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I have good SAT (1530) SAT IIs (760, 770, 780) Ap's (5's), high GPA (3.9 unweighted, 4.0 State-no freshman year, 4.3), good class rank (3).

But the thing is, i have no volunteer hours (except in middle school, does that count?)

And i think i have a pretty skimpy EC record:
8th Grade –
Accepted at CTY
Attended CTY Camp

Freshman Year -
JV Soccer

Sophomore Year –
JV Track
Member of CSF

Junior Year –
V Cross Country
V Track
Writer For GB Gazette (HS newspaper)
Intern at Sacramento Bee (city newspaper)
Volunteer work as TA at elementary school
Member of CSF

Senior: (next year)
editor, XC, track

do you think that's good enough to apply for ivies or stanford or duke? Berkeley is a lock i would hope.

By Jlq3d3 (Jlq3d3) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 12:32 pm: Edit

Well you are a lock for Berkley. Anyone with those numbers is a lock. People do over estimate the importance of EC's. The order of importance for admission criteria is like this for most colleges:
1. GPA
2. Rigor of Curriculum
3. SAT 1
4. SAT 2
5. Recommendation
6.Extra Curriculars
7. Interview and the "diversity factor"
Your a lock for Berkley, and you have a good chance at the Stanford and Ivies where every factor is important. Your EC's arnt bad, they are fine, just not great.

By Smartaleck (Smartaleck) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 01:01 pm: Edit

alright, thanks. i notice you didn't include the essay, Jlg3d3, does that mean its overrated?

By Jlq3d3 (Jlq3d3) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 01:20 pm: Edit

I forgot the essay. It is between sat2 and recs. The essay is very important.

By Cuponoodles (Cuponoodles) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 01:33 pm: Edit

Well, I can guarantee that there are several hundred people who have exactly the same academic stats that you have. That's where ECs come in.

By Smartaleck (Smartaleck) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 01:35 pm: Edit

so do you think that they're good enough cuponoodles?

By Quarky (Quarky) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 01:39 pm: Edit

Jlq3d3 (Jlq3d3)

Umm.. Berkeley is spelled B-E-R-K-E-L-E-Y -- learn how to spell

"Your a lock for Berkley"
YOU'RE

By Failure (Failure) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 03:15 pm: Edit

If you're applying to the Ivies or any of the top 25 schools, EC's are EXTREMELY important. Places like harvard or MIT consider EC's almost as, if not AS important as academics, and I'm not exaggerating. This is precisely due to the comment Cuponoodles stated above: way too many people have similar, if not better academic stats than that of your's, Smartaleck. Your EC's are not skimpy, but i'm not sure if it'll make you stand out above the rest of the ivy-caliber applicant pool. It is incredibly difficult to impress the Admissions Committee at these kind of schools. And no, anything before freshmen year does not count. Well, good luck.

By Chillax (Chillax) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 03:32 pm: Edit

my gpa blows and i got waitlisted at caltech

By Smartaleck (Smartaleck) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 04:22 pm: Edit

so do you guys still think it would be worth it to apply to said schools?

By Studiousvegetar (Studiousvegetar) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 06:10 pm: Edit

You still have time. Add some ECs this summer.

By Smartaleck (Smartaleck) on Tuesday, May 27, 2003 - 08:36 pm: Edit

i am planning on getting a job and maybe an internship.

By Smartaleck (Smartaleck) on Tuesday, June 03, 2003 - 09:48 pm: Edit

bump