<p>I am a rising senior and I am absolutely miserable in my main extracurricular. I spend around 15 hours a week on the varsity dance team during the school year, and around 25 hours a week during the summer. My coach is awful, my teammates are superficial, and one of our team's goals is to "work on our physical image" which includes hair meetings after our intense practices. I love to dance but this team has taken away that passion from me. The problem is, that is my main extracurricular. I am in a few insignificant clubs and have won a handful of measley awards. I have had no time to participate in anything else because of this team, especially because we have no off season. However, I don't want to spend my senior year crying because I am trying to juggle 5 AP classes, college apps, a social life, and my dance team. I am looking at very competitive schools. Would this deeply hurt me and my college admissions if I decided to quit my team?</p>
<p>It sounds like you are miserable, and that you really already know what you want to do. If you are applying to extremely competitive schools I would think that your grades will be more important than a dance team reference on your resume. If you think that dance team will negatively impact your grades, then do what your heart tells you. You could take a dance class once a week somewhere else and list that on your resume to show that you are continuing your dancing interest, just in a different way. You could also volunteer to coach or teach younger dancers (like at a junior high or something). Good luck to you.</p>
<p>I say suck it up. If you’ve successfully completed the past three years as a dancer without it hindering your grade performance, this year will be no different. Moreover, you could risk looking like a slacker by dropping your main EC after senior year. Maybe quit after you get into wherever you apply ED. Otherwise, I would stick with it one last year.</p>
<p>I agree w/elbeeen to some extent. Quitting dance team senior year may show your lack of commitment (especially since it is your main EC). I also think you should probably stay in until you get into college. Then, you can drop it and the college won’t know.</p>
<p>thanks everyone for your opinion. after much thought and discussion, i have decided to quit at the semester mark. i would have my ED results by then, and have most of my applications out. i hope this works out for the best!</p>
<p>I know you have already made a decision and I wish you luck but it makes me very sad to imagine you spending another minute on an EC that makes you so miserable. 15 hours a week is a lot. 5 AP classes will be difficult and I don’t think quitting your dance team will hurt your admissions chances if you replace it with something else related to dance. You should be happy your senior year. Again, good luck.</p>
<p>I agree with boiledEgg and inTouch. If you take a class elsewhere or coach younger kids, you could continue with your passion. If you write about how much dancing has meant to you but how you realize that if is not your main passion and want time for other things, you could make it a positive (if you don’t gripe about the rotten coach and the hair style meetings (ugh) and if you do actually take up something else). In any case, good luck.</p>
<p>I think that quitting mid-year is also perhaps not fair to your other team members who may be working you into competition routines or something. You may want to evaluate if that decision might make others suffer.</p>
<p>If this were your junior year, it would be a different story. But it’s your senior year and you have little reason to quit other than frustration and little time to do something meaningful in dance’s place.</p>
<p>I think there are lots of ways that you can show your passion for dance without being a member of a team that makes you miserable. Are you studying dance privately? Is there a community dance group you can join? Can you work at a local studio teaching younger kids? If you love to dance, find ways to continue the activity but go ahead and quit the dance team. You committment to the activity itself is more important than staying with a specific group.</p>