[여인의 향기]

Sorry if I dont make sense.
I might be far away from applying to a college....but there are so many things I'm worrying about.
When I looked at the topic about who got rejected from a certain college.......and I saw their comments about how high their GPA's were then the others and yet they did not get in but the people with the lower GPA got in....I'm kinda worried because I want to apply to Staford, Harvard, Prineston, and Brown......

I dont know what they are looking for. What are they looking for?
I dont know anything. Yet I'm a freshman and I'm freaking out.
What should I do, so I can be different from the other people that are applying?

[alicimoo]

Go register at collegeboard.com
Go find the school and there's all this info about them. (i.e. what they require, what they look for, what percentile of their students are in the to top 10 in their H.S., etc.)
REALLY helpful.

[여인의 향기]

Go register at collegeboard.com
Go find the school and there's all this info about them. (i.e. what they require, what they look for, what percentile of their students are in the to top 10 in their H.S., etc.)
REALLY helpful.

Ahh. Thank you.

[jess89]

they're looking for the overall package.
its pretty much a given that youre smart if youre applying to those kinds of schools. theres some statistic about __% of valedictorians get turned down each year and its because not only do they look at your grades/test scores and how tough your courses are, they look at how you spend your free time, how dedicated and passionate you are about the things you do, how youve grown as a student/person (improving grades, life experiences, etc), how you are viewed by your peers and teachers (recommendations and in interviews they sometimes ask how your friend would describe you)... theyre looking for someone whos well-rounded.

thats kindof a brief summary of what they generally look for in an applicant. of course theres more to it but i think as a freshman you shouldnt worry so much about this kindof stuff. just focus on your studies and activities and when it comes time for college aps, you wanna "sell" yourself on your application.

[Solly]

^totally agree with you.

good grades, good essays, good scores on SAT/ACT/AP, good leadership in clubs or other activities/volunteer work, relationships with teachers or other faculty members (so that they can write you a good recommendation letter), etc.

overall package but most of all, being you. show them YOU. the unique qualities of you. [x

[여인의 향기]

Ohh I see. I have to prove them that I can get in. Thanks...I needed the adivce...hahaha...I'm not that smart...I only got a 3.95..-.-"""" But I hope to get in to one of those colleges. My biggest promblem is writing but I will continue to work hard in that subject. Thank you.


---------------Edit

I think I wasted my freshman year because I'm only in a golf team and just being manger.....but already I feel like I failed.....and if I wanted to do something outside of my school, what should I do? Help others or something?

[Voltage]

alright...i think people here are a bit confused about getting into the colleges you mentioned.

Grades, scores, teacher recommendations are prerequisites for getting into top 5 schools. This means, you tend to need high marks in each to make it through the first round of cuts. Now people will say having great teacher recommendations helps a ton, this is baseless. Teacher recommendations only reinforce the admission committee's opinion about you, it will not shape it. Essays on the application are often seen as opportunities to let your character come forward. Essays usually have very little bearing on your decision, but a poor one can drastically hurt you.

Having club leadership is also overrated. College boards know the difficulty of obtaining such leadership positions as 'President of Spanish Club,' etc. But if you are say the student body president, this is a different story since it proves you have garnered a favorable opinion by your peers who elected you.

You can become that prototypical Asian student who gets great grades, excels in some musical instrument, and pursues sciences/academic competitions, but you will be competing against a high percentage of people who in all likelihood are smarter and more qualified when compared by these statistics. So it all depends on how you play the game, and the college admissions process is entirely a game. You can try to distinguish yourself from the thousands of Asian students who have amazing academic merit, or you can fight probability and try to avoid being another victim to the game.

I have a jaded opinion about college admissions not because of my personal experience, rather I understand just how difficult the job of an admissions committee really is. And again while they will never readily admit it, colleges will compare you to the other Koreans applying to their respective schools.

I will also warn you about future posters who will say 'this guy is wrong because I have a friend who had a 2.8 gpa but got into Princeton or my friend was president of 1000 clubs in high school and got into Harvard.' I assure you, these instances, if true, are highly atypical.

A few years ago, I might have told you to take it easy and enjoy being a freshman, but the college admissions game reaches higher and higher competitive peaks every year. If attending a top name brand school is your only desire, then it would be wrong for me to tell you not to do everything you can from year one to transform yourself into a top candidate.

Finally, I think the best advice I can give is to keep some levity about the whole situation. Like I have been saying, it's a game and sometimes you win, other times you lose. Your application will be one in a sea of thousands upon thousands of papers. Good Luck

[Emy]

I'm a Junior and standing in the same position as you.

Most of the advice are really helpful, however.....

What are some actions we should make??? (As a Junior)

[여인의 향기]

alright...i think people here are a bit confused about getting into the colleges you mentioned.

Grades, scores, teacher recommendations are prerequisites for getting into top 5 schools. This means, you tend to need high marks in each to make it through the first round of cuts. Now people will say having great teacher recommendations helps a ton, this is baseless. Teacher recommendations only reinforce the admission committee's opinion about you, it will not shape it. Essays on the application are often seen as opportunities to let your character come forward. Essays usually have very little bearing on your decision, but a poor one can drastically hurt you.

Having club leadership is also overrated. College boards know the difficulty of obtaining such leadership positions as 'President of Spanish Club,' etc. But if you are say the student body president, this is a different story since it proves you have garnered a favorable opinion by your peers who elected you.

You can become that prototypical Asian student who gets great grades, excels in some musical instrument, and pursues sciences/academic competitions, but you will be competing against a high percentage of people who in all likelihood are smarter and more qualified when compared by these statistics. So it all depends on how you play the game, and the college admissions process is entirely a game. You can try to distinguish yourself from the thousands of Asian students who have amazing academic merit, or you can fight probability and try to avoid being another victim to the game.

I have a jaded opinion about college admissions not because of my personal experience, rather I understand just how difficult the job of an admissions committee really is. And again while they will never readily admit it, colleges will compare you to the other Koreans applying to their respective schools.

I will also warn you about future posters who will say 'this guy is wrong because I have a friend who had a 2.8 gpa but got into Princeton or my friend was president of 1000 clubs in high school and got into Harvard.' I assure you, these instances, if true, are highly atypical.

A few years ago, I might have told you to take it easy and enjoy being a freshman, but the college admissions game reaches higher and higher competitive peaks every year. If attending a top name brand school is your only desire, then it would be wrong for me to tell you not to do everything you can from year one to transform yourself into a top candidate.

Finally, I think the best advice I can give is to keep some levity about the whole situation. Like I have been saying, it's a game and sometimes you win, other times you lose. Your application will be one in a sea of thousands upon thousands of papers. Good Luck

Thank you. Your adivce has helped me....I understand. I did get high marks, my teachers are willing to send out recommendation letters but accomplishing all those might be only 5 things I got.....*sigh* I know it is going to be ten times as hard to get into those schools....I wanna go because other teachers in my middle school discourage me, that I wont get into a college or even make into highsschool....they actually thought I was mentally retarted teenager.....so I'm working so hard to be at top, but I did NOT know you had to be elected to do something or be something.......I'm only doing golf and hearing about the SAT scores just scare me! So I know there is a likly chance that I wont get but I'm willing to try.

[HSR]

Here's some of the things they probably would expect, and some examples of what you can do to stand out.

1) Marks - They have to be relatively good. Once you hit a level, having a higher mark than that will not matter much at all. Also SATs should be as high as possible..

2) Recommendations-

Standard:They atleast have to make you look good.
Oustanding:
The only way I can see this really helping you is if you actually did something remarkable that changed the community or something. Then this is an oppurtunity where someone could explain how remarkable of a deed it was. For example, perhaps your position as officer of Club "A" doens't sound like an accomplishment. However, if it actually sparked like a revolution in your school thanks to your ingenious and creative ideas as officer, then teachers could note that and explain what an impact it was.

3) Clubs-
Standard: You should commit to a couple clubs for several years instead of joining several and not staying with them. Gain leadership position.
Outstanding: You brought something to the club that exceeded expectations.

4) Essays-
Standard: Well written, don't be too fake.
Oustanding: You are a prodigious writer... you do something unusual and creative, and you pull it off, such as using humour.

5) Achievements-
Standard: being first chair in your local orchestra, winning medals in local sports competitions, etc...
Oustanding: first chair in your state, medals in a national/international competition, etc...
I think this is where you can get the greatest advantage if you stand out. People I know that went to HPY say that a lot of the students did something really extraordinary.

That's the key. Doing something that makes you stand out. Of course, you still need to be decently well rounded and you must have the grades, but more and more people are well rounded students with good grades so you need an edge.

[Avex]

For me, I want college admisson officers to know who i am based on what i do. grades won't tell a person who i am except how hard i work.

[여인의 향기]

I know that grades are very important but they also want more things...but I dont really know what to do. You guys gave me some great ideas...thank you.


----edit
And in the summer what should I do? Go to a summer program in a college?

[Voltage]

you're asking the wrong questions really in my opinion. There is no prototype for how you should handle your summers or school year. Probably the best thing you can do is just pursue your interests. Colleges say that want well rounded students...what a lie. Well rounded students blend in with the other thousands of well rounded teens. Do something that will make you unique. And work on your writing...

[Avex]

you're asking the wrong questions really in my opinion. There is no prototype for how you should handle your summers or school year. Probably the best thing you can do is just pursue your interests. Colleges say that want well rounded students...what a lie. Well rounded students blend in with the other thousands of well rounded teens. Do something that will make you unique. And work on your writing...

just curious, how do u know so much?

[Voltage]

I worked at the admissions office at my school and have a pretty good insider's look concerning what discussions go on when it comes time to make decisions. There are also many blogs where admissions officers readily admit the inherent difficulty of choosing a class as well as the qualities they look for. Personal experience plays a factor as well. Princeton a few years back felt that not enough art students were being admitted...so they found more students to fill up those spaces...it's a pretty cynical view but that's just how things pan out

[여인의 향기]

I worked at the admissions office at my school and have a pretty good insider's look concerning what discussions go on when it comes time to make decisions. There are also many blogs where admissions officers readily admit the inherent difficulty of choosing a class as well as the qualities they look for. Personal experience plays a factor as well. Princeton a few years back felt that not enough art students were being admitted...so they found more students to fill up those spaces...it's a pretty cynical view but that's just how things pan out

Do you mean fine arts??? Because I'm planing to go into orchestra for four years......

[DaAzNkIgGa627]

I heard (Not sure where) if you're Asian and play a sport that helps a lot. It distinguishes you if you are a good student showing that you do play a sport from other Asians.

[illneverletyougo]

good grades, character, number of AP classes you took, extracurricular activities... etc

[Avex]

I heard (Not sure where) if you're Asian and play a sport that helps a lot. It distinguishes you if you are a good student showing that you do play a sport from other Asians.

although thats true, that kind of stuff actually perpetuates stereotypes about asians. but admissions officers have no choice

+edit

on a seperate note, find out how college admissions officers are using myspace to determine who to accept: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_437076.html

[Voltage]

I wasn't talking about fine arts, that area is always highly competitive.

I'm just going to relate a story about my recent interview with a finance company recruiter. He talked about how they start from a stack of about 1000 highly qualified candidates from top 5 schools(Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, MIT). He explained to me that he has no idea how HR reps narrow down those hundreds of applications and reduce them to 10 people they will actually interview.

Now this situation highlights the college recruiting process at the name brand schools. Except instead of 1000 highly qualified applicants, you have about 10k applications and about one in every 10 is admitted. It's natural to see that most of the applications will look the same and this is probably especially true with Asian applicants.