As a student who’s main extracurriculars are mostly humanities-based, I assumed I didn’t need to have competitive extracurriculars (by which I mean extracurriculars involving competition) since most of those extracurriculars exist in the STEM world (math team, science olympiad, robotics team, etc.). Because of this, I don’t have any state/national awards and I’m not formally ranked in anything. But apparently, extracurriculars like debate team, model UN, and regional writing contest are seen as the competitive extracurriculars for humanities.
I am actually involved in some competitive extracurriculars (math team, academic bowl, and Model UN) but I participate in these clubs because I think they are fun and opportunities to explore my interests. I’m not very good at any of them and neither is a particular priority for me.
Does this matter to an admissions officer? I think the EC’s that I’m involved in are really good and I’m heading towards leadership positions. I’m also starting a job at a local T20 university that was really prestigious and ties in really really well with my interest. But there isn’t a competition aspect to any of these extracurriculars. Essentially, what I’m asking is if it matters that I probably won’t have tons of dazzling national awards to show admissions officers when I apply.
***I should note that I have no intention of changing anything about my extracurriculars based on the responses I get. I genuinely have no interest in doing a competitive extracurricular and I think that if I tried to join more competitive extracurriculars, my lack of interest would translate to a lack of success. I’m just curious about this question.
I must say, you sound like my kid, but with music thrown in instead of “a job at a local T20…”
I am going to second @momofsenior1 in holding to the idea that you shouldn’t worry about presenting yourself as engaged in “competive ECs,” either at the national level or locally. I can’t be sure in this, however, as until now I haven’t had a humanities-centered kid.
I think that presenting yourself competitively in the admissions process will involve speaking to the depth of your commitment to your activities, and,yes, your growing into leadership positions - which does not mean that you have to be your school’s MUN President.
It is great (and, again, mirrors the motivations of my own son) that you have pursued your interests because you enjoy them, and your essays regarding activities which have been meaningful to you will probably easily reflect both your enjoyment and the discipline of preparing, writing and presenting papers. Your confidence at presenting yourself here will no doubt be woven into how you write those essays, and that should be perceived well.
Competitions are not the only measure of success. My kid’s major EC was leading the schools GSA. There are no competitive awards, but there are successes like increased in visibility, membership, etc. Dancers have the shows and choreography, etc. In STEM it’s not always about awards - publication and presentations indicate successful research a lot more than an award in some competition. There was a kid here who wrote that they had a publication in a peer reviewed journal. That is much more impressive than an award in a high-school level competition, which just indicates that the research was very impressive for a high-school level study. A publication means that university researchers think that the study has made a real contribution to the field. It’s the difference between being a Little-League MVP status and scoring points in a National League baseball game.
So, while in some majors, awards in competitions are the major and highest achievements of ECs, other majors celebrate different types of achievements.
Hey everyone,
So, recently I qualified to the respective national/international tournaments for the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) and Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA). For NSDA, I was district champion in United States Extemporaneous Speaking and for HOSA, I was state champion in Biomedical Debate. Both of these competitions are during the same week in different locations, so there is no way I can participate in both.
Here is what I have been thinking regarding my decision:
Debate:
Pros
I have been in it for 3 years (I’m a junior)
I worked harder for debate
I have heard that NSDA is more prestigious
I can get quite a few debate points (this is kinda minor tho)
Going will send the message to my coach that could help me become our tournament chair next year
Cons
It is less likely that I will do well because of the prestige and number of qualifiers (over 300 compared to around 200 I believe)
Dallas is not as nice as Orlando when it comes to the location
I have fewer friends going to NSDA that are in my grade
HOSA
Pros
I want to pursue a career in medicine
One of the people on my team got 2nd last year even with a worse team than we have this year
I heard that it is easier to place
My team got 1st at state
Going would make our advisor think higher of me when we decide officer positions for next year
Cons
There is less competition (one test and one debate round compared to 6 guaranteed prelim rounds)
If I don’t do well, then I would have rather gone to NSDA
IDK if this is a con or whatever, but it is my first year in HOSA
So here I am…I am really torn between these two. On one hand, I would be sending the message to college admissions officers that I am not committed to my future career by going to NSDA over HOSA, however, by going to HOSA, I give up what I have been working so hard for for the past 3 years. My question is, from an outsider’s perspective, regarding my enjoyment, commitment, and college admissions, which one would be the best choice for me?
I would base your decision on which one you enjoy more. The current admissions process shows that you can do everything “right” and still not have an automatic ticket anywhere. I’d focus on what you would like to do.