I’m a freshman in highschool and I’m just wondering if my extracurriculars are a good start. I’m hoping to apply to bs/md programs and top schools when I’m older.
Junior varsity track
Key club
Art club
French club
Social justice (I think it’s considered a leadership role, we go to schools around my district and talk about what it’s like being a minority.)
Hospital volunteering (I’m starting in February)
If anyone has any suggestions on what I could do please say!
Please choose extracurricular activities because you enjoy them, not to pad a resume. High school is an important time to learn about yourself and an experience unto itself, not just a step to get into a good college.
Follow your interests, and you will be able to write about them in an interesting way once it is time to apply to college. When you look back three years from now, you may be surprised by what an extracurricular activity has come to mean to you and how it has helped you to grow and learn about yourself and others.
But if you do things you do not care about just because they “look good,” then your resume and essays will be as shallow as that reason.
Good luck and enjoy your high school years!
@TheGreyKing I’m doing these extracurriculars because I enjoy them. I just would like to get more science and medical extracurriculars, but I can’t seem to find any. I was thinking of entering Intel but it isn’t available for my County. I live in such a small town I feel like there’s not enough opportunities for me.
bump
As people said, just do the ones you enjoy. There are many ECs that I know are easy, but don’t do because I have no interest in them.
These are all great! You have a nice variety. Like others say, do them because you enjoy them, not just because of college. If some aren’t so enjoyable after a bit, drop them.
Focus on grades and test scores. Those are way more important than ECs.
@Muad_dib
ECs can really be a deciding factor on whether or not you get in. Colleges would rather see someone with a 3.9 GPA, taking mostly APs and Honors with a decent amount of ECs than a person with a 4.1 who takes all APs, but no ECs.
@Muad_dib
I have all A’s right now so my grades aren’t my concern.
One word of advice is to develop a passion for something. It’s been said that top schools do not want well rounded students, but instead a well rounded student body. So you need to have a passion for one thing in particular that will make you stand out among others. My kid’s passion was in a sport that ultimately helped him get into an elite college. Others may be a certain EC that they are involved with a strong passion. You mentioned you’re on the track team. If you become passionate about the sport and become good enough to be recruited to a Div 1 school, and if you maintain a stellar academics, it will be a tremendous hook in getting you into your choice school. But as everyone above said, it’s not the quantity of EC, but the quality that’s very important.
@noanswers I have a passion for science, I’m just trying to find more science extracurriculars to show that passion which is why I asked for any suggestions on how to get involved. It’s extremely unlikely I’ll become very good at Track, it’s not something I can do long term since I had back surgery. My doctor was reluctant on even letting me do junior varsity track.
It is way too early to think about specific colleges (especially the hyper-competitive schools and programs). You don’t even have one full year’s GPA and you have no standardized testing. You also need to recognize that HS should be an experience in and of itself – a time of learning and growth and not just a 4 year college application prep experience.
It is good to take school seriously and know that college will be on your horizon, but it is too early to start planning for specific colleges. I would highly recommend that you get off of CC until your junior year.
For now you should focus on:
–Working hard, learning, and doing as well as you can in the most challenging curriculum you can manage.
–When the time comes study for standardized tests.
–Continue your involvement in activities you care about and work towards making meaningful contributions to those activities.
–Enjoying spending time with your family and friends.
When the time comes asses your academic stats (including GPA, standardized tests, course rigor) as well as your financial needs and apply to a wide range of reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (you will have to run a net price calculator for each school you consider) and that you would be happy to attend. You need to expand your horizons and recognize that there are many wonderful schools out there where you can have a great experience and get where you want to go in life.