<p>Most of the teachers who I've talked to have said that colleges won't differentiate between club and school soccer(For example). Is this true?</p>
<p>Are you asking whether you should participate in one or the other, or how to characterize your participation on an application?</p>
<p>I dunno what you mean, but club soccer (and I'm guessing you mean real club soccer and not recreational stuff) is a lot more demanding, at least for my club team. I play for probably the best club in the tri-state area, and the league we're in mandates that we practice at least three days a week for 2-3 hrs, and we have to play a game or scrimmage every weekend. We also play year round (we go to tournaments and showcases like Disney, Dallas Cup in the winter, spring, fall etc.), while the school season is a couple of months at most. Also most schools don't have formal tryouts; they pretty much take anyone who wants to play as opposed to the club teams that do have tryouts. It does depend on the school though. To me, it can indicate a certain level of commitment and skill by playing and pursuing club soccer...IMO. But to answer your question the adcoms may not know about your skill level and all of the tryouts and traveling and going to and winning showcases and playing at the highest level if you just put "club soccer". Explain it a little more in your app. Unless you're all-state, all-region, or all-american, playing competitively outside of school with a club is more impressive then receiving a varsity letter simply for being on the school team, to me at least. But as an adcom, i wouldn't be able to draw that conclusion unless i knew the dynamics behind club soccer and what skills you have.</p>
<p>PS: Playing club, at least in soccer, helps a lot with recruiting. I've been called a bucnh of times by practically all the ivy-coaches and even non-ivy powerhouse soccer teams like Duke, UNC, UVA, that all wanted me to play soccer. Even though my HS team is pretty good, if wasn't playing club and ODP and all that stuff, i doubt they would've taken me seriously as a recruit.</p>
<p>Well I'm asking how to describe "Club Soccer" in an application.</p>
<p>I play for a competitive league, CYSA, therefore there are tryouts and not very many people make it. We do travel, but all of it is in-state. However seeing that I live in California "In-State" is a pretty vague description. We practice 2-3 times a week for 2 1/2 to 3 hours with 1 to 2 games a weekend(Not Including Scrimmages). There are three classes in CYSA with two divisions per class. Currently my team is in the top division of the middle class, but we've been switching every other season from Class 1 Division 2 to Class 3 Division 1. The other class is referred to as Class 5. </p>
<p>Would playing for a more competitive team(For Example: ODP) be better, even if I'm not looking for a scholarship? I had several LONG talks with the high school coach who told me that only 5% of players from the teams got full scholarships from colleges. Basically he told me that if I wasn't going for a scholarship, colleges wouldn't differentiate between "Club" and School soccer.</p>
<p>When it comes time to fill out your college application, you will list about 5 activities, your role/position, and how many hours per week you spend on this. If you are planning to play in college, this will probably end up being your number one activity, with at least a paragraph of an essay expanding on your athletic accomplishments. If you don't plan to play in college, it will appear as any other activity/EC. The hours would vary depending on club/high school plus or minus ODP hours. You might also end up with some leadership hours if you are a captain. Otherwise, I don't think (my opinion only, of course) that college admissions officers will differentiate between these levels of play. If you are playing soccer 15 hours per week and have top grades, you will have less time for other ECs. If you are playing 5 hours per week, same grades, there might be an expectation that you will have participation/leadership in other EC's. "Well-rounded" isn't that important. If you love soccer, spend time on it. If you have time to spend on another area you love (music, math/science clubs, volunteering, etc.) do it. As others have said, sports look like any other EC to admissions, unless you are a recruited athlete.</p>