Depressed during freshman year and didn't really do any ECs, will this hurt me?

Applying to College
1

<p>Throughout my freshman year, I was severely depressed and didn't do anything but lock myself up at home for most of the year. I did however, join the swim team at during spring and that helped, but I did nothing else really. I spent a lot of the time before going to counseling, and seeing a psychiatrist (who assumed that everything had to do with ADHD, called me slow, and prescribed me a bunch of Adderall pills, which I only took for two weeks before getting sick of them).</p>

<p>I DID try to get into clubs at the beginning of that year though. But you had to actually take this big test and do an interview to get into the one club I wanted to be in. I passed the test, but failed the interview due to stuttering, lack of eye contact, and so on. When I didn't make it in, I quit going to the meetings for the other clubs.</p>

<p>This year, I made it into the club I tried out last year, and am in three other clubs, and seeing another counselor for autistic traits and am getting evaluated for an Autism Spectrum Disorder along with that. I've also been trying to improve my social skills, and if I improve enough, I have a lot of things I want to do in mind throughout my high school career.</p>

<p>Grade-wise, I think I did fine that year (I was ranked first in the freshman class) even though at times I felt too depressed to even care, but I'm worried about my extracurriculars. But would colleges see me as the typical freshman who didn't do anything (or as the stereotypical Asian that only cares about studying), or would it help me when I show how much I've improved over the years? </p>

<p>I also apologize if I posted this in the wrong sub-forum; I have a feeling it might be.</p>

2

<p>I can relate. I’m not one of the acadamically smart Asians. I only went to a state college here in the Midwest. Nor am I a very social person. I’m more of an introvert and like you I also a mild condition- Social Anxiety (SA). My family wasn’t very rich so I had to pay my way through college that is why i went to a Community college and transfer to a University. I’ve basically crawled my way though my undergrade and barely came out with a 3.1 GPA. But i still made it and got my B.S.in Biology. I really don’t understand why alot of Asian are so fixated on grades and EC. It ain’t everything. </p>

<p>If you are not well prepared for University there is always your local state university or Community college where you can transfer credits from. Dude, don’t give up on yourself.
You still have plenty of oppurtunities. </p>

<p>Best of luck to you.</p>

3

<p>The vast majority of schools do not even consider ECs. Forget about it. Do what you enjoy.</p>

4

<p>My son did not get heavily involved in any extracurriculars until sophomore year and it didn’t hurt his chances. The important thing is to get into 2-3 leadership roles within whichever activities you select by the time you apply. Elite colleges prefer to see depth, focus and passion in a limited number of areas rather than long laundry lists of “joins” where nothing much was ever accomplished.</p>