Starting a "nonprofit" in high school

[Anonymous]

Would appreciate a response from an AO or college admissions counselor..

Do AOs actually check if the charity is legit, etc. or just take it on face value when someone claims it on their profile?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our school, this started last year and has really accelerated with this year’s senior class. And not just non-profits, but also starting small businesses. Personally don’t like that colleges are rewarding kids starting something and ditching it once apps are done vs. helping established non-profits or learning to work at a typical summer job.

I agree. In my opinion, starting small businesses is similarly ill-advised. Kids don't know what they don't know, and if starting and running a business were a true goal, they would learn from others first by...working for a business. "Started my own business" may sound impressive to a teenager, but adults should know better, that such situations are really the blind leading the blind, and under sort-of false pretenses (college admissions) to boot.

But my father did that, back before college admissions people cared about such things, and made that business an active thing for about 25 years. I can’t even hint at what the business was, because it became a tiny bit famous, and maybe I’d dox myself. He used the business to pay his way through a university that shows up here occasionally as a respectable safety.

I think that my father could do that partly because my father’s school supported entrepreneurship with a strong Junior Achievement club. Maybe the real problem here is that we have daytrader clubs in high schools instead of Junior Achievement.

[Anonymous]

I volunteered for this organization to sponsor an Afghan refugee family The person who founded it is a now at Stanford. https://www.irocenter.org/about-immigrant-refugee-outreach-center-dmv

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe the colleges don't see right through this. My guess is they do, and just go

Perhaps they do. But many of the ED admits to highly selective schools that are seniors at our DC private ALL have started one of these types of organizations.

They all have websites, with very similar elements. Best of all, one of them is an organization supporting girls who start organizations. That's rich.

I'm going to have my kid start an organization supporting girls who start organizations that support girls who start organizations. Harvard here we come.

In all seriousness, I'm bummed colleges fall for this. All of these faux 501c3s are done and dusted by the time the kid graduates from high school.

Also the knowledge to start a 501c3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see a lot of soft approvals for these 'charities', likely from parents who are doing it for their kids.

If this scam is OK, what's wrong with claiming on your common app that you did some charity work (e.g. volunteered at a food bank) consistently for 4 years. How will the college AOs even check?

If you are about to jump on me about "teaching kids to lie", etc. just shut it!

+ 1. My kid doesn't care for charity work. We for sure are doing this in his common app. Minor scam in the grand scheme of DCUM scams.

And this is why we as a country can't have nice things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A current Cornell junior spoke to my son's club during Covid year. They asked how he got into Cornell. He said he started a nonprofit.

a) He is likely mistaken and possibly lying.

b) How would he know what tipped the scales? It could be he was admitted DESPITE having listed a non-profit he started that was obviously just padding for the resume.

This. There's no way he would ever know. The process is so subjective at this point that it is essentially random. There are probably a lot of kids who started a non-profit but DIDN'T get accepted to the school they wanted. Depends on the what the AOs have been told to emphasize in that current batch, how much of the class is left to fill at that point in the cycle, and the feelings and whims of those AOs on any given day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This could not be any more cynical. The parents of these kids should shut it down.

Are you kidding? That's who's behind it. Family member's kid even has a website-that hasn't been touched since college acceptances went out a couple of years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I volunteered for this organization to sponsor an Afghan refugee family The person who founded it is a now at Stanford. https://www.irocenter.org/about-immigrant-refugee-outreach-center-dmv

And that person who allegedly started it (shhh.. it was her mom), hasn’t done anything with it since she left for California. I know this because l also volunteer with them. It’s run by other people who care while the founder is having fun at Stanford. At least they continue to do good, and l had an amazing experience with their help, but definitely not thanks to the founder!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I volunteered for this organization to sponsor an Afghan refugee family The person who founded it is a now at Stanford. https://www.irocenter.org/about-immigrant-refugee-outreach-center-dmv

And that person who allegedly started it (shhh.. it was her mom), hasn’t done anything with it since she left for California. I know this because l also volunteer with them. It’s run by other people who care while the founder is having fun at Stanford. At least they continue to do good, and l had an amazing experience with their help, but definitely not thanks to the founder!

The website is clear she is a founder but she doesn't run it.

[Anonymous]

I think if the org keeps going thanks to the parents or whoever else, that is a good thing, but all this 2-3 months wonders just to get into college seem so wasteful to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I volunteered for this organization to sponsor an Afghan refugee family The person who founded it is a now at Stanford. https://www.irocenter.org/about-immigrant-refugee-outreach-center-dmv

And that person who allegedly started it (shhh.. it was her mom), hasn’t done anything with it since she left for California. I know this because l also volunteer with them. It’s run by other people who care while the founder is having fun at Stanford. At least they continue to do good, and l had an amazing experience with their help, but definitely not thanks to the founder!

The website is clear she is a founder but she doesn't run it.

What does that really mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would appreciate a response from an AO or college admissions counselor..

Do AOs actually check if the charity is legit, etc. or just take it on face value when someone claims it on their profile?

Same. I don’t think they check- they don’t have time. Because the kid I know who did it was in the “has a website and idea but didn’t serve a single person” camp and got into a college that surprised everyone.

Just one of the ways people who are willing to cheat and lie get into prestigious schools. Parents with the means and knowledge to start a non profit for them but it serves no one and they’re rewarded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I volunteered for this organization to sponsor an Afghan refugee family The person who founded it is a now at Stanford. https://www.irocenter.org/about-immigrant-refugee-outreach-center-dmv

And that person who allegedly started it (shhh.. it was her mom), hasn’t done anything with it since she left for California. I know this because l also volunteer with them. It’s run by other people who care while the founder is having fun at Stanford. At least they continue to do good, and l had an amazing experience with their help, but definitely not thanks to the founder!

The website is clear she is a founder but she doesn't run it.

What does that really mean?

Look on the website. Others are running it. She is just listed as the founder. Anyone can go on the paperwork.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I volunteered for this organization to sponsor an Afghan refugee family The person who founded it is a now at Stanford. https://www.irocenter.org/about-immigrant-refugee-outreach-center-dmv

And that person who allegedly started it (shhh.. it was her mom), hasn’t done anything with it since she left for California. I know this because l also volunteer with them. It’s run by other people who care while the founder is having fun at Stanford. At least they continue to do good, and l had an amazing experience with their help, but definitely not thanks to the founder!

The website is clear she is a founder but she doesn't run it.

What does that really mean?

Look on the website. Others are running it. She is just listed as the founder. Anyone can go on the paperwork.

This girl was also valedictorian at her "Big3" (i.e. top) DC private school. She was 2021 and the 2022 valedictorian also went to Stanford without founding any non-profit.
So who really knows what pushed her over the line into Stanford.

[Anonymous]

This makes me tired. Just be a real person and do ECs that resonate with you. Help others. Or don't. But don't be duplicitous.