Will these ECs be enough to stand out for Yale/Duke?

Applying to College
1

<p>Ok, so I'm a rising senior and there isn't much mroe I can do right now. My numerical stats are very good, 4.0 UW, near perfect test scores, probably 5s on my APs, etc. However, I just feel insecure about my ECs. I don't have any major awards, outside of academic awards, nothing about my ECs. Let me know what you think and any sugestions for improvement.</p>

<p>-Ballet classes (14 years)
-Northwest Michigan Ballet Theatre (3 years, soloist, particpated in school touring program to expose local school kids to ballet)
-Piano (8 years, self-taught, composed two original songs and performed at multiple open mic nights)
-Video Production Crew (Will be 2 years, school attended midway through 11th had no ECs offered, director of video crew , independantly filmed and edited a 4-minute documentary to air on school website)
-Theatre (auditioned to be a dancer in our school's musical, unsure of the results, but I received a main role at my old school in our spring play so will hopefully be 2 years)
-Volunteer translator for a Haiti relief organization (I translate documents from English to French for them. Even though I do this online and have never met the founder, she offered to write me a letter of reference. Should I accept? She doesn't really know me so I don't know how good it would be...)
-Created my own program (advertised, organized, taught classes) to teach creative movement to kids in my area at local library
-Will hopefully be founder of my school's first French club next year!</p>

<p>This is probably all I will put on my resume (things I won't include will appear below; tell me if I should add any). I also have had a part-time job for all four years of school and full-time jobs in the summer. As a low-income student, I have no choice. This has limited my ability to particpate in ECs at school. Plus, the school I attended through December of 11th grade didn't have any ECs. </p>

<p>Will not include:</p>

<p>-National Honor Society (only 1 year, because I couldn't join until senior year, will not hold an office position, might include this as an award?)
-School support activities (my old school was brand new and needed a lot of help getting off the ground so I was present at fundraisers and open houses, student representative for conference with local businessmen to renew funding for the school, wrote and presented essay about how the school shaped who i am, etc.)
-General Vounteerwork (stocking shelves and sorting donations at Goodwill and similar organizations, reading tutor for local boy, helped out at story hours at local library (4 years), ran annual Red Cross blood drives at my old school, stuff like that)
-Empty Bowls Project (one-time event, but took half a year to organize, find sponsers, create bowls out of various mediums to sell at the event, raised money for world hunger)</p>

<p>I'm not including these because I don't think they support my theme. Am I wrong to leave them out? Can you tell that I'm trying to portray myself as an artsy kid? Yale is my top choice. Then Duke, Cornell, Brown, Williams, Carleton and Wake Forest. What do you think? Are my ECs on par and what can I do to improve? Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Nearly all of what you have done is quite valid. Organize it well, describe your impact sufficiently. Some kids mistakenly leave certain things out and adcoms are left looking at a half-blank page. Why leave out the “part b” stuff??? Forget a theme (ok, more or less.) Would you want a STEM kid to only list things related to scientific curiosity? You can pm me, now or later, if you want.</p>

3

<p>Bump?</p>

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4

<p>I think your list of ECs are very strong and interesting. Just be careful about listing too much because it might seem unrealistic. Source: [Silly</a> Things Students Do When Applying to College](<a href=“http://hubpages.com/hub/Stupid-Things-Students-Do-When-Applying-to-College]Silly”>http://hubpages.com/hub/Stupid-Things-Students-Do-When-Applying-to-College)</p>

5

<p>I definitelt don’t want to sound like I’m making it up…do I come off that way? The first list is of all the things I am sincerely committed to. Most of the others were one-time deals or summer things.</p>

6

<p>These ECs will not “stand out,” but they are legit. Write about one of them in one of your essays. The adComms will give you a fair look. You are a strong candidate.</p>

7

<p>Two girls that just graduated the other day from my school will be going to Duke in the fall. Neither of them had THAT many EC’s, and I’ve known one since we were about 9. One had mostly academic honors (NHS, Beta Club, Quiz Bowl, etc…). The other had the same…she could also sing (don’t know if she mentioned that…). Just be yourself. Talk about the things about yourself that DO stand out, like if you have a PASSION for the things you do. THAT’s what makes you stand out, not a HUGE list of things.</p>

8

<p>Thanks for the input! I would love to go to Duke. I think I’d cry if I got in there. Really, I’m passionate about the things on the first list, not so much on the second and that’s why I seperated them. Great advice!</p>

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9

<p>No Problem! Good Luck, I’ll be a senior in the fall too :D</p>

10

<p>Bump</p>

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11

<p>Bump again. Any more input?</p>

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12

<p>The question about impressive ECs comes up regularly on the forum. There is a thread with comments by Northstarmom, a Ivy alum interviewer, about what constitutes impressive ECs from the point of view of the most selective colleges. The post is at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>2 very interesting articles about ECs that stand out and how to get them (same author, different examples) are at [How</a> to Be Impressive](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/05/28/the-art-of-activity-innovation-how-to-be-impressive-without-an-impressive-amount-of-work/]How”>The Art of Activity Innovation: How to Be Impressive Without an Impressive Amount of Work - Cal Newport) and [Save</a> This Grind?](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/09/12/case-study-how-could-we-save-this-ridiculously-overloaded-grind/]Save”>Case Study: How Could We Save This Ridiculously Overloaded Grind? - Cal Newport) While I don’t agree with everything in them, take a look at these 2 articles and I think you’ll get some original ideas.</p>

13

<p>Thank you! Those are some very interesting links.</p>

14

<p>The thing about college admissions is that, while Michigan applicants aren’t as prevalent at Yale and Duke as NJ/MA/NY kids, a person from a less populated and less wealthy area like Grand Rapids, Traverse City, or Ontonagon will be evaluated alongside people from Detroit suburbs (i.e. Grosse Pointe Farms and Bloomfield Hills), where many kids have had lots of economic backing to participate in very expensive resum</p>

15

<p>Thanks! I know that I will, unfortunately, be compared to more wealthy applicants. However, I plan to apply through Questbridge so maybe that will help me stand out? Anyone else have input?</p>

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