Hi everyone!
So, I’m basically the typical Asian-American (high test scores, GPA, and class rank; middle class) who wants to go to a top school. I am currently a sophomore, and I was wondering if you guys could look at my ECs and give me some advice on whether I should add to them and if so, in what way? Everyone in these threads who is Asian seems to have insanely amazing ECs, and while I don’t want to copy them, I would like some ideas on how to add to what I already have.
I would like to go to college for classics and biology.
ECs (somewhat vague for the purpose of privacy):
secretary for school’s science club
state board officer for Junior Classical League
key club VP
started a comedy club and currently president
2 years of tennis
black belt in martial arts (competitive)
science bowl
hospital volunteer
130+ hours of volunteering so far (definitely increasing over the next year)
8 week summer local business internship program (not sure what field yet: either science or education)
symphonic, jazz, and pep band (2 years so far)
various awards in minor stuff like the National Latin Exam
Disclaimer: I’m not super obsessed with getting into Harvard or anything. I just want to see where can I go from here in terms of extracurricular activities. I guess my title was mainly clickbait. Basically, I just want to see what these ECs can grow into, because right now I’m rather stumped on how I can do more for my community without really taking on more positions.
Your EC’s are fine, if you have top stats you’ll end up at a great school. That being said, they aren’t enough to catch an adcoms attention at a school like HYPS. EC’s that stick out at schools like that are really unique. When you say you’re a competitive black belt though, how competitive are you? Are you like, top 10 in the country in your weight division competitive? This is an example of something that could be developed into a unique and memorable EC, but you would have to be extremely good. I could definitely see a few adcoms remembering someone who had earned a medal at the Jr. Olympics as a judoka. But if you’ve entered a few competitions and don’t take it that seriously, it’s probably not much of an EC.
I see you’re in a few clubs too, and in leadership positions, which is good, but literally thousands of applicants will have EC’s like this at top schools. Some of the ones that gain admittance have done something that really jumps off the page when an adcom picks up an application, like the girl who is a world class opera singer, or the kid who sailed solo around the world, like that girl Laura Dekker. Those are the kinds of EC’s that will allow you to overcome below median numbers. The answer isn’t necessarily more positions, but really focusing on something that you’re passionate about, something you would be doing even if you weren’t thinking about college applications. There are tons of things that can fit this mold. Law schools typically release lists of how many Rhodes scholars, Silver star winners, Olympic medalists etc, are admitted every year. I saw a list of people admitted to Yale Law School (the #1 law school in the world) recently, one of the people admitted was listed as a professional gamer, very proudly, by Yale. Schools will brag about anything if the applicant does it at an elite level. Even if you’re the world snooker champion it could make a big difference in where you’re accepted.
Depending on the level of competition, the martial arts may be noteworthy. E.g. if you win a state or national championship, that would stand out more obviously.
Your ECs are too scattered. Makes you look like a resume stuffer. What is your true passion? Focus your energy on ECs that line up with this passion.
Go to the boards for Harvard, Yale and Princeton and take a preview of the kids who were accepted. Look at their ECs for an idea.