I’m a sophomore currently freaking out because apparently to get into Ivy League schools and other top ranking schools, you have to have tons of major achievements on the national level and be the president of at least thirty clubs. Here’s my extracurriculars:
Forensics (oratory, starting this year and I plan to do it until senior year, so 3 years, plus as far as I know it’s really easy to get varsity letters from forensics)
JV cross country since freshman year, and I’ll get a varsity letter senior year for being on the team for all four years (I’m really slow, no chance of making it to varsity)
Voice lessons 5 years (as of this year, it’ll be 7 when I’m a senior)
Piano lessons 7 years (as of this year, it’ll be 9 when I’m a senior)
Local youth choir 2 1/2 years (as of this year, it’ll be 4 1/2 when I’m a senior)
Volunteering at hospital- starting this month, a few hours every weekend
I plan on being a camp counselor for 4-5 weeks this summer, so I’ll get more hours from that
School musical this spring, and I plan to do it junior and senior year as well (and I did a community theater production last spring too)
Hopefully I’ll get into NHS!!
Once I have the time, I plan on getting a job at a local cafe (my neighbors own it and my family knows the manager well too, so getting a job there won’t be an issue)
I’d like to have a job/internship at a state legislator’s office, which I haven’t looked into much but it’s a possibility, maybe for a couple weeks in the summer. Is it even possible to get some kind of job/internship for only a few weeks?
I’m also going to be tutoring two of my friends in math, and I may sign up to do some official peer tutoring at my school
In junior year and senior year I’ll probably be taking an additional course at UW Madison (where I live), most likely courses about International Relations or Criminal Justice.
Everyone is always talking about getting “leadership positions.” My problem is that none of my extracurriculars really allow for upward advancement. I have a chance at being a cross country captain senior year, but that’s pretty much it. I joined forensics sophomore year, so I can’t really do anything there. I might have a fighting chance at getting a position in NHS. So basically, I need to figure out how I can get those “outstanding” extracurriculars. If anyone has reasonable and obtainable ideas, I will owe you my life.
I do not think that is true that you need 30 ECs. Top Schools want you to be well rounded. Are you able to maintain a high GPA and get a good SAT/ACT score along with all these ECs? You do not need to be president to show leaderhship. It is just important that you excel in that activities you choose to participate in. If you are more involved in 5 ECs and excel in them, it looks better than being mediocre in 30 ECs.
This is inaccurate. Top schools want to build a well rounded class made up of lopsided individuals.
Think of it from their perspective. if a college wants a marching band, a fencing team, and good student theater, they’ll select an awesome drum major, a nationally ranked fencer, and an excellent thespian rather than three students who are “OK” at each of the three.
One EC, done well, is better than 3, 5, or 30 done unimpressively.
Just as sherpa said, it’s never good to be a “well rounded” student. Colleges want angular, devoted students, not well-rounded students joining tons of clubs. Being angular shows that the student has a specialty and talent in one area that really stands out against that of any others; on the other hand, being well-rounded is just equivalent to several “average” students who are doing different activities. Colleges seek uniqueness, not simplicity or ordinariness.
Sorry to break it to you (because I so wish this weren’t true), but you can’t put “piano lessons” or “violin lessons” on your college application (or resume for that matter). You can however put down any kind of awards you win as a result. Simply taking lessons does not count as an EC (does not indicate how proficient you were or even how committed you were to it and frankly there is no way to prove it).
Your statements are inaccurate too. There isn’t an achievement threshold one must cross in order to list an activity on their college applications.
Extracurricular activities are just that, “activities” that one does outside the classroom.
One of my kids included solving the Rubik’s Cube as an activity despite no awards and no documented proof that he could solve it. Listing this as an activity didn’t seem to bother the admissions officers at Princeton.
Piano lessons and violin lessons are ECs that should be included though I probably phrase it as “Studied Piano”. It isn’t necessary to have an award or achievement for every EC.
@doctorgirl, of course piano and voice lessons are ECs. Obviously they are not as impressive as competitive piano and voice awards, but they are certainly activities that can be included in applications.
Elite colleges indeed use leadership and achievement as a screen. What you’ve listed is “joined this, do that” and it put you at a disadvantage relative to your peers applying to these schools. And my bet is that the top schools would want it that way.
You appear to have adopted the attitude that ECs are something provided by your school or someone else. As it turns out the one’s you’ve chosen don’t “allow for upward advancement” so colleges are just going to have to understand that. In fact they won’t. Top colleges look for students with inner drive, and one way to predict who will have it in the future is to see who has shown it in the past.
For example you seem to have a strong interest in music. What stopped you from starting a music group performing in your community, say at senior citizen centers? From creating a music mentoring program for the kids in middle school? From forming a group raising money to buy instruments and lessons for those unable to afford them? From organizing a group to compete for you school at county and state competitions? These are just a few things off the top of my head, I’d bet you could quickly come up with a dozen more. Any of them involves working with other kids, perhaps negotiating with the administration at your school & lining up a faculty sponsor, etc; that “leadership” factor that you claim is so elusive.
And you have other ECs, other things you could have done. This was but one example area.