If your child was accepted at a Top 20 School, what were their extracurriculars?

[Anonymous]

DD headed to ivy from strong public. 2 varsity sports (capt, national awards), co-president/vp of 2 community service clubs, lifeguard. she also had published research and presented at national conference. yes, parents helped with connections but she did the chart reviews, data-mining, manuscript drafting, and powerpoint talk herself. no woodworking, theater, auto mechanic, or finance relatives here!

[Anonymous]

Job in a charity based thrift shop
advanced Chinese outside of school
advanced solo musician (with exams to qualify)

summer of advanced language immersion in Canada (French)
summer of volunteering in an African country

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP I see posts like OP’s on here so often but at our school (independent feeder school not in DVM or NYC), those kinds of ECs are almost unheard of. Kids play varsity sports, do things like write for the school paper, theater, debate, and each year 25- 30 out of 100 seniors get into Ivy/top 15. I’ve never heard of anyone publishing any research let alone develop an AI service used by real corporate clients

Same outcomes at our non-DMV private.

But kids do unusual sports outside of school (fencing; sailing; squash; equestrian) and that gets noticed esp if there are accolades.
PT Jobs/internships too.

Niche hobbies (woodworking; agricultural related; beekeeping; birdwatching; urban farming) are also growing more common.

But no businesses with corporate clients etc.

Same outcomes at our DMV private.

Don’t worry, high schoolers publishing “ground breaking” research in respected journals is not the norm.

You seem to really hate on kids that are interested in science and science research. In our public high School there is a 4-year research program and yes, part of it is a research project summer of junior year. I don't know if it is correctly categorized as and EC or regular rigorous coursework. It is a bit of both. It is not popular but it exists and the geeky kids that do it tend to do really well with their college admissions.

[Anonymous]

Varsity athletics at a recruitable level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP I see posts like OP’s on here so often but at our school (independent feeder school not in DVM or NYC), those kinds of ECs are almost unheard of. Kids play varsity sports, do things like write for the school paper, theater, debate, and each year 25- 30 out of 100 seniors get into Ivy/top 15. I’ve never heard of anyone publishing any research let alone develop an AI service used by real corporate clients

Same outcomes at our non-DMV private.

But kids do unusual sports outside of school (fencing; sailing; squash; equestrian) and that gets noticed esp if there are accolades.
PT Jobs/internships too.

Niche hobbies (woodworking; agricultural related; beekeeping; birdwatching; urban farming) are also growing more common.

But no businesses with corporate clients etc.

Same outcomes at our DMV private.

Don’t worry, high schoolers publishing “ground breaking” research in respected journals is not the norm.

You seem to really hate on kids that are interested in science and science research. In our public high School there is a 4-year research program and yes, part of it is a research project summer of junior year. I don't know if it is correctly categorized as and EC or regular rigorous coursework. It is a bit of both. It is not popular but it exists and the geeky kids that do it tend to do really well with their college admissions.

DP but it doesn’t really make sense for a high school student to do research, unless they’re extremely prodigious. For the most part, they can’t contribute much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP I see posts like OP’s on here so often but at our school (independent feeder school not in DVM or NYC), those kinds of ECs are almost unheard of. Kids play varsity sports, do things like write for the school paper, theater, debate, and each year 25- 30 out of 100 seniors get into Ivy/top 15. I’ve never heard of anyone publishing any research let alone develop an AI service used by real corporate clients

Same outcomes at our non-DMV private.

But kids do unusual sports outside of school (fencing; sailing; squash; equestrian) and that gets noticed esp if there are accolades.
PT Jobs/internships too.

Niche hobbies (woodworking; agricultural related; beekeeping; birdwatching; urban farming) are also growing more common.

But no businesses with corporate clients etc.

Same outcomes at our DMV private.

Don’t worry, high schoolers publishing “ground breaking” research in respected journals is not the norm.

You seem to really hate on kids that are interested in science and science research. In our public high School there is a 4-year research program and yes, part of it is a research project summer of junior year. I don't know if it is correctly categorized as and EC or regular rigorous coursework. It is a bit of both. It is not popular but it exists and the geeky kids that do it tend to do really well with their college admissions.

DP but it doesn’t really make sense for a high school student to do research, unless they’re extremely prodigious. For the most part, they can’t contribute much.

What are you talking about. It's a program for high school kids that are interested in research. It's not required. No one is born knowing how to do science research. You learn how to do it.

They start with basic scientific method. They learn how to read research papers. They learn how to find reliable sources for information. They learn how to do citations. They learn how to collect data. They learn how to analyze and manipulate data.

You think they start out doing some kind of advanced scientific research. Don't be ridiculous. They start as 9th graders and they progress for 4 years in their education and knowledge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP I see posts like OP’s on here so often but at our school (independent feeder school not in DVM or NYC), those kinds of ECs are almost unheard of. Kids play varsity sports, do things like write for the school paper, theater, debate, and each year 25- 30 out of 100 seniors get into Ivy/top 15. I’ve never heard of anyone publishing any research let alone develop an AI service used by real corporate clients

Same outcomes at our non-DMV private.

But kids do unusual sports outside of school (fencing; sailing; squash; equestrian) and that gets noticed esp if there are accolades.
PT Jobs/internships too.

Niche hobbies (woodworking; agricultural related; beekeeping; birdwatching; urban farming) are also growing more common.

But no businesses with corporate clients etc.

Same outcomes at our DMV private.

Don’t worry, high schoolers publishing “ground breaking” research in respected journals is not the norm.

You seem to really hate on kids that are interested in science and science research. In our public high School there is a 4-year research program and yes, part of it is a research project summer of junior year. I don't know if it is correctly categorized as and EC or regular rigorous coursework. It is a bit of both. It is not popular but it exists and the geeky kids that do it tend to do really well with their college admissions.

DP but it doesn’t really make sense for a high school student to do research, unless they’re extremely prodigious. For the most part, they can’t contribute much.

Is contribution the metric? We might as well get rid of 95% of all high school extracurricular activities. I have other kids that are playing sports. They love it, but are they making a contribution to football? Not really.

[Anonymous]

How about normal part time jobs like at a restaurant or a small business? Are those valued by AOs in admission for a UMC kid or only meaningful when it’s a questbridge low-income kid doing it to support their family? Our full pay private school DD has a job she really likes and is spending nearly all her afterschool time at this job. It’s an honest good job that takes hardwork, she’s learning about how to run a small business and if I may even say lessons on life but it’s not cancer research or developing app in Silicon Valley

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about normal part time jobs like at a restaurant or a small business? Are those valued by AOs in admission for a UMC kid or only meaningful when it’s a questbridge low-income kid doing it to support their family? Our full pay private school DD has a job she really likes and is spending nearly all her afterschool time at this job. It’s an honest good job that takes hardwork, she’s learning about how to run a small business and if I may even say lessons on life but it’s not cancer research or developing app in Silicon Valley

You should include it because if that's what is occupying her free time if she doesn't include it, it's going to be unclear what she does with all of her time. And if she values this experience why do you want to send her to University that does not value it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been hearing about some amazing extracurriculars from rising seniors lately ... one kid I know came up with some AI service that analyzes financial data and already has corporate clients using it, another kid has published some ground breaking research in a very selective peer reviewed journal.

Of course I know that excellent grades and 1500+ SAT scores are a must, but I am really surprised by the level of the ECs ...
If your child made it into a Top school, would you mind sharing their extracurriculars?

Music (cellist for youth symphony, sang in operas and musical theater performances as well as in church group, and played guitar and sang in a rock band)
Sport (nationally ranked)
Activism (e.g., organized anti-bullying and environmental initiatives)
Writing (had several pieces published)
Volunteered at an animal shelter

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP I see posts like OP’s on here so often but at our school (independent feeder school not in DVM or NYC), those kinds of ECs are almost unheard of. Kids play varsity sports, do things like write for the school paper, theater, debate, and each year 25- 30 out of 100 seniors get into Ivy/top 15. I’ve never heard of anyone publishing any research let alone develop an AI service used by real corporate clients

Same outcomes at our non-DMV private.

But kids do unusual sports outside of school (fencing; sailing; squash; equestrian) and that gets noticed esp if there are accolades.
PT Jobs/internships too.

Niche hobbies (woodworking; agricultural related; beekeeping; birdwatching; urban farming) are also growing more common.

But no businesses with corporate clients etc.

Equestrian and sailing aren’t impressive. It just means you live near water and have the money to ride a horse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD headed to ivy from strong public. 2 varsity sports (capt, national awards), co-president/vp of 2 community service clubs, lifeguard. she also had published research and presented at national conference. yes, parents helped with connections but she did the chart reviews, data-mining, manuscript drafting, and powerpoint talk herself. no woodworking, theater, auto mechanic, or finance relatives here!

What natl awards could come from a varsity sport? Sure, there are things I can think of but either: a) the kid would be good enough so that they were recruitable AND that’s bc they are club sport athletes; or b) the awards are generally meaningless (ie an award recognizing an athlete who also does community service and has good grades - which is already evident from the rest of the kid’s profile).

[Anonymous]

OP- kids doing what you posted don’t need college. There are a handful of true geniuses… but these kids are already successful and really don’t need college (like the Bill Gates types).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD headed to ivy from strong public. 2 varsity sports (capt, national awards), co-president/vp of 2 community service clubs, lifeguard. she also had published research and presented at national conference. yes, parents helped with connections but she did the chart reviews, data-mining, manuscript drafting, and powerpoint talk herself. no woodworking, theater, auto mechanic, or finance relatives here!

What natl awards could come from a varsity sport? Sure, there are things I can think of but either: a) the kid would be good enough so that they were recruitable AND that’s bc they are club sport athletes; or b) the awards are generally meaningless (ie an award recognizing an athlete who also does community service and has good grades - which is already evident from the rest of the kid’s profile).

Club team won national championship and finalists other year. Recruited D3 level but decided not best academic fit. Almost all of her teammates will play in college. Also individual sport scholar athlete award. Not too competitive but must play in multiple tournaments throughout year and maintain gpa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP I see posts like OP’s on here so often but at our school (independent feeder school not in DVM or NYC), those kinds of ECs are almost unheard of. Kids play varsity sports, do things like write for the school paper, theater, debate, and each year 25- 30 out of 100 seniors get into Ivy/top 15. I’ve never heard of anyone publishing any research let alone develop an AI service used by real corporate clients

That's because the kids at this school get in because of the wealth and accomplishments of the parents. In the normal world, students tend to need to distinguish themselves beyond theater club.

What do you mean? This parent dare not donors. These days, you need 7-8 figure donation to move the needle on admissions at a top 20

a kid working on cars and getting paid as a part time job is retro authentic, and an absolute gem on the application - rich parents funding wood working hobby meh

Looks like this car thing is the new rich person EC because I know two kids (one is the son of a billionaire) who are both working in garages. I wonder which college counselor is advising this.

I know another one, headed to Northwestern this fall.

Interesting. My public school kid fixes cars and motorcycles. Currently at a T20. Didn't realize it was a thing.