<p>Extracurricular Activties:
Academic Team (9,10,11,12) -- President (11)
Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America (11) Possibly 12
Student Council Representative (9,10,11) Possibly 12
School Newspaper - News Editor (10)
School Newspaper - Editor in Chef (11, 12)
Key Club (11, 12)
Community Service Group (10, 11, 12)
Future Business Leaders of America (11, 12)
Drama Club (11, 12)
National Honor Society (11, 12)
Achievers in Our High School (9, 10, 11) Possibly 12
Prom Committee (11)
Performed in a Mock Trial in NY Law School (11)</p>
<p>I am planning on applying to Cornell, NYU, and Johns Hopkins. Will I be rejected for not joining a few of these activties earlier?</p>
<p>Hell, they sure beat my ECs. The fact that you have four that you either started in freshman year or sophomore year should be fine, and the fact that you held a leadership position in the newspaper and academic team.</p>
<p>FraggleRock, you are editor of your school's paper and president of the academic team and you are asking if your ECs suck? </p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU THINK??? </p>
<p>Or are you just looking for a pat on the back? In that case, I pat you on the back for your accomplishments but I also give you a kick in the butt for asking such a stupid question.</p>
<p>Half of your ECs mean jack to most colleges.</p>
<p>Prom commmitteee, achievers in high school (everyone's an overachiever! come on!), national honor society, drama club, community service group, key club. these arent anything at all.</p>
<p>But you still got a few good ones... such as editor in chief. Just remember, there are 35,000 high school editor in chiefs. (and valedictorians, and white middle class academic club leaders, and football team captains, And most will have stats around your level.</p>
<p>also, the NY law sschool thing stands out? probably 1 million kids are in their "key clubs"and 5 million are in honor society/clubs , but how many are in NY law?</p>
<p>namaste, i hate to break it to you, but NHS stands out. At least in my school if ur in it, that says alot about you. Its very very selective in my high school</p>
<p>yeah, it might "stand out". so does being editor in chief. but there are tens of thousands! the ivies dont exactly have room for every NHS and editor in chief.</p>
<p>hahaha it sure as hell isnt in my high school. we have like 125 people in it. But i guess a lot of people dont get enough credits to stay in so it cuts out some ppl</p>
<p>trust me, im not just in NHS, i have enough to get me into college...dont believe me? OK, but my EC's and comm service are pretty damn concrete. Not worried about them at all</p>
<p>I discovered that it is not what you join, but what you do that matter. When I did my resume for college, I put down what clubs I join, but importantly I describe what I accomplished in those clubs. You can be the president of Key Club, NHS, of your class, and blah blah but if you have nothing to show for beside a title then it mean little. Try to do projects in the community that gain attention of the press (any will do but the more well know the better). Often time well publicize activity can give you the boost you need and help to "control damage" if the sat and GPA is not fantastic.</p>
<p>Even if the NHS is a big deal at your school, it's practically a joke at many other schools. It's not going to improve your chances at the colleges you're trying to get into. Just about EVERYone applying to them is in it.</p>
<p>And "Achievers in Our High School"-- what is it? That also sounds like filler. Without some explanation, it sounds like you were on the honor roll or something, and that's the kind of stuff that they can tell by looking at your report card. If it's a real club, and you care about it, attach a note about it.</p>
<p>The rest of your ECs look like a mostly standard, if extensive, mix, and the presence of leadership is a good thing. Apparently what matters a LOT in the EC field is how much you care about them. If you're passionate about them, and you can convey that, adcoms will be more impressed.</p>
<p>"well ya at Ivies if u arent in NHS at least then u r gonna have trouble, but what im saying is dont belittle legit organizations""</p>
<p>The Ivies don't care whether you're in NHS. What they care about are your scores, class rank, gpa and what ECs you're in and what impact those ECs had on you, and what impact you had on the ECs.</p>
<p>Simply being in NHS or being even a school NHS president is meaningless for places like Ivies, where most applicants have high gpas some leadership experience.</p>
<p>What helps students get admitted to Ivies is pursuing activities with passion and impact. For instance, what one accomplishes as a NHS or other officer is very important. Simply being an officer is not important because such colleges know that often officers do nothing. Places like Ivies are looking for true leaders -- students who'll come to their campus and work hard on their ECs, impacting the school and community. These are people who are seriously committed to ECs, and to leadership and would be active whether or not colleges cared.</p>
<p>OP -- many applicants to top colleges are newspaper editors. What makes newspaper editors stand out is their accomplishments: things like creating special issues on serious topics that are difficult to research; winnning national and regional writing awards; increasing the frequency of their school paper; adding new sections ot the newspaper. </p>