EC Guidance - Sophomore Seeking Suggestions

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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Hello everyone! This is my first time posting here! I am currently a sophomore but I genuinely love researching the college admissions process. My family thinks I’m super weird!

Anyways, I wanted to start focusing on my extracurriculars, which are definitely lacking. I’m hoping that it’s not too late and that you guys can give me suggestions and tips!

Here are the basics:

  • I’m intending to double major in Biology and Communications
  • From an upper-middle class family in New England
  • Applying to mainly Top 30 schools

Here is what I’ve been doing so far:

  • Professional Acting: I was in the Broadway National Tour of a musical when I was in 7th grade. Over the course of 8 months, we performed in 92 cities across the US and Canada. I homeschooled myself during this time. Since then, I’ve been cast in commercials for Apple, Honda, and a fast food chain (not allowed to post about it until it comes out).

This is probably the most unique thing about me, but it is very inconsistent. There is no set number of hours per week and it can be months between bookings. Why hire a teenage actor when you can hire a young-looking adult? My biggest role was in 7th grade so I don’t know how colleges will view that.

  • Varsity-ish Cheerleading! It's my first year but I worked extremely hard to learn the tumbling needed to make the JV team. This is competition cheer, we're not focused at all on football/basketball games. My school won the state championship last year and is consistently at the top in recent years. I was just moved up to Varsity, but kind of by default. It's a long story. There is no chance that I'd ever be captain.

The rest are pretty bad …

  • Dance for 6 years so far (8 at time of app) but I don't really like it. I only take it for 1 hour a week now as compared to 6-7 hours a few years ago. I cut back to make room for cheer.
  • For volunteering I do 12 hours a year staffing special events at a wildlife reserve. I know, not good.
  • Writer for my school's online newspaper. Really hoping to be editor next year, but it's not a guarantee. I love journalism, but I feel like every applicant is the editor of their school's newspaper. How do I stand out?

I am going to do an internship this summer for Environmental Science/Journalism.

Thanks for reading all of this! I really appreciate any guidance you may have.

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lol same. But your ECs are good! You do volunteering and the acting is super unique. Try and get involved with NHS or an honor society, but you are not lacking (maybe you are in comparison to ppl on here, but everyone here is an overachiever). If you’re looking at T30 schools, try debate or Model UN (a personal fav), or see if your school has more ECs related to your major.

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quote=“izrk02;c-22519156”. If you’re looking at T30 schools, try debate or Model UN (a personal fav), or see if your school has more ECs related to your major.

[/quote]

Thank you! I was on Varsity Mock Trial last year (the school treats it like a sport lol) but I couldn’t do it this year because it conflicted with cheer and the Mock Trial “coach” told me I’d have to pick one. How do all of the people on here find the time to do everything?

Over the holiday break, I looked over the clubs that my school has and I found a few I’d never heard of that sound interesting. I just worry about feeling like an outsider because I don’t know anybody who is in them. Is it weird to join in the middle of the year or am I overthinking this?

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It honestly depends on your school, but I know kids who change/join clubs all the time and there’s never a huge problem. If it makes it easier, see what clubs your friends are leadership for and join those so you’ll know someone. I think everyone on here is a little to obsessed with getting into college, and don’t take enough time to enjoy high school (just my opinion though). There’s this perception that more activities = more acceptance, but I know so many kids that were committed to just 2 or 3 activities all 4 years and they got into their dream schools. Just do what makes you happy, and if colleges don’t like you, that’s their fault.

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If you want to expand beyond your school’s newspaper, how about becoming an editor for Polyphony Lit? It’s a literary magazine, not a newspaper, so it’s a little different, but it could definitely build off your previous editing experience. Plus, it’s all online, so it’s more flexible than an in-school club or sport.

(I’m actually also a sophomore, and I just joined Polyphony Lit this year, so I can explain it to you more if you want.）

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Yeah that actually sounds really interesting! Thanks!