<p>Hello everyone. I am currently a freshman in high school and I always see people on here with so many extracurriculars and I'm wondering if I have to become one of those people to get into the college I want. I am aiming for one of the better UCs because I would get free tuition there. But I'm am very unsocial because of something I have called selective mutism, which is a type of social anxiety. So I'm not planning on joining any clubs. It would also be hard for me to volunteer anywhere. But it's easy for me to get good grades and test scores, and I guess my essay writing is pretty good too depending on what I'm writing about. So, is this enough? Or must I transform into another one of those college-bots and get the perfect extracurriculars and leadership positions?</p>
<p>I think that you will be okay just being yourself. Just make sure that when you let the colleges you apply to aware of your situation. </p>
<p>I also have a form of social anxiety, albeit not as debilitating as yours, and I was able to get in to my choice colleges. There are plenty of ways for you to be a well rounded student without making yourself uncomfortable. </p>
<p>For instance, if you are interested in science, you could volunteer as a science fair mentor on the science buddies website. That way you are volunteering in a way you could be comfortable.</p>
<p>What are your other interests? Maybe we can help you find other ways to supplement your application. </p>
<p>I think that you will be okay just being yourself. Just make sure that when you let the colleges you apply to aware of your situation. </p>
<p>I also have a form of social anxiety, albeit not as debilitating as yours, and I was able to get in to my choice colleges. There are plenty of ways for you to be a well rounded student without making yourself uncomfortable. </p>
<p>For instance, if you are interested in science, you could volunteer as a science fair mentor on the science buddies website. That way you are volunteering in a way you could be comfortable.</p>
<p>What are your other interests? Maybe we can help you find other ways to supplement your application. </p>
<p>@berzelio Thanks for the suggestions. I don’t have one particular interest, but I enjoy gardening, and I like science and math. I do math competitions but I’m not particularly good at them…I also applied to a science summer program because that seems like it’ll be somehow more comfortable than things at school. I am also in the gardening club. The gardening club doesn’t require interaction with other people, I just have to help maintain the school garden. I also get community service for it too. But that’s the only club that seems comfortable to me. I’m gonna look at that science buddies website you suggested.</p>
<p>It sounds to me like you are already doing a lot to be well rounded. And it doesn’t matter if you are great at math, keep up with the math competitions! Those will look great. </p>
<p>I don’t know how comfortable you would be with this, but maybe look in to science fair competitions. The only anxiety issue I encountered with those was when I got to the international level, but the stress had gotten to me by then too. If you aren’t comfortable with actually presenting your project in person, there are a ton of online science fairs you could apply to as well. </p>
<p>@berzelio Cool, I’ve never heard of online science fairs! There are no real science fairs where I live anyways so I can’t do that. And I’ll keep up the math competitions.</p>
<p>You get into a good college by having sufficiently good grades, test scores, ECs, essays, and teacher recommendations. The definition of “sufficiently good” varies a lot depending on the college. At most colleges ECs don’t matter very much—I’m extremely shy and I had awful ECs and I got into several top 25-50 colleges with lots of merit aid.</p>
<p>The most impressive ECs tend to take place outside of school, though. School stuff is almost always run-of-the-mill. </p>
<p>No, you cannot be yourself. Everyone who gets into a good college is secretly a transformer that morphed into a new body.</p>
<p>(In all seriousness, the ppl above me have given good advice. Use your strengths, you definitely have quite a few of them!)</p>
<p>@halcyonheather Can you give some examples of some good outside of school extracurriculars? @DigitalKing Well, ok</p>
<p>@dsi411 You said you have good writing abilities? Enter writing competitions!</p>
<p>@DigitalKing Good enough to have an A in English, but not THAT good. English is actually my worst subject.</p>
<p>@dsi411 You could experiment with the Scholastic Art & Writing competitions. You don’t have to write; you could make documentaries or make a portfolio of art.</p>
<p>
Basically anything, as long as you’re accomplished in it and can substantiate it (by winning prestigious awards, submitting a really good arts supplement, etc.). </p>
<p>I would still recommend getting involved in some kind of EC or volunteer activity. It doesn’t have to be crazy overcommitted (i.e. it could be once a week or once a month) but it helps to have something besides school. Do you get counseling for your anxiety? It could help, if you don’t already. I have a cousin who had anxiety (all kinds – not just social) and would get seizures from it, but counseling (and meds) have her nearly anxiety free now. </p>
<p>For volunteering, you could join a group that does things like pulling out weeds from forests (which you can do without talking to people while you do it) or at a small local charity where you are working with only one or two people at a time and can get to know everyone well. </p>
<p>If you are good at other subjects, join competition teams. At my school there are some where literally all you do is show up, take a test, and leave – no need to talk to anyone at all. For other clubs, if you have any close friends, you could go with them to a really small club and just try it out. If its too stressful, just leave. </p>
<p>Or maybe you could be an online tutor (I think others may have mentioned this).</p>
<p>I hope I helped you some, and didn’t just annoy. I’m not knowledgeable about selective mutism, so I don’t know how it could affect your ability to try certain things. </p>
<p>Anyway, good grades and test scores should be sufficient, but I would definitely recommend at least trying something that’s an EC.</p>
<p>Maybe some can but it helps to fake it.</p>
<p>Well for me no. I’d just study and hang with my friends after. You actually have an excuse though that actually can help you. Even if you do something really small it shows how you were able to overcome conflict and grow.</p>
<p>That’s what almost every college want…if not - every single one…</p>
<p>@runner019 Yes, I do get counseling. It has helped. Without it I wouldn’t have joined the gardening club. Thanks for the long post with good suggestions! </p>