Do smart kids without extracurriculars get into top schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Writing and drawing are extracurriculars. There are ways to explain those. She may also be involved in things you are not aware of.

My understanding is that essays are much more important than the activity list.

She would need to have a portfolio or some acknowledgements in competitions. Just saying "i like to write" or "I like to draw" in and of itself isn't going to mean much when there are other applicants who have written and submitted work that captured awards etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend has a daughter who has always been smart and gifted. Family never pushes her to do anything she doesn’t want to do. She has no extracurricular activities besides enjoying writing and drawing. I don’t think she has any competitions or awards. Both parents attended public state schools.

Can a girl like this get into any top schools? UVA?

Is she good at creative writing? Lots of 'activities' especially volunteer work would be impossible to verify

Agree. All the volunteer work is totally made up…at least at our private.

Yep. It's pretty much all a farce.

Don't justify lying by trying to convince people that everyone is doing it. They're not. If some kids are doing this, I hope the AOs see through it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend has a daughter who has always been smart and gifted. Family never pushes her to do anything she doesn’t want to do. She has no extracurricular activities besides enjoying writing and drawing. I don’t think she has any competitions or awards. Both parents attended public state schools.

Can a girl like this get into any top schools? UVA?

Is she good at creative writing? Lots of 'activities' especially volunteer work would be impossible to verify

Agree. All the volunteer work is totally made up…at least at our private.

Yep. It's pretty much all a farce.

Don't justify lying by trying to convince people that everyone is doing it. They're not. If some kids are doing this, I hope the AOs see through it.

How do you expect them to see through a lie when it's convincing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Writing and drawing are extracurriculars. There are ways to explain those. She may also be involved in things you are not aware of.

My understanding is that essays are much more important than the activity list.

She would need to have a portfolio or some acknowledgements in competitions. Just saying "i like to write" or "I like to draw" in and of itself isn't going to mean much when there are other applicants who have written and submitted work that captured awards etc.

We don’t know that she doesn’t. The OP isn’t likely to know because with friends like this…

As a mom of two young adults, it’s mostly impossible to assess other kids’ ECs unless you are an AO looking at the whole package write up. Even if you think you know what your friend’s kids do in general, you are unlikely to know all the details.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Frankly, this kid seems refreshing for not getting caught up in the BS activities around them. Except for a few, most kids are doing activities for college so kids who like writing and art who are not caught up in the rat race may end up being happier. So many useless non- profits are shut down as soon as the kid gets into college.

Except there are plenty of kids who have developed portfolios, submitted for competititons, have had their work displayed or read somewhere, for poets, had a reading, etc.

So sure, she can make the claim, but there are thousands of other applicants who will have some way of accounting for it.

[Anonymous]

If she works part time and marks YES to “were you required to work and contribute to the household” and their EFC is low then it’s a prominent profile imho

[Anonymous]

If this is a high stats kid, isn't she the definition of "spiky"? the kid who is focused on one thing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If this is a high stats kid, isn't she the definition of "spiky"? the kid who is focused on one thing?

There are a lot of high stats kids who also volunteer, play sports, work etc. The high stats part is a given for the top schools. The spikey part comes in other ways.

[Anonymous]

If this isn't your daughter, not sure why you care at all

[Anonymous]

You are uber competitive and that mean person. Not everyone strives for what you consider a top school.

We have a smart kid, lots of activities but we hope for our state school as that is what we can afford to pay college and graduate school without any debt. See how that works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frankly, this kid seems refreshing for not getting caught up in the BS activities around them. Except for a few, most kids are doing activities for college so kids who like writing and art who are not caught up in the rat race may end up being happier. So many useless non- profits are shut down as soon as the kid gets into college.

Except there are plenty of kids who have developed portfolios, submitted for competititons, have had their work displayed or read somewhere, for poets, had a reading, etc.

So sure, she can make the claim, but there are thousands of other applicants who will have some way of accounting for it.

There is no way these kids who are in multiple activities as captains, presidents, etc. are actually doing much of anything along with a rigorous course load and lots of AP. They show up, do the minimum and that's it. (said as a mom of an overloaded kid)

[Anonymous]

Yes she probably could maybe as a reach. She should formally declare art as a minor and maybe include some art portfolio work in her application. Play to her strengths. She can take any core art classes available then change her major to whatever she wants later like everybody else does. Why sell her short? I wouldn’t not apply to a school I liked unless money was the deciding factor in how many or which places to apply to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frankly, this kid seems refreshing for not getting caught up in the BS activities around them. Except for a few, most kids are doing activities for college so kids who like writing and art who are not caught up in the rat race may end up being happier. So many useless non- profits are shut down as soon as the kid gets into college.

Except there are plenty of kids who have developed portfolios, submitted for competititons, have had their work displayed or read somewhere, for poets, had a reading, etc.

So sure, she can make the claim, but there are thousands of other applicants who will have some way of accounting for it.

There is no way these kids who are in multiple activities as captains, presidents, etc. are actually doing much of anything along with a rigorous course load and lots of AP. They show up, do the minimum and that's it. (said as a mom of an overloaded kid)

Speak for yourself. Lots of kids (mine included) do far more than the minimum in their activities. Of course, not everything is top priority all the time, but mine definitely don't phone in tge minimum-- how can you even do that as captain?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes she probably could maybe as a reach. She should formally declare art as a minor and maybe include some art portfolio work in her application. Play to her strengths. She can take any core art classes available then change her major to whatever she wants later like everybody else does. Why sell her short? I wouldn’t not apply to a school I liked unless money was the deciding factor in how many or which places to apply to.

She would have to have a very compelling portfolio for the art to be meaningful enough to be considered an area of study.

[Anonymous]

The term "gifted" is overrated, especially in the DC area.