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Well, I can pretty much tell you that if he's a junior going into his senior year in the fall and he hasn't done anything with his time in the past 3 years, he's not going to get into any of the Ivies unless something really extraordinary happens between now and the fall.
Kids have to do SOMETHING other than school to stand out from the crowd.
I don't think they should do things JUST for the college applications, but they should think about how they can take the things they do enjoy and make them work for them for college admissions. My son wants to go to one of the service academies so any type of leadership activities are a big plus for him.
I think you misunderstood what I was saying. TuborgP said it well re: the Ivies. To recap, the applicants are almost all very well qualified, with lots of extracurriculars, etc. Same is true for the service academies.
If a student has to have a job in order to help out his or her family, that does make a difference. And volunteer work is one of those that can either get you admitted or rejected. Some people do the volunteering for the wrong reasons.
If a student has to have a job in order to help out his or her family, that does make a difference. And volunteer work is one of those that can either get you admitted or rejected. Some people do the volunteering for the wrong reasons.
How would a college know WHY a child is volunteering? My son started coaching because the terms of his scholarship requires 120 hours of community service. He fulfilled that in his freshman year and it turned out he really likes coaching so he will continue with it. Nobody will be able to tell, by looking at his college application WHY he started coaching.
I think colleges catch on pretty fast when volunteering doesn't start until the senior year. Somebody who has been doing it all along wouldn't raise any cynical eyebrows.
My son has held two jobs throughout HS. He doesn't need to pay for his college, but he's always been a saver, and financially savvy. He only did the required service hours, like working with the Miracle League during the baseball season. When he chose an AP heavy schedule, he gave up baseball. He was hurt early in the season during football too(2 years in a row), so he can't add that either. He tutors, but only his friends (for free), and one middle schooler. I'm not sure what he should use when he starts applying.
If a student has to have a job in order to help out his or her family, that does make a difference. And volunteer work is one of those that can either get you admitted or rejected. Some people do the volunteering for the wrong reasons.
In our reasonably affluent area, many HS kids work to pay for cars and other "luxuries", not to help out the family, or even themselves, as in saving for college tuition. My kids were lucky to get jobs coaching gymnastics, which was their passion, but lots of their friends worked in retail and restaurants. I would think if one could get a job in line with one's interests, it may be helpful. One of my daughters got a small scholarship from her employer. Re: volunteering for the wrong reasons, it may be obvious to the reviewer that the vol. work doesn't jibe with the student's other interests (to answer another poster).
Applications get flagged for continued review. What is going to make one candidate stand out and get flagged while other very similar candidates don't?
My Nephew is getting straight A's in school, taking all the hard advanced placement tests, getting tutoring for his upcoming SAT test and is on the track and field team. Though he wants to get into an Ivy League Elite School and I do not think he will get in because he needs to be something special to be accepted.
He tells me that most activities like Band, the Debate Team, Plays and Musicals and Yearbook etc are for Nerds and will destroy his social standing in school. I tell him they will look good on his college applications. He said he does not want to be a social outcast for a silly college application.
What do you recommend for this misguided young man?
Actually, I'd recommend that he reevaluate his hope to go to an Ivy; yes, not everyone there is there for the academics, but if he's worried about appearing to be a nerd than probably heading for a big name academic school is not the right choice. Too many kids put all their hopes on an Ivy, but there are other great schools out there, too. That said, if he doesn't want to do one of those other activities then I don't think he should be pressured to do so. The volunteering suggestion is a good one (both for personal reasons and for school applications) but he should work hard to find a good fit that will be meaningful for him beyond just for its resume appearance. There are other activities outside of school that might be of interest; maybe writing for a local (non-school) newspaper (I did this as a student, and even got paid for columns!), participating in other cultural or artistic activities not offered through school (take up glass blowing or something unique and cool), or something else that strikes his fancy. As for volunteering, maybe he could volunteer with something relating to his sports?
But really, ultimately, he's going to either find new friends, learn to hide his secret ambitious academic life, or just learn to be a leader and prove to his classmates that you can have social standing and still do well in school.
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