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I wasn't taking aim at robotics club (which is awesome). I was taking aim at slim resumes with 1-2 activities.

paulsutter 8y ago
You might also give Mark Zuckerbergs and Bill Gates a reason to actually stay at Harvard (I’m taking aim at the slim technical curriculum and easy As) Philip Greenspun on “Lean In”: > Sandberg confirms that “A is Average” at Harvard. Her brother David...takes “a class in European intellectual history”, skips all but two lectures and all but one book, gets tutored for three hours and receives an A for the semester (p32-33). The guy’s success is attributed to the general confidence of men. Sandberg does not consider how likely it is that her brother’s confidence would have resulted in an A in a physics class at Caltech.
- extra88 8y ago
  They teach Humanities courses at Caltech too. And Harvard teaches Physics. Mixing critiques of grade inflation and the Humanities weakens both.
NikolaeVarius 8y ago
Whats wrong with one or two activities? I did design build fly in college, and it took up every single moment of time I wasn't studying or working.
- IvyAdmisions 8y ago
  The kids winning the "at large" bids have 6-12 extracurriculars and standout in many of them OR they have 1-2 and are distinguished in them at the state or national level. So if you had a project that ate up all your time like that, we'd look to see if you'd won any sort of national or state recognition for it. If not then it wasn't going to help the cause.
  - paulsutter 8y ago
    When hiring, I’d eagerly interview the design-build-fly candidate, and immediately reject candidates with 6-12 extracurriculars. You want problem-solvers with strong interests, follow-through, and real teamwork. Not superficial resume padders.
  - lovich 8y ago
    How does a kid realistically do 6-12 extracurriculars, school, sleeping, and eating in a 24 hour day? If the admissions departments are just looking for higher numbers every year without even considering if they are plausible, that sounds like they are just asking for resume padding or fraud
  - pnw_hazor 8y ago
    resume padding then?

You might also give Mark Zuckerbergs and Bill Gates a reason to actually stay at Harvard (I’m taking aim at the slim technical curriculum and easy As) Philip Greenspun on “Lean In”: > Sandberg confirms that “A is Average” at Harvard. Her brother David...takes “a class in European intellectual history”, skips all but two lectures and all but one book, gets tutored for three hours and receives an A for the semester (p32-33). The guy’s success is attributed to the general confidence of men. Sandberg does not consider how likely it is that her brother’s confidence would have resulted in an A in a physics class at Caltech.

extra88 8y ago
They teach Humanities courses at Caltech too. And Harvard teaches Physics. Mixing critiques of grade inflation and the Humanities weakens both.

NikolaeVarius 8y ago

Whats wrong with one or two activities? I did design build fly in college, and it took up every single moment of time I wasn't studying or working.

IvyAdmisions 8y ago
The kids winning the "at large" bids have 6-12 extracurriculars and standout in many of them OR they have 1-2 and are distinguished in them at the state or national level. So if you had a project that ate up all your time like that, we'd look to see if you'd won any sort of national or state recognition for it. If not then it wasn't going to help the cause.
- paulsutter 8y ago
  When hiring, I’d eagerly interview the design-build-fly candidate, and immediately reject candidates with 6-12 extracurriculars. You want problem-solvers with strong interests, follow-through, and real teamwork. Not superficial resume padders.
- lovich 8y ago
  How does a kid realistically do 6-12 extracurriculars, school, sleeping, and eating in a 24 hour day? If the admissions departments are just looking for higher numbers every year without even considering if they are plausible, that sounds like they are just asking for resume padding or fraud
- pnw_hazor 8y ago
  resume padding then?