Do colleges care more about how many sports/ECs you do, or how well you do them?

<p>As in, would it be better to do three sports per year and be JV in all three, or would it be better to do one school sport and have it be Varsity while practicing during the other two school sports seasons? I just finished my first year on Varsity tennis as a sophomore, and I will most likely be Varsity captain junior and senior year if I continue practicing in the off season. I was JV freshman year, and I was contemplating doing winter/spring track and not practicing during the off season, but I'm not sure what colleges would rather see. If I did do winter/spring track, I'd probably be JV in both and continue to be on Varsity tennis, but I wouldn't be captain. What do colleges think is better?</p>

<p>As a generalization, participating in sports isn’t better or worse than any other EC. So, if your athletics is just an EC, it’s hard to know the answer to your question; some adcoms might prefer the specialist while others would favor the three season athlete. One thing is certain, though; if you can become good enough at one of the sports to be able to compete at the ncaa level, that will help a lot in admissions. If you think that’s realistic, focus on that sport. Good luck.</p>

<p>Is winter and spring track really viewed as 2 different EC’s? At my school the winter track is more like conditioning and the spring portion is the real season. </p>

<p>Your best option is always going to be getting good enough to play for a great school with a weak team in your sport while having “good enough” grades and scores to make it past the admission committee. For example, there’s a certain well known western school that routinely rejects ACT 36s, but if you play a sport well enough for them to want you, an ACT 25-27 is good enough to get in.</p>

<p>What are your other ECs? If you have a few academic areas of interest, are there clubs or activities inside or outside of school that you might want to pursue? Obviously, follow your passions but also take the time to explore other avenues if you can manage the time to do that.</p>