from an admissions perspective, is it better to focus on doing dual enrollment classes at a local University than spend time on extracurriculars if you want to attend a top 20 university
I think that it would depend on the circumstances. If you’re doing dual enrollment because you want to take a class at a level higher than what your school offers, it will show dedication. However, that can also be shown through extracurriculars.
Choose whichever you are the most passionate about.
Would they carry the same weight or is one viewed more favorably . I think my son would prefer taking high level courses over ec.
There is not an easy answer to this question. It depends on the entirety of your son’s course rigor and ECs. Top schools want to see both.
It depends on the courses and the extracurriculars.
But the most selective colleges want to see applicants who take hard courses, earn A grades in them, and show a high level of achievement in extracurriculars.
This isn’t an or situation. You need rigor and ECs, good essays, and top test scores (this coming cycle being an anomaly on the latter).
My own kid is attending an Early college program but still is a member of 3 honor societies and 2 clubs, has a research internship, and volunteers. And he is not rare- top schools are expecting applicants like this
Thanks guys, not sure he can fix the ec.s . I think he can do well , 1500+ on sat and 9 or so AP, 4 dual enrollment in CS courses. Will he have a chance at top 20 or will the poor ec,s make it a longshot.
My view is that you/he should examine why you/he is aiming for a top 20 college.
A more worthwhile pursuit is tackling the tougher question of what you want out of life and what a meaningful life means to you/him.
I definitely think instead of rankings you look at fit. We did a tour of Cornell this past winter and my kid scratched it off his choices as a result. Fit to include cost, location, retention and grad rates, and admissions. I know right now in our house we are watching about 1-2 virtual admission sessions a week to get those choices narrowed down and fine tuned.
As for the role of ECs in the decision, that depends on the school. Each will accord weight as they see fit, and that can also be viewed in common data sets.
I looked at the CDS for Cornell . Thanks for the lead. Why are volunteer and work experience not considered to be EC. Is this true with all schools?
Some students’ and parents’ notion of “fit” is mainly based on prestige rankings.
Of course, most students and parents must consider cost as an important “fit” factor, but some do not consider it until April of 12th grade when they are looking at admission offers that are all too expensive.
If he has poor ECs then he will likely be passed over in favor of those strong academically and with good ECs.
It’s hard to make meaningful generalizations about all 3,000+ 4-year colleges. Why did Cornell rank these lower in the CDS? Volunteer work, while laudable, is not the kind of activity very selective colleges see as equivalent to leadership or achievement. Anyone can spend a bunch of hours at an activity someone else planned and arranged. The most selective colleges are looking for the kid that did the planning and arranging. However many less selective colleges are pleased to see volunteer experience as it helps applicants stand out from others who have basically done little other than attend class and perhaps perfunctorily join a few clubs. As for work experience, very selective colleges take into account family situation. If a kid needs to work to contribute to the family this can be a factor as strong as ECs.