Counselors stress the importance of extracurricular activities as a way of impressing colleges. Our website lists resources that high school students can use to find out more about the importance of ec’s.
Our Tips Booklet advises:

“Join one or two clubs in high school. This is better than joining a dozen you are not heavily involved in. Colleges like depth over breadth. It’s best to show passion and commitment to carefully selected activities.” (Tip #33, page 9 of 110 Tips for Getting into the College of your Choice)

Dramatic increase in Student Activity Groups

We might have to rethink this advice. It seems that, on some California college campuses at least, students are over scheduling themselves to the point of sleep deprivation as they participate in more and more activities outside of formal classes. This according to a report in the Monday San Francisco Chronicle.

The sheer number of student activity groups is overwhelming. At high-achieving Stanford, the number of groups has doubled in the last decade to 600. Across the Bay at UC Berkeley, the number of groups increased from 355 to 780.

Resume building and altruism motivate students

The reason behind this dramatic increase in activity? It seems to be equal parts resume building and altruism.

Some of the Stanford undergrads look as if they are planning to launch the next Sun Microsystems or Google (to name two tech companies that were started by Stanford alumni). They join groups like the Stanford Venture Capital Club, the Business Association for Stanford Entrepreneurial Students and the Unofficial Blog Group.

Other students, meanwhile, join the Students Taking Action Now: Darfur or Students for a Sustainable Stanford.

Overload: Type A personality undergrads burn the candle at all ends

The main thrust of the article is just how overloaded some of the students on campus are today. They don’t just want to join an organization, they want to lead one. They are not just interested in one social justice issue; they want to help with many. The result is sometimes a visit to the campus counselor by a stressed-out student suffering sleep deprivation trying or keep a class load and fill every spare hour with extracurriculuars.

On the one hand, this might be a response to the wide range of issues facing the world today: from AIDS, to genocide to discrimination. On the other, it might be a perception of the competition to land a top job when they graduate and the need to stand out from the pack.

Either way, today’s high school seniors who are set to graduate in a few weeks and take off for college in the Fall might want to spend the Summer catching up on their sleep. Once they get to college they’ll need a good few hours in reserve.

schol·ar·ship [skol-er-ship] –noun

1. learning; knowledge acquired by study; the academic attainments of a scholar.
2. a sum of money or other aid granted to a student, because of merit, need, etc., to pursue his or her studies.
3. the position or status of such a student.
4. a foundation to provide financial assistance to students.

[Origin: 1525–35; scholar + -ship]

It’s one thing to get a full scholarship to college “because of merit, need, etc.”. It’s another to sign up for  junk mail from a company that gives away a few hundred dollars in ’scholarships’ to ‘lucky winners’.

A fascinating report by Steven Levy in Newsweek analyzes the personal information gathered by sites like FastWeb (”The best way to get free money for school!”) or those that offer token rewards for posting videos like BrickFish (”Express yourself and get rewarded”). These sites only offer scholarship information to people willing to part with personal details that are sold on to list brokers or give minor incentives which will only pay a fraction of a college education.

The reality is most scholarship and financial aid money comes from the schools themselves.

I was on a business trip to Boston last week and took the opportunity to visit Harvard and MIT. This was just a tourist trip, there was no time to do any Admissions research.

Harvard Yard in Springtime

Harvard is beautiful at this time of year.

Everyone hears about New England foliage in the Fall. But the Spring time is wonderful. The trees in Harvard yard were full of blossom.

There were no students in sight. Studying for Final Exams must keep them all inside.

Step outside the walls of Harvard Yard and the Square is an exciting urban environment. It’s under construction right now. A little dig in Cambridge that’s no competition for the multi-billion dollar Big Dig across the river in Boston.

MIT Museum is worth a visit

Down Mass Ave from Harvard Sq. there’s the MIT Science Museum where you can easily spend a couple of hours.

I was fascinated by the hands-on exhibits where you can play with the controls of an undersea probe. Upstairs on the second floor there’s a wonderful array of robot arms.

I was impressed by a video of MIT faculty and students talking about the breadth of education offered. Here’s some quotes from posters on display about the background and purpose of MIT:

“MIT focuses on science and technology, focuses that have transformed and defined the modern world. Yet, the education of scientists and engineers is one of the great unknown stories in this history…”

“Mens et Manus. MIND AND HAND. For nearly 150 years this educational ideal has defined MIT, a dynamic, imaginative, and fiercely competitive academic community dedicated to learning, research and leadership. Individuals who seek intellectual challenges, who want to make new discoveries or solve difficult problems, have always been drawn here.”

If you’re planning to tour New England colleges, even if Harvard and MIT are not on your list, it’s well worth a visit to these world-class institutions of higher education.