advice on extracurriculars?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>Hi everybody, I'm new to the board, so I hope it's okay that I post in here. I'm currently a freshman in high school (class of 2014), and I've wanted to go to Columbia ever since I was a little girl (if it wasn't obvious by my username, haha). I think I've been doing fairly well so far, in terms of getting ready. I'm a straight A student, my guidance counselor and teachers all seem to really like me, I've been playing violin for ten years and am in several orchestras, I play basketball for our local town league, and I started studying for the SAT years back (don't judge). I'm a female, South Asian, and my high school is pretty small (about 400 in our class).</p>

<p>Anyways, my real question is about the extracurriculars. I've been looking at the ED thread, and ECs seem to play a huuuge role in your application. And I know this will sound like a silly question, but how do I get involved? It's been four months since school started and so far, I'm in zero clubs. I went to some of the interest meetings at the beginning of the year, but I get intimidated very easily, so I never went back. I'm also pretty quiet in class. I'll raise my hand occasionally and I'll contribute when need be, but for the most part, people don't really notice me.</p>

<p>I went to get more involved, and I've been paying attention to the announcements to hear about club meetings, but I feel like it's too late. I feel like all of the clubs have already gotten started with their activities, and if I join now, I won't fit in or there won't be anything for me to do. I know, it's ridiculous for me to think this way, but I've just always been a shy person. So again, my question is, how do I get involved? And now do I make myself noticeable? Any advice/suggestions/help at all would be much appreciated. (:</p>

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<p>honestly, don’t join a club for the sake of having something to put on your application. i did this four years ago, and many of the fail clubs that i joined, i did not pursue and did not list on my app. if a club, or any activity at all, means nothing to you, it certainly wont impress an adcom. also, more important than clubs (IHO) are activities: student counsel, journalism, sports, theatre. join and dont just be a member; excel!</p>

3

<p>A lot of 4.0/2300+ kids are rejected, so don’t think that grades alone will help. If you are more introverted, I would actually not recommend Columbia. It’s a community where you really need to take initiative and reach out to people. If you are introverted, I think you would struggle at Columbia.
Introverted people tend to prefer LACs, so I’d recommend Swarthmore, Amherst, Wellesley, Williams, etc.</p>

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<p>Start your own clubs! :D</p>

5

<p>Don’t feel like you have to be limited by the clubs that your school offers you. The importance of extracurriculars on an application is to show what you find important to you and what interest you. What do you like? If you’re into politics, you could intern for political campaigns. If you’re into math or science, math teams generally are non-intimidating for a shy person. Also, you could look into doing research or just generally being involved in what interests you. Most clubs are always looking for members, so this late in the year usually isn’t too late to join. Most clubs will just be happy to have you!</p>

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<p>1) you said you feel clubs have already gotten started, and you feel shy for doing anything. YOU’RE A FRESHMEN!!! that’s how everyone feels when they start. don’t be discouraged.</p>

<p>2) Everyone who applies to Columbia will have a list of extracurriculars, and the admission officers will see tons of “editors,” “presidents,” etc. The way to set yourself apart, however, is doing something extraordinary with the club or showing a lot of passion. How do you do that? # 3</p>

<p>3) Way number 1. Start your own clubs. Look deep in yourself, bring out your passions, or things youre good at, examine the list of clubs your school has right now, and work hard (heck, be aggressive lol) to get your clubs approved by your school. I started 2 clubs in HS, and I literally skipped lunch for 2 straight weeks going around looking for sponsor, talking with principle and teachers to get one of them approved. That’s just the starting, I put in a heckload more hours after it got approved.</p>

<p>4) Fund-raise. Start your own sandwiche making business. Start crafting services. Use your imagination, and try to raise as much as possible for the cause. (3,000 + dollars raised will be impressive, and taking such manuevers outside the confines of your hs will also be pretty good)</p>

<p>5) The things Ive said above are for most of us, the “normal” applicants, who are not SUPER good at one thing (aka nationally ranked musician, athlete, or something else). Be well rounded, and to carve your influence in each thing.</p>

<p>6) DO NOT lose sight of summer. Take FULL ADVANTAGE of your summer. But also use a little creativity; saying you volunteered at one trite place (such as hospital or library) for one summer and earned 500 hours will be kind of boring. On the other hand, engaging in environment, participating in stimulating summer camps (do research on prestigious summer programs, many of which start applications like RIGHT NOW - some examples - TASP, SSP, HSSPS, etc.)</p>

<p>That’s off the top of my head. Also your a freshmen so relax just a bit haha, although you do seem on top of your game</p>

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<p>Wow, thank you all for the help, I didn’t expect to get this many replies so quickly! I know it’ll take a lot of hard work to get into Columbia, but I’m convinced that it’s the right school for me, even if I am a little on the shy side. And collegeftw, I especially want to thank you, your post helped me a lot, and I’m already very encouraged. </p>

<p>I actually just posted a thread about the possibility of creating a club right here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/1052330-creating-club.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/1052330-creating-club.html&lt;/a&gt; if any of you want to take a look at that and give me any advice. (: Thank you all so much!</p>

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<p>i think the general rule of thumb is to pursue what you really want, and not think just of what will look good on an application. that’s why i did; i didn’t even start thinking about college until the end of my sophomore year, and it just so happened that i had awesome extracurriculars because i actually had a passion and pursued it. hope that helps?</p>

9

<p>hey columbiaplease…
i think ur relying on too many superficial advice, instead of following your own passions stand on their own. You shouldn’t really be worrying over what to do to get in Columbia, but rather just do what you love to the best of your ability and letting Columbia judge your true self…cuz i mean, if u quit something you really like and do something else because you think it’ll look “better” but u really have no interest in it, then its really pointless…a lot of the times admission officers can tell if a student is doing something just for a better chance to get in</p>

<p>also, for ur club thing, every school is different-how flexible the club making policy is, how many clubs there are, etc. etc. so just use your own insight and judgement as to the clubs you make, when you make them, the club policies, etc.</p>

<p>also. ur a freaking sophomore haha. chill out with college stuff; I didnt’ start even looking at colleges until this past summer before my senior year haha. GL nonetheless though. </p>

<p>oh yeah. and enjoying life > worrying about colleges :D</p>