Am I screwed for life?

<p>from 9th grade to 10th grade I had some family issues and couldnt get any ec's in which makes me feel like i wont be able to get into any top tier universities/colleges.
i am almost done with 10th grade right now
is there anything i can do to make up for lost time?</p>

<p>Dont worry you have two more years use time wisely and build on your EC’s.Never give up in life!!!</p>

<p>haha thanks but anyone have any suggestions?</p>

<p>You can write an additional essay explaining your situation. Focus more on how you tried and how you have since improved rather than “poor-me” kind of things.
Also, get some amazing teacher recommendations, and make sure your grades and scores are awesome and keep improving, chose challenging classes if you can. and don’t forget about leadership positions, community involvement, and sports. All that helps too!
I HIGHLY recommend this book called “A is for Admissions” by Michele A. Hernandez. It covers everything you could ever want to know about getting into top colleges and it has really good stuff about what you should be doing each year in high school. Definitely check it out or buy it!</p>

<p>thanks so much :] ill definitely buy the book</p>

<p>Do a search on ECs here and read some of the threads. Too many people think ECs are something that involves school clubs or organized activities. You may have ECs that you don’t realize - like a job, caring for younger siblings or elderly family members, church, or activities that you like to do yourself.</p>

<p>If you REALLY have no ECs, it’s not a big deal. Most schools don’t care. And for those that do, it’s not too late to find something you enjoy and do it. Remember, it quality not quantity. You don’t need 10 ECs, just one or two that you really care about.</p>

<p>By the way, no one is ‘screwed for life’ because they don’t have ECs. Even a police record doesn’t make you ‘screwed for life.’ Have a little perspective.</p>

<p>Good grades and/or rank and good test scores are the basic criteria used by nearly all college admissions. It is at the most selective schools where most of the applicants are compressed into the top end of the scale do extracurriculars and other factors get magnified in importance.</p>

<p>Two comments:</p>

<p>ECs only matter at a relatively few schools.</p>

<p>An EC picked up in the year or two prior to application time won’t help much.</p>

<p>i am in Korea right now and I am planning on doing some volunteer work but i have no clue on how to get credited for it. I heard people lie on their college applications saying they did this and that but they really didnt.</p>

<p>Written before even reading OP’s Post.</p>

<p>No, you’re not screwed for life.</p>

<p>Written after reading OP’s Post</p>

<p>No you’re not screwed for life. First of all, many people have unfortunate life events – colleges really do understand this. It might be helpful if you GC can explain your circumstance in his/her letter. </p>

<p>But … to be honest, even if you didn’t have a good reason for no ECs, what it really probably means is that you get into slightly lesser-ranked colleges than you otherwise would have. If your grades/scores are at the top of a colleges’ range, you’re probably going to get in.</p>

<p>So, any way you look at it … not screwed for life.</p>

<p>ECs – I’m not prying, but what have you done with your spare time in the last two years. If you have done anything valuable it’s probably as good as an EC. Going forward, what interests you – find a club or group that meets your interests. Or volunteer. There are limitless opportunities.</p>

<p>Don’t sweat it! The most important parts of an application are High school work (grades/transcript), test scores, and you essays/short answer questions on the application. EC’s will help you if they are there, but I believe their main use would be as a tiebreaker between similar candidates or as a bonus. They won’t “break” an application, but they can help it.</p>