<p>Sophomore year is almost over, and in hindsight I haven't played my cards as well as i could have. My EC's right now are alright for my goals. My dream school is Harvard (typical, eh?). </p>
<p>Anyways, I didn't get myself started in enough clubs my freshman and sophomore years, so I feel like I'm stuck with the EC's I currently have, since I don't have my foot in the door of any other clubs.</p>
<p>Currently my main EC's are:
Mock trial attorney
Founding president of speech and debate team
Founding director of school's recycling program
Paid soccer referee
Volunteer intern for local congressional campaign
Soon to be intern for different local politician</p>
<p>Just to clarify, I am primarily referring to leadership position EC's. While I have some EC's that I am proud of, like I said, I feel I'm stuck with what I have to a certain extent. Does anyone have any tips of how I can fortify my EC's with junior year already right around the corner? I am considering starting another club or something, but I don't know. </p>
<p>Also, I would run for student body president or VP in the next couple years, but I opted not to take the Leadership class, which is required for our student body. </p>
<p>I have also flirted with the idea of creating a business but I don't know exactly how the process works.</p>
<p>Just looking for some good advice/mentoring from anyone with some wisdom.</p>
<p>Do what you love. You seem to very interested in politics (so was my sister).
don’t just start an activity because you don’t know what to do.
continue your passion for politics, but do it in all facets of our society.
don’t limit yourself to campaigns and everything, extend beyond that and into working with people one-on-one in courthouses (just an example). My sister did a lot of immigration work in the most urban part of los angeles. she learned that this was her passion, and that really came through on her apps for college.
i think this is what people mean when they talk about “breadth” in extracurricular activities
there should be a common theme (your passion, of course) but it should be expressed in a variety of ways.
-so maybe you could start a youth political initiative in your community to raise political awareness and talk to local councilmen about possibly having this youth initiative council be involved with local government. do fundraisers, have fun. this shouldn’t feel like a task.
-research in politics, maybe presenting a paper on political trends in the United States. maybe you could a paper on how much people are donating to campaigns nowadays and take a stance on this issues (very heated topic now in politics) and present your argument with statistics.
-create something entirely yourself. it’s an extremely rewarding experience. i really enjoyed working with kids, so i decided to volunteer at a local institution for children. when i noticed they didn’t have a music program or a cultural program, i talked with the volunteer coordinator about creating one. and now i’m the head of that program.
-intern at politician’s office to give you a feel of what it’s like work that sort of job. take initiative here. don’t just do what you’re told, go beyond that. make yourself a real fundamental part of the system like REALLY. this is essential. don’t JUST be an intern, be a member of the team.
-continue with everything else you’re doing.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response! I will definitely be keeping this all in mind.</p>
<p>What exactly do you mean by a political initiative though? Do you mind elaborating? (not that I plan on stealing your entire idea)</p>
<p>Do you know how I could create an organization? I am considering trying to create a forum for youths to converse on philosophical topics–I have always been intrigued by philosophy. Also I like the thought of creating an organization/community for youth atheists being as there are clubs at my high school for Christians, Catholics, Muslims, Hispanics, African-Americans…etc, while atheists are often ostracized…Anyways I do have some ideas.</p>
<p>The only problem with these ideas is that I don’t really know how i can pull together such organizations, especially since I don’t know of too many high school students who share my interests.</p>
<p>just like a youth group interested in politics!
atheist club sounds cool, if that’s what you’re interested in.
you’re going to have to make connections through internships, talk with teachers at your school, etc.</p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with your ECs, a little community service would probably help though. You have to remember that with schools like Harvard they constantly reject extremely qualified applicants, there is only so much you can do to appeal to them…</p>
<p>Thank you both again! I appreciate the input.</p>