<p>With the exception of community service and possibly a job soon, I have absolutely no ecs. I'm going to be a junior next year and I have a pretty good GPA. Lets say I do well on the SATs/ACTs and write a good essay, what are my chances in getting into a school like the University of Minnesota?</p>
<p>Also, what kind of activities can you recommend I take next year, considering the fact that I have absolutely no athletic/ artistic ability whatsoever! I'm tremendously regretting not getting involved sooner, so basically I need to find something that I'm not too late for. <em>sigh</em> Thank you oh so very much!</p>
<p>Join cross country - I dunno how it works at all schools, but my school doesn't cut anyone. We have a lot of people who just like to be part of something and run to stay in shape.</p>
<p>You could also join something like Model UN or speech/debate - it's a skill you can master quickly, and IMO a lot of fun to participate in.</p>
<p>On the other hand, most schools that aren't say top 10-20, aren't super-concerned about your extracurriculars. Good scores/GPA and you're in at most publics.</p>
<p>Public schools like University of Minnesota don't care too much about EC's. It's mostly a numbers game for large public schools.</p>
<p>I applied to the University of Illinois because my mom wanted me to. I left the whole EC section blank because I didn't feel like filling it in. I was accepted... </p>
<p>Your EC's are fine. Don't do something you don't enjoy just to impress someone. </p>
<p>If you wanted to get into Ivy League caliber schools, it would be different, but Big Ten schools like U of M, it really shouldn't be much of an issue if you have a good academic record.</p>
<p>I have friends who got into UMN through rolling admissions and never had to write an essay or list their ECs. As long as your GPA and ACT/SAT are strong enough, you'll be fine.</p>
<p>University of Minn. may have automatic admission for students with high enough scores and grades. The overwhelming majority of public universities select students based on: gpa, class rank, board scores, coursework, and state of residence.</p>
<p>In fact, most private universities also choose students based on stats. At most, the majority of private universities use ECs for merit aid consideration.</p>