<p>I'm a rising Junior with good academics [at least top 5-10%, beyond that I'm not sure] and a decent PSAT [haven't taken the SAT, but my PSATs were 220-230] but I don't have any great ECs or awards like seemingly everyone on here does. I was in 3 clubs last year, with a position [not necessarily President] in one. I don't play any sports.</p>
<p>I see a lot of colleges say "Do what your passionate about!" The thing I like doing is investing/finance. I really like crunching numbers and researching stocks and making picks. But frankly, I don't know how to translate this into something colleges will be able to see [i.e. students with medical aspirations can take part in research programs]. I haven't been able to find any internships accepting high-schoolers, either. There's already an investment club at my school.</p>
<p>Any suggestions for me? I'm pretty worried about this. I want to go to a place with a good business school like UChicago or Duke.</p>
<p>well, one thing going for you is time. you still have enough time to participate, lead, volunteer, etc. Not every EC has to be related to what you want to major in college. But since you enjoy finance/investing so much, you should check out (or start) other business-related clubs at your school, or in your community. </p>
<p>Another thing going for you is your high PSAT score. Unless you were in a state like Massachusetts with a high cutoff score, then you're probably going to end up as NMF, and many opportunities will present themselves to you.</p>
<p>And finally, I'm pretty sure that there are lots of kids that get into good business programs on the strength of their academic record, even without stellar EC's. </p>
<p>Good luck, and throw a few stock tips this way every now and then :) I'm assuming instead of the "Got milk?" slogan you'd rather go for "Got charts?"</p>
<p>You don't have to start a club to demonstrate interest. Writing an essay would do you a lot of good, then it's like a secret passion.</p>
<p>I think your skills would definitely help some nonprofits, though. There are some afterschool programs for kids where you could just talk to them about economics. It wouldn't be like tutoring, more like giving out free lessons. </p>
<p>BTW, is there a reason why you're not interested in your school's investment club? Is there DECA?</p>
<p>Ealgian, what do you mean by "writing an essay"? I mean, for what?</p>
<p>Also, I don't think I'm qualified [yet :)] to teach anyone about economics or help nonprofits.</p>
<p>I'm in my school's Investment Club, but the club doesn't really do much in the way of discussing strategies or really investing. The grand majority of the kids simply pick stocks they've heard of. I'm proud to say I managed my and my 2 friends' accounts in the online stock game we played and we came 1st 2nd and 3rd, but the leader position has I think already been filled.</p>
<p>What's DECA?</p>
<p>Oh, I just learned about and promptly put down anything IB. My school isn't authorized :(</p>
<p>Common App asks for an essay on your favorite EC; for colleges that don't use the Common App, they still ask for an essay on your favorite EC. So, if you feel that investment is a passion that isn't obvious from other parts of your app, this is a great way to add another dimension to yourself.</p>
<p>Since you are involved with the club, it's an EC you should put down.</p>
<p>Do you counselors know of your interest? Your teachers?</p>
<p>I'm guessing if you don't know about DECA it's not offered at your school, but the Distributive Education Clubs of America is an organization for high schoolers where there are yearly competitions at regional, state and nat'l level. Everyone who's interested in business at my school is in DECA, we have the best program in the nation. I'm not certain if it's possible to do it on your own, though.</p>
<p>Reading these forums has only made me feel like I'm even more doomed regarding my ECs. </p>
<p>But I started a tutorial on Java today, since programming skill is apparently helpful in being a research analyst. Kind of fun, but it doesn't help for college.</p>
<p>Would developing these skills, and volunteering about...4-8 hours a week at various places be good?</p>
<p>P.S. My uncle is one of the top guys at a big Finance firm, and he says I could probably shadow him/someone else for a few weeks next summer. Good for admissions at all? :(</p>
<p>Do what you like to do doing what you can. Don't expect job shadowing your uncle to work miracles for your app, but if you're interested in that stuff, then do it.</p>
<p>I agree with the others... write about your investing passion in an essay. </p>
<p>If you do what you like, it will help you for college! It may help you decide what you do or don't want to study. It can help you decide where to go to school. Work for your uncle if you can, to see if that arena is one you enjoy... </p>
<p>On volunteering, work at one place (that you care about) on a regular basis, say 4-6hours every Saturday.</p>