know that randomly verify. But you have a whole app and adcoms who know how to pull a picture from it- or not.</p>
<p>“Character” is one criteria at top schools like Harvard. This thread does not reflect that. Don’t worry about someone else, compete or compare.</p>
<p>I posted some advice for the original poster on another thread: basically, Harvard’s admissions are “holistic” and aim to assemble an interesting class, so it is not about your stats but how you would contribute to the mix. Much better to live life in high school without such focus on admissions: do what you are interested in doing regardless of how it will look, enjoy friends, classes and activities, and, ironically, your application will improve. </p>
<p>William Fitzsimmons has repeatedly given strong clues about what Harvard looks for, but few students seem to be listening. I’ve bolded what I think are the important parts for those students that just don’t seem to get it. </p>
</p>