Anonymous wrote:One of my coworkers' wife, who is an AO at an Ivy, said this to me at the company last year Christmas party:

How to get rejected by Ivies:
- I have 4.0 GPA with 12 AP classes
​AO response: There are 1500 Asian kids with the same achievement

- I am the violin first chair in the orchestra,
AO response: There are 1200 Asian kids with the same achievement

- I score 1570+ on the SAT
AO response: There are 1500 Asian kids with the same score as you

- I am an accomplished pianist
AO response: There are 800 Asian kids that can play piano just as good as you, if not better

- I found a nonprofit to help the homeless:
​AO response: There are 500 Asian kids that also do the same thing like you

How to get accepted by Ivies:

- I can play guitar like Slash of Guns 'n Roses. I can show you how I play "November Rain" or "sweet child o mine"
AO response: Now that's unique. We would love to have you at the university

- I have a TikTok influencer with over 2M followers
AO response: Amazing. You know how to monetize your influence. It means more exposure for the university. Welcome to the university.

You get the idea...

Anonymous wrote:One of my coworkers' wife, who is an AO at an Ivy, said this to me at the company last year Christmas party:

How to get rejected by Ivies:
- I have 4.0 GPA with 12 AP classes
​AO response: There are 1500 Asian kids with the same achievement

- I am the violin first chair in the orchestra,
AO response: There are 1200 Asian kids with the same achievement

- I score 1570+ on the SAT
AO response: There are 1500 Asian kids with the same score as you

- I am an accomplished pianist
AO response: There are 800 Asian kids that can play piano just as good as you, if not better

- I found a nonprofit to help the homeless:
​AO response: There are 500 Asian kids that also do the same thing like you

How to get accepted by Ivies:

- I can play guitar like Slash of Guns 'n Roses. I can show you how I play "November Rain" or "sweet child o mine"
AO response: Now that's unique. We would love to have you at the university

- I have a TikTok influencer with over 2M followers
AO response: Amazing. You know how to monetize your influence. It means more exposure for the university. Welcome to the university.

You get the idea...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I feel like the kids all do the same ECs because parents push them there and because of their own anxiety do not let their kids pursue their own interests. My DD had a friend who wrote songs in mandolin. His parent forbade it and told him he was wasting his time and needed to be practicing violin. A score on the violin exams that was good but similar to everyone else, stands out way less than a kid who writes his own songs. The parents were fools. My kid had several unusual interests and had won an award for a documentary film she had made. She did not do traditional school ECs but pulled out samples on her phone of a graphic novel she was writing when the subject came up at an interview. It worked for her.

Model UN is fine if that is what your kid loves and they can excel, but otherwise, find something they think is fun where they can excel.

I disagree. Mandolin is not a good instrument. those songs were likely not good. Sure, it could look "interesting" and impress a clueless AO, but to understand and appreciate music violin is vastly superior. It's really sad that kids need to be weird instead of pursue things that are beautiful and enriching.

Not really. Mandolin and fiddle would be very interesting to an AO.
Unless you are nationally ranked, no one cares about violin....dime a dozen.

1) there is no national ranking in violin 2) who cares what some dumb AO is interested in? lets play the stupid mandolin because they have only saw 10 students every year do that. the opportunistic weirdness would be completely off putting to every normal person.

how about learn to play a beautiful instrument, the core of a vast majority of western classical reportere? who cares that there are "dime and dozen" such kids.

though, to be honest, there aren't. there aren't that many kids' orchestras and there aren't that many kids in them playing at a half decent level.

Who are you to say the mandolin is not a beautiful instrument?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I feel like the kids all do the same ECs because parents push them there and because of their own anxiety do not let their kids pursue their own interests. My DD had a friend who wrote songs in mandolin. His parent forbade it and told him he was wasting his time and needed to be practicing violin. A score on the violin exams that was good but similar to everyone else, stands out way less than a kid who writes his own songs. The parents were fools. My kid had several unusual interests and had won an award for a documentary film she had made. She did not do traditional school ECs but pulled out samples on her phone of a graphic novel she was writing when the subject came up at an interview. It worked for her.

Model UN is fine if that is what your kid loves and they can excel, but otherwise, find something they think is fun where they can excel.

I disagree. Mandolin is not a good instrument. those songs were likely not good. Sure, it could look "interesting" and impress a clueless AO, but to understand and appreciate music violin is vastly superior. It's really sad that kids need to be weird instead of pursue things that are beautiful and enriching.

Not really. Mandolin and fiddle would be very interesting to an AO.
Unless you are nationally ranked, no one cares about violin....dime a dozen.

1) there is no national ranking in violin 2) who cares what some dumb AO is interested in? lets play the stupid mandolin because they have only saw 10 students every year do that. the opportunistic weirdness would be completely off putting to every normal person.

how about learn to play a beautiful instrument, the core of a vast majority of western classical reportere? who cares that there are "dime and dozen" such kids.

though, to be honest, there aren't. there aren't that many kids' orchestras and there aren't that many kids in them playing at a half decent level.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I feel like the kids all do the same ECs because parents push them there and because of their own anxiety do not let their kids pursue their own interests. My DD had a friend who wrote songs in mandolin. His parent forbade it and told him he was wasting his time and needed to be practicing violin. A score on the violin exams that was good but similar to everyone else, stands out way less than a kid who writes his own songs. The parents were fools. My kid had several unusual interests and had won an award for a documentary film she had made. She did not do traditional school ECs but pulled out samples on her phone of a graphic novel she was writing when the subject came up at an interview. It worked for her.

Model UN is fine if that is what your kid loves and they can excel, but otherwise, find something they think is fun where they can excel.

I disagree. Mandolin is not a good instrument. those songs were likely not good. Sure, it could look "interesting" and impress a clueless AO, but to understand and appreciate music violin is vastly superior. It's really sad that kids need to be weird instead of pursue things that are beautiful and enriching.

Not really. Mandolin and fiddle would be very interesting to an AO.
Unless you are nationally ranked, no one cares about violin....dime a dozen.

Anonymous wrote:My DS didn't do any of those activities. He worked PT as a dishwasher/host/food runner. He likes working and earning his own money. No grade inflation in Catholic school. Maybe some grade deflation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I feel like the kids all do the same ECs because parents push them there and because of their own anxiety do not let their kids pursue their own interests. My DD had a friend who wrote songs in mandolin. His parent forbade it and told him he was wasting his time and needed to be practicing violin. A score on the violin exams that was good but similar to everyone else, stands out way less than a kid who writes his own songs. The parents were fools. My kid had several unusual interests and had won an award for a documentary film she had made. She did not do traditional school ECs but pulled out samples on her phone of a graphic novel she was writing when the subject came up at an interview. It worked for her.

Model UN is fine if that is what your kid loves and they can excel, but otherwise, find something they think is fun where they can excel.

I disagree. Mandolin is not a good instrument. those songs were likely not good. Sure, it could look "interesting" and impress a clueless AO, but to understand and appreciate music violin is vastly superior. It's really sad that kids need to be weird instead of pursue things that are beautiful and enriching.

Not really. Mandolin and fiddle would be very interesting to an AO.
Unless you are nationally ranked, no one cares about violin....dime a dozen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I feel like the kids all do the same ECs because parents push them there and because of their own anxiety do not let their kids pursue their own interests. My DD had a friend who wrote songs in mandolin. His parent forbade it and told him he was wasting his time and needed to be practicing violin. A score on the violin exams that was good but similar to everyone else, stands out way less than a kid who writes his own songs. The parents were fools. My kid had several unusual interests and had won an award for a documentary film she had made. She did not do traditional school ECs but pulled out samples on her phone of a graphic novel she was writing when the subject came up at an interview. It worked for her.

Model UN is fine if that is what your kid loves and they can excel, but otherwise, find something they think is fun where they can excel.

I disagree. Mandolin is not a good instrument. those songs were likely not good. Sure, it could look "interesting" and impress a clueless AO, but to understand and appreciate music violin is vastly superior. It's really sad that kids need to be weird instead of pursue things that are beautiful and enriching.

Not really. Mandolin and fiddle would be very interesting to an AO.
Unless you are nationally ranked, no one cares about violin....dime a dozen.

Anonymous wrote:If you are Asian (no matter south or east) and not underprivileged or international kind, you better crack a code for NSA or do research for a scientist who found a possible cure for dementia.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I feel like the kids all do the same ECs because parents push them there and because of their own anxiety do not let their kids pursue their own interests. My DD had a friend who wrote songs in mandolin. His parent forbade it and told him he was wasting his time and needed to be practicing violin. A score on the violin exams that was good but similar to everyone else, stands out way less than a kid who writes his own songs. The parents were fools. My kid had several unusual interests and had won an award for a documentary film she had made. She did not do traditional school ECs but pulled out samples on her phone of a graphic novel she was writing when the subject came up at an interview. It worked for her.

Model UN is fine if that is what your kid loves and they can excel, but otherwise, find something they think is fun where they can excel.

I disagree. Mandolin is not a good instrument. those songs were likely not good. Sure, it could look "interesting" and impress a clueless AO, but to understand and appreciate music violin is vastly superior. It's really sad that kids need to be weird instead of pursue things that are beautiful and enriching.

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I feel like the kids all do the same ECs because parents push them there and because of their own anxiety do not let their kids pursue their own interests. My DD had a friend who wrote songs in mandolin. His parent forbade it and told him he was wasting his time and needed to be practicing violin. A score on the violin exams that was good but similar to everyone else, stands out way less than a kid who writes his own songs. The parents were fools. My kid had several unusual interests and had won an award for a documentary film she had made. She did not do traditional school ECs but pulled out samples on her phone of a graphic novel she was writing when the subject came up at an interview. It worked for her.

Model UN is fine if that is what your kid loves and they can excel, but otherwise, find something they think is fun where they can excel.