Hi,
I am aiming for some top schools and have a solid ACT score (34) but I am only ranked ~50 out of 650 students in my class (with a huge upward trend though). Do these extracurriculars compensate?
Major focus: Child development / psychology / education (plan to major in neuroscience in college)
*Research assistant in a child/infant development lab for two summers (20 hours per week. Really get my hands dirty – not just filing papers!)
*President of Future Educators of America at school (2 years)
*Have earned my child development associate certificate through my school (which enables me to work as a lead teacher at a preschool). In order to earn this certification, you have to log a bunch of hours instructing and working with kids.
*Tutor elementary school students
*Missions trip to orphanage each summer with church…
Other Major Interest: Church and youth group
*Run slideshow each Sunday for church service
*Camp counselor in the summers (2 weeks)
*Co-organize a dinner theater fundraiser which raises money for orphanage
Secondary Interest: Fashion/Art (should I highlight this?)
*Run an Instagram and Twitter with about 10K followers about fashion
Also a member of : Chemistry Club and National Honor Society (I try not to be a serial joiner… intensely dedicated to one club, and member of two others)
Thanks for any input!
I think those ECs look good, and they certainly show passion in very specific areas. I think it will be important how you frame them on your app… the fashion Instagram/Twitter thing is very interesting & might make a good supplement/answer. It certainly shows a social media savvy/ability to manage marketing/branding/create share-able content. If you can relate that to your intended major/the school that would be cool. The only thing I would actively caution against in terms of your essays is focusing too much on the mission trip/orphanage activity. Or, at least, being careful at how you highlight it. One thing you hear from a lot of admissions counselors is how many essays they get about kids going abroad to help “The Poors.” A lot of privileged kids tend to focus on those sorts of trips to show how Caring and Awesome they are, and apparently those essays are a dime a dozen. I’ve heard summer camp counselor stories are also common. So it’s all about framing.
Those EC’s look good and definitely are strong. The fashion instagram/twitter thing is neat but highlighting that in apps really depends on what type of social media content you are sharing and how it is being shared. I agree with @proudterrier about the mission trip thing…you can mention it but don’t focus on it too much or focus on it in the wrong aspect because mission trips are generally considered the cliche. Privileged kids write about them to show how they realized in a one week/several day trip that there are people out there who are suffering and in turn emphasize how much they want to help the world by witnessing such terrible catastrophe.
I’m generalizing but you get it. You can focus on it and talk about it, especially if it did really have an impact, but you have to outline it RIGHT.
Thanks, both! I won’t focus on missions then, but might mention briefly the contrast between the kids that I work with in my research and at the preschool where I work and the kids In The orphanages.