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Extracurriculars that landed him in Stanford
The world is noisy. You are constantly being bombarded with information about education, career and achieving success. If I could go back in time, the strategy below is what I’d tell young me to use to start “my thing,” and begin to leave my mark on the world. Most of you think that you will stand out and land your dream college, company by having a packed resume, straight As and lots of standard leadership positions (president of X, head of Y etc) Truth is admissions and even hiring manager doesn’t reward raw intelligence (sorry, school has lied to you…again) Getting all As in your AP classes will not guarantee you a spot at that research internship or at your dream college. Here’s the fun part: it’s not about working harder & being smarter. So what matters then? Getting into selective opportunities is about being uniquely impressive by creating VALUE in your community. By VALUE, I mean REAL product/service with USERS – not just another school club. See how his project amplified his interests (engineering + medicine = healthcare tech) and showcased his unique SKILL SET, which made him stand out from other candidates? Ofcourse your value adding activity is not limited to engineering projects. For example, if you’re an athlete who loves to write, you might combine these interests by finding a niche in sports journalism, such as starting a column for your high school newspaper. Or, if you’re a musician with a passion for helping your community, you could teach music lessons to children at your community center. If I was in school right now, I’d worry less about accolades for my resume & more about skills that I’ve built. I’d tell myself to start measuring the impact of my initiatives often. There’s no greater valuable lesson than learning, so I’d do more of that. Then watch the opportunities pour in. Lena |
Tinkering with OCE
Subscribe to OCE's weekly newsletter on tech, business and higher education...curated for the ambitious youth.
Most people will never be successful. That’s not an opinion—it’s reality. #1 NYT best-selling author and entrepreneur Tim Ferriss put it bluntly: “It’s lonely at the top. 99% of people are convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for mediocrity. The level of competition is thus fiercest for ‘realistic’ goals, paradoxically making them the most competitive.” In other words: playing it safe is actually the riskiest thing you can do. Why? Because mediocrity is a trap....
You don’t have to be an economic whiz to see the flashing red lights. The U.S. is $36 TRILLION in debt. That’s 36 followed by twelve zeroes. And no, this isn’t Monopoly money—we’re talking about real dollars, the kind that determine your future job prospects, cost of living, and ability to afford a house (you know, the one you might not ever be able to buy at this rate). Here’s the deal: The government is borrowing money at a pace that makes a shopaholic’s credit card bill look responsible....
Listen—too many of you are out here posting about your projects, hoping people will care. But they don’t. You know why? But FIRST If you are new, welcome to OCE’s weekly newsletter curated for the ambitious youth…here are some articles you missed from previous weeks: 📈 Forget Goal-Setting, Here’s What Actually Works Read More → 🎨 Best tools for building your passion project Read More → 📘 Ready for some real talk? Read More → Because your content is too safe. Too plain. Too forgettable. People...