Can you make up for ECs?

Applying to College
1

I’m only a highschool Sophomore and so I have considerable time yet to get everything straightened and try to be the best possible college applicant I can be. But lately I’ve been VERY concerned about my extracurriculars.

I know the amount of importance given to ECs can vary by college, but they’re at least important/considered at most and it’s definitely not an area I want to be lacking in. But I feel I have specific circumstances that greatly limit my ability to participate in ECs.

See, my mom has muscular dystrophy and she’s confined to a wheelchair or usually bed. She’s on a ventilator and because of things that could possibly go wrong at least one person has to stay here with her all the time. My brother lives very close, but he works like crazy and he’s never around when he’s not working either. (Can’t really compromise with him). So more often then not I’m the one staying home while my dad does all the important things he needs to do.

I didn’t participate in anything Fresh. year. This Summer I’ve taken a dual enrollment psych. class at a community college and I’ve volunteered every Tuesday at the public library. I was able to do this because my brother can be here on Tues. mornings and my grandparents are here in the summer to drive me places. However, during the school year my grandparents go on practically consecutive cruises, so they aren’t around. This makes it pretty near impossible for me to participate in ECs after school, especially newspaper (and I want to major in journalism), yearbook, student govt. etc. These ECs meet almost every day after school.

How much will this hurt me in getting into selective/highly selective colleges? My grades are top notch, I have a 4.0 unweighted and a 4.2 weighted (which I hope to raise by taking APs and DE this year). I’m currently ranked either 1 or 2 in my class of 500+.
Is there anything I can do to supplement my lack of ECs? Or can anyone think of a way around my situation?

Any help is GREATLY appreciated.

EDIT: I just wanted to add I PLAN to participate in Big Brothers Big Sisters on Monday afternoons after school because all I need is a ride home. (Rides a problem too, since my dad has to find someone to stay with mom while he picks me up). We’ve worked something out with my brother so he can usually be here monday afternoons, and if not I plan to try to get a ride home from a friend. It’s pretty complicated to work out and my dad cautioned me that this might be all I can participate in because he can’t see working out another such deal for another day.

2

<p>I think that colleges can understand your situation, but how are you going to handle this during college?</p>

3

<p>I think you will be able to explain this just as you did here in your interviews. My high school record has problems like this because I was my grandmother's full-time, live-in caretaker and had my own serious health problems, but now as a transfer student I'm being recruited by top LACs. Students with special circumstances are often looked upon highly by top colleges, because they want to bring in that type of diversity and life experience.</p>

<p>As zagat said, though, how do you think this will affect you in college? I started at a CC because I couldn't leave home. Are you going to be okay moving away, or do you plan on staying local?</p>

<p>Can you join any clubs without having to attend every meeting?</p>

4

<p>This is definately something you (or your counselor) could explain in the "special circumstances" section of your application.</p>

5

<p>First I'd like to thank you both for replying. Beginning, it's good to hear that someone else in a similar situation overcame it and is doing well. Thanks for the encouraging response.</p>

<p>I had a discussion with my dad about this a few weeks ago. Here's the agreement we came to. He wants me around as much as possible while I'm still in high school and a minor. But he's going to have to take care of the situation when I leave. He has given me all of the freedom of going away to school and tells me I don't need to worry about feeling guilty. If I'm not at home, that's less money they need to have for food and other things since I plan on completelely supporting myself in college, my dad won't have to worry about providing for me anymore (Btw, I'm unable to get a job due to certain technicalities).</p>

<p>So when I'm off at college, he'll probably have to get a hospice caretaker to come out. They'll also still have my brother here and who knows what will change with his work situation seeing as he has no plans of leaving here anytime soon.</p>

<p>"Can you join any clubs without having to attend every meeting?"
I'll ask my guidance counselor about this. I'm hoping to maybe find something I can do on Saturdays. Chances are I'll have to look really hard considering how small a town this is.</p>

<p>One other question, will it hurt me or reduce my chances of getting into a selective college if I don't participate in school sponsored ECs? Will sticking with Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the Library Youth Program every summer be enough? </p>

<p>I'm leaning toward majoring in journalism and it's really disappointing that I'm probably not going to be able to participate on the newspaper.</p>

<p>Again, thanks for the help.</p>

6

<p>I found that the Visiting Nurses were a lifesaver for me. I was literally on the verge of a nervous breakdown when they came to my rescue. I now do volunteer work for them to make up for it. Can you possibly find a local branch that can help you out?</p>

<p>I was homeschooled for high school, so all of my extracurriculars were separate from school. I don't think that's going to hurt you at all. You can only do what works with your schedule, you know? Also, I can't get a job due to a physical disability that would absolutely kill my attendance, so I know what that's like. I don't think that's going to hurt you, either.</p>

<p>I actually am listing being a caretaker as my "top" high school EC, because it really was the most important and the one I spent the most time with. Even if it's not a traditional one, it was important to me and it's going on there.</p>

<p>Do you absolutely need to go to meetings to write for the school newspaper? I write for my college's newspaper, and I rarely go to meetings because of my schedule. If you're just writing articles, can't you do it through e-mail or during study halls? Speak with the newspaper's advisor to see if you can work something out. There has to be some way you can be involved.</p>

<p>You might also be able to find some local clubs that you can join and get involved with on weekends. I'm a member of my town's historical society and the Friends of the Library, and they have weekend meetings. Church groups can be good. If your town has a teen center, you can do things through them -- I did, and I had a blast. (I also started and edited their teen newspaper, so there's an idea for you!) Maybe you can find a caretaker support group to join or even start up. Oh, and I took credit-free college courses at night when my parents were home to take care of Grandma, because it gave me a break from the house and gave me something academic to do without me having to worry about homework assignments or mandatory attendance.</p>

7

<p>Also, just so you know, colleges are going to love that you were able to maintain such amazing grades while dealing with your at-home stress and demands. You're a great person, and that's going to shine through. Don't worry at all about not getting in anywhere. :)</p>

8

<p>Beginning, thank you so much for your insight on the matter! I honestly really feel so much better and less worried about it now that I'm seeing it the way you're explaining. </p>

<p>We're getting a new journalism teacher this coming school year and I plan to meet with her when school starts ASAP. You brought up a really interesting idea about participating through email. I'll definitely have to look into that because I do have a considerable amount of free time while I'm at home (though it might seem like much less once classes start up).
I've been trying to get in touch with our local newspaper, trying to see if I could submit a column to them for their section of the paper that gets mailed to houses for free. Unfortunately I haven't been successful in talking to someone on the phone, so when my dad and brother are less busy I'm going to have to talk someone into driving me down there.</p>

<p>I never thought about listing being a caretaker for my mom as an EC. I'll definitely be putting that on my apps. Thanks for letting me know that was a possibilty!</p>

<p>Safe to say I'll be spending loads of time looking for things I can do to be involved in the community on weekends. Our town's an interesting one because the schools are PACKED (every school in the county is 300-500+ over the usual capacity except the new magnet school), but it's still a small town with very little to do and even less a sense of community. But I honestly really love volunteering, and volunteering at the library (plus a bunch of fundraising I did in MS for the humane society) really allowed me to realize how much I enjoy it.</p>

9

<p>I know what you mean about the free time at home. When I was my grandmother's caretaker, I was home all day long and had nothing much to do other than read and write. I was able to get a lot done that way, so maybe you'll have the same experience.</p>

<p>Local free newspapers love teen articles! If you can successfully pitch the idea, that's going to look amazing on your applications. Even if it doesn't, I'm sure they'll let you submit contributing articles once in a while. Even Letters to the Editor-type pieces can go in your portfolio. I live in Connecticut, and The Hartford Courant has a column specifically for local younger adults to submit pieces, so maybe once of your major state papers offers the same type of deal? Write opinion pieces and submit them around (never the same article twice, of course). You never know what will happen.</p>

<p>I've been somewhat involved with various caretaker groups, and several teenagers I've met through them have included their caretaker status as an EC. There's nothing that shows maturity and a good heart more than that, in my opinion. You've sacrificed a lot to be with her, so that will stand out. :)</p>

<p>If you ever want to talk, feel free to PM or e-mail me. My LiveJournal is under the same username if you'd like to contact me that way. There aren't a whole lot of young caretakers, so those of us with experience should definitely support each other.</p>

10

<p>Ithink something you can do is if you can't do something weekly than do a couple of big events- </p>

<p>Does your town do alot of walkthons, or races, or outdoor stuff?</p>

<p>Another thing is working in the local parks- planting trees, cleaning parks, it would get you outdoors and the exercise could feel really good</p>

<p>You have alot on your plate and I am impressed</p>

11

<p>Ah, I can't believe I didn't think to recommend that! citygirlsmom brought up something great.</p>

<p>I'm on the planning committee for my town's Relay For Life (American Cancer Society fundraising event, and yes, they use the capital "f"), even though I don't drive and can't get out much. We have general committee meetings once a month, subcommittee meetings once a month, and do most of our planning and business over the phone.</p>

<p>This year, I managed to book three bands, put together a team of 13 people, get big donations (financial and material) from local organizations, book additional entertainment, work with the public safety department, and a whole slew of other things, plus raise over $1,200 (USD) on my own for cancer research, and the vast majority of my work was done on-line and over the phone. It certainly wasn't an easy job, but it was nowhere near as time-consuming as you might think.</p>

<p>Also, I do a lot of clerical work for the Visiting Nurses. For the most part, I do everything from home. My mother picks up boxes of "stuff" for me to do (usually mailers that need to be sent out and other boring but time-consuming jobs), then brings them home. I do everything here, usually at night when the house is quieter and all of my classwork is out of the way, and then she brings it back for me once I'm done. Volunteer work can definitely be done from home. :) If you use <a href="http://www.volunteermatch.org/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.volunteermatch.org/&lt;/a>, you can find lots of "virtual" volunteer opportunities.</p>

<p>Oh, and running drives is another easy way to do volunteer work. It doesn't take much to set up some boxes at school and other spots around time, then collect the contents once they're filled and give them to a needy group. I do drives for the regional food bank, the town homeless shelter, and the major emergency women's shelter around here, and they can really be effortless once you get used to how to operate them. Call some local groups and see what you can do for them. :)</p>

12

<p>CityGirlsMom, I like your suggestion. I'm so shocked I never thought more of doing bigger once-a-year events and other things like that. </p>

<p>Your suggestions about the parks made me think of Earth Day. I'm going to mark down in my planner to call local parks about their Earth Day programs ASAP and if they don't have any I'd really love to help them start one up by talking to the coordinator over the phone. </p>

<p>It's also given me a good idea for a group I can set up that corresponds through email. In my 8th grade year of MS I started up a "Students Helping Animal" society. We had a decent # of participants (8-10 members) that were mostly my own friends. We managed to raise $200 for the Humane Society, but after that one fundraiser we couldn't get the club back into momentum again. That whole idea of mine could have really great potential to work through email and a website with perhaps monthly meetings each time we plan a fundraiser.</p>

<p>Thank you a great deal for sparking this idea in my head! It's given me a great new project to work on.</p>

<p>And Beginning, you've been so extremely helpful. I'll definitely try to keep in touch.</p>

13

<p>Wow, I'm impressed with all the work you've done. I've used volunteermatch to try to find local programs (it's how I found BBBS, but I didn't find anything else in my area) I've never looked for virtual opportunities I can do from home though. Great suggestion! </p>

<p>I've seen those drive boxes around school, but they don't get that much attention where I go. They're mainly sponsored by the beta club and they had a problem last year with someone throwing away their bins. Sadly, fundraisers aren't really popular at our school and the principle doesn't let us solicit classrooms. That's reasonable though, since we don't have a homeroom OR a study hall, just 6 classes 3 per day on a block schedule that seem incredibly too long.</p>

<p>I'm in the process of writing down all my options and deciding which ones I want to go with and then writing down "back ups" in case my 1st idea completely bombs and can't be salvaged. I'll be making lots of phone calls this week. =D</p>

14

<p>Animalheart,
Colleges will understand why you don't have more ECs. In fact, many colleges value it greatly when students have major family responsibilities.</p>

<p>It would be good for you to consider writing an essay based on your experience helping with your mom -- not a pity me essay, but an essay about how you've grown as a result of this experience and how the experience has shaped your plans for your own life and career.</p>

<p>Somewhere on line I've seen how some of the California public colleges rank ECs. See if you can find it because you'll see that your situation is given a lot of weight by adcoms.</p>

15

<p>Thanks NorthStar. =)
I've thought about writing an essay about this, but I wasn't sure if it was appropriate; though if I write it with the tone that you described and I can manage to write it well, it should be a hit. (I'll cross my fingers when that time comes).</p>