It’s sad that most of the upper tier activities barring olympiads are all filled with nepotism/elitism. For example, a lot of ISEF projects are faked and actually created using connections etc., (also some regions are unfairly disadvantaged, and regions that are more wealthy are able to qualify more individuals) getting real company internships can be hard but someone with connections can get one quite easily, starting a nonprofit as a high schooler is fine but often expensive and most of them are actually harmful to society overall as they usually replicate an existing organization or die out after the student graduates high school. Most people who get into the S tier schools don’t have S tier activities. Also musical instrument as C tier? Making all-state, national youth orchestras, etc. are all S/A tier in my eyes… (especially since you put varsity sports as B tier lol) This is just my experience so far!

@thecollegetreehouse

6 ай бұрын

Great points, especially about the nepotism. A lot of these activities are restricted by wealth caps and resources, making the system unfair. You're spot on about ISEF, but that's how the system is unfortunately. Regarding musical instruments, I classified that activity based on how most students take it - high school band, orchestra, etc. And even if the school team makes it to nationals, you're one pawn in a large team, so it's less impactful. Soloing in Carnegie Hall is another story.

@pcpt

6 ай бұрын

@@thecollegetreehousei mean if you solo in Carnegie hall then you're pursuing music for sure. if you say audition and make regionals or join a non profit would it make enough of a difference for B list?

The fact that you put Cornell and Dartmouth in a lower tier than Harvard, Stanford, and MIT, and offered no segue category between SUNY/OSU and community colleges undermines the value of your insights.

Hello! I have been studying Japanese for 4 years, and passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test N1, which is the hardest recognized exam for Japanese by the government. Where would you rank that? I personally would go with C tier. What about KZread channels too?

I've been playing music my entire life. Played piano for 14 years, clarinet for 8. First chair in my band, I play in a youth symphony, my cities school of the arts, and my towns adult aged community band. Is this good? I don't know

@thecollegetreehouse

16 күн бұрын

Yes, if you can tell a good story about it - I was in a youth orchestra and honestly wasn't the best musician, but I was able to talk about the impact of my experience in an essay

I’m not making into college atp

I got a question are these extracurriculars good if the following Boy Scouts. Eagle at 14 with 70 merit badges and counting, along with brotherhood in the away, and leading a bunch of stuff, and very active in it on a sectional level. I have participated in two national advents, MMUN I did it for three years and on my third year I made a resolution that was good enough to get the UN to notice and add parts of it 4h Active in my club Chess Club President of our chess club at school Sports I do JV cross country where I am at Captain, along with varsity soccer and varsity track and field Theater I am in Theater, and I’m part of the IBS CSF I am a CSF junior member and I’ve qualified all semesters. I have a 3.8. I have others mainly political ones, but I don’t wanna start a debate here. I know a lot of them are c tear on paper. But especially for the scouting and MMUN one I am active on a national level, and I have proposed stuff that changed the world. On the scouting part, I’ve met people from around the world as well as served as a sectional secretary, for my area, along with representing our lodge, and our troop on a national level

@mozartthebean9709

2 ай бұрын

Yeah, scouting under rated (also GREAT job on getting Eagle at 14)

Hi. If you are a member of FBLA and on your sophomore year with a great team of seniors and win at nationals. Do you even need to join FBLA junior year with a weaker team composed of freshmen and compete again or should you just move on to other activities?

@thecollegetreehouse

16 күн бұрын

Depends on the activities - make sure that you spend the extra time that you gain from not doing an activity wisely

What about foreign exchange/diplomacy scholarships like the National Security Language Initiative for youth?

@thecollegetreehouse

6 ай бұрын

Probably A tier, programs like NSLI-Y are pretty competitive

So I live in Dubai but traveled to NYC to complete an MUN there what would you rank that?

@thecollegetreehouse

6 ай бұрын

Winning best delegate at a bigger conference at Harvard or UChicago is around A material, but just traveling to compete isn't worth much unless you perform well

@hmogaming5338

6 ай бұрын

@@thecollegetreehouse i got honorable mention as well as a 700 Euro scholarship

Where would a congressional campaign internship fall in relation to a company or research internship?

@thecollegetreehouse

16 күн бұрын

Congressional campaign is considered company internship. More importantly, though, it could lead to a good essay!

What about playing a sport that not many people play, in my case cricket. I travel around USA participating in many tournaments. I also am running a summer camp for younger kids teaching cricket.

@thecollegetreehouse

2 ай бұрын

Yeah, a niche sport would be higher on the tier list. Cricket may be a bit common in certain parts of the world, though

You’re off the mark on Boy Scouts, especially if you make Eagle Scout; only 1/10 of the people in BSA ever make it to that rank. And the service project combined with leadership is why a lot of people at West Point, Naval Academy, and USAFA are Eagle Scouts.

How about winning high rankings in competitions like DECA, I mean first in some projects. Does that make a better impact?

@thecollegetreehouse

2 ай бұрын

It depends on the level of competition. Winning on the national level (ICDC) is definitely at least an A, but regional level is less

@jojo-id3rv

2 ай бұрын

@@thecollegetreehouse thanks what I mean is ICDC

What about the internatinol competion in general like microsoft?

@thecollegetreehouse

6 ай бұрын

Depends on the competitiveness, but Microsoft competitions in general are tough to do well in

Which category of schools would Boston University be in?

@thecollegetreehouse

6 ай бұрын

Between A and B

@rko2946

6 ай бұрын

@@thecollegetreehouse Yeah that’s valid

What about publishing research papers?

@thecollegetreehouse

6 ай бұрын

If your name is on the paper, anywhere between B and S depending on how prestigious the journal is

How about winning first place in DECA, does that make a better impact than C?

@thecollegetreehouse

2 ай бұрын

Which level of competition?

@jojo-id3rv

2 ай бұрын

@@thecollegetreehouse DECA ICDC

@jojo-id3rv

2 ай бұрын

@@thecollegetreehouse international level final

Where would curing AIDS fall?

@thecollegetreehouse

5 ай бұрын

At that point, you don't apply to college, they apply to you :)

@tenntine2823

5 ай бұрын

So S?@@thecollegetreehouse

Woww super good classification for balancing the activity list

@thecollegetreehouse

6 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@DevtheViolinist

6 ай бұрын

I cannot tell if this is sarcasm or not-

@__sarah__r

6 ай бұрын

@@DevtheViolinist huh? I dunno about you, but Im tlly serious lol

What college you went to?? You’re not even In an Ivy so what tells me that your rankings are for take into consideration?

@BobaFett12357

25 күн бұрын

He’s at Stanford; a school better than or at the level of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.

What about summer schools. Punlished Research

@thecollegetreehouse

16 күн бұрын

Published research is strong, but consider which author you are and which journal you published to

how is playing a varsity sport ranked higher than debate/ model un 😭

@user-ri9qp7xf8w

Ай бұрын

True lol, I doubt colleges care much if u aren’t gonna pursue the sport

what about languages?

@thecollegetreehouse

16 күн бұрын

Depends on your proficiency and the diversity - if you're learning Spanish in school, it's likely low, but if you know a language that maybe a couple dozen people in the world know and you can tell a story, it can be invaluable.