<p>Is it possible to join an informal soccer league outside of school? I know the neighborhood I live in has a league for adults, and maybe you could get into something like that. Less practices, less stress, but gives you exercise and some fun. It would also be more flexible, so you would have time for other things.</p>
<p>KrazyKow- that's a good idea, I'll check into that. </p>
<p>1Down2togo- no, I will not be applying to the same 10 schools that everyone applies to (I'm not shallow). I simply can't believe that colleges will give me credit for spending so much time playing soccer and getting so little return. I get a lot of return from speech, debate, saxophone, and composition, as I have state awards from each and one national award in composition. Do ivies really want that fourth year, or will they just be glad that I have the maturity (or CCers 'who know what they're doing' directing me) to throw in the towel when I get no return? Our team will not win state (our grade is very academic oriented and the grades below us aren't impressive), and I highly doubt I'd get something like MIP (not b/c I don't work hard, but just because of school politics). Soccer takes a lot of time, and if I want to have any chance of competing in the upcoming national composition competitions, I'm going to need to get all the time I can manage.</p>
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Do ivies really want that fourth year...
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Honestly, you never know what warms the cockles of Ivy admissions hearts from one year to the next. But I think you have missed my point, or perhaps I didn't state it clearly. If you really don't want to play soccer this year, don't. Nevermind what Ivies want (or the other 2 of the 10 schools). One thing I'm pretty sure they don't want are students who do things they don't want or have time to do just to impress admissions. Do 4 years look better than 3? Yes. Will 3 hurt your chances of admission if you focus instead on activities that are more meaningful to you? No. Like I said, mere participation in a varsity sport isn't all that impressive. For students who don't have anything else on their plate, 4 years is better than 3 so do the 4. But you have other interests, talents and skills. Enjoy them. KrazyKow's suggestion is a good one if you think you might miss playing soccer. And it would still count as an EC, if that matters, and might even demonstrate flexibility and an ability to prioritize and find balance in your life--all good skills to have in college and beyond.</p>
<p>Colleges above all want excellence in the activities the student has a passion and has shown a commitment to. National awards that set YOU apart are by FAR more important than 1 more year on the bench. As a matter of fact, that could be a good topic for one of your college essays-how you came to realize that since you could not do it all successfully, you had the maturity to make the hard choice to pursue speech, compositon competition, etc, only and the [ hopeful] outcome of that decision.</p>
<p>You kids just don't get it. The most elite college and Ivies don't want to see an accumulation of ECs for the sake of having EC's. They want to see one of two thing with ECs - either (1) a level of excellence in a particular EC that will fill a niche that needs to be filled at their school, such as athletes who are good enough to play on their teams, and musicians good enough to play in their orchestras; OR (2) evidence, often through ECs, that the student is special in some way, because of his/her passion, dedication, creativity, and/or leadership. Since #2 doesn't fill a particular niche, it is not quite a hook -- but it is a way to make the application stand out from all others.</p>
<p>When you are in the #2 category, you DON'T do EC's for the sake of having ECs ... you follow your own interests and inclinations, and do your best at whatever that is. The specifics of the ECs don't matter... what matters is that element of the student's personality and accomplishments that make him/her special. It is useful to have a couple of other EC's that are different, and not so special, just to show that the student is multi-faceted ... but there is not any single EC, nor amount of time spent on an EC, that matters in a quantifiable way. It is all about quality. If the kid has the qualities the Ivies are looking for, the ECs are simply going to develop naturally. </p>
<p>A student who is making a decision about keeping an EC based on how it will look to the Ivy is exactly the kind of student the Ivies are NOT looking for. Now, maybe that student will get in anyway, but it won't be because of the EC's. </p>
<p>When you are applying to colleges, you need to be able to answer the question, "what is special about me?" "what do I bring to the college that no one else brings?" -- and that is what should be highlighted on the application. In some cases, that could be something that doesn't involve any EC's at all; but for most kids the ECs are simply going to be the natural outgrowth of the interest or passion that drives the kid.</p>
<p>Calmom- I agree with most all that you wrote. I don't think though that figuring out what ECs will look good to ivy adcoms is as horrible as you described. </p>
<p>My question relates to exactly that - what will look good. Although I don't love playing soccer, I certainly didn't do it for the past three years just because it may have some good impact on my college app. I did it because it was a great opportunity to destress while working hard/hanging out with friends. I do, however, have other interests that go further than a achieving a simple catharsis. So really, it is all about priorities. </p>
<p>I like music more than soccer. Soccer takes up time that could be used by music. </p>
<p>You see that both activities have their respective benefits in my life - the benefit on the app is simply another thing to weigh. </p>
<p>Figuring out what adcoms want is not as horrible as you say. Given, if a student is saying, "Crap! I have no ECs - what can I start doing to get into A;sdkfjasd?!!!!" Then, of course, you're right. But a student who has many competing interests (as so many do in HS) must utilize as many tools as possible to prioritize their life. </p>
<p>If I student loves being in International Club, Environmental Club, Amnesty International, Habitat for Humanity, and GSA - they may ask - what will look good on the app. Although their love for those many activities may be very strong, colleges simply won't give them credit for being part of those many clubs and contributing less than the leaders in the group. In that situation, they drop the question, 'what will look good on the app?' The answer, as we all know, is for the pupil to drop some of their acitivities so they can have more time to devote to fewer activities where they can make a larger difference. </p>
<p>In that situation, the question, "will this look good?" is perfectly fine and many times advisable. </p>
<p>Your comment was probably meant toward the whole, and I did my best to universalize my responses.</p>
<p>The harder you kids try to "stand out" from the crowd by following the mutually agreed upon formula for successful college admissions, the more alike you all look. </p>
<p>If I loved being in International Club, Environmental Club, Amnesty International, Habitat for Humanity, and GSA, I would not ask "what will look good on the app" and then drop some of them in favor of "making a larger difference" in the others. I'd keep doing what I loved and then write a great essay about where these activities have taken me, where I hoped to go with them, perhaps including something about the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, maybe something about the challenges and sacrifices involved in keeping all the balls in the air. I might even consider writing something about the dangers of early specialization. We're not sheep.</p>
<p>"What looks good" is always the activities that a student is willing to put their heart into including exercising their own creativity, leadership, talent, energy, etc. </p>
<p>Depending on how a student uses their creativity, etc., any activity could impress adcoms. In other words -- what matters is what you do with an activity, not what activity you choose to do.</p>
<p>For instance, many applicants to top colleges play classical piano or violin. An applicant, however, whose interest in classical music resulted in their starting a music camp for underprivileged kids and getting a well known musician to mentor the kids would stand out in the admissions pool. The many applicants whose classical music has led to their making All state or winning some local awards or being a soloist with their high school orchestra would not stand out because so many applicants manage to do things like that.</p>
<p>All things being equal, having an EC that stands out will boost one's admissions chances, however having an ordinary EC is not the kiss of death; having a rare EC will not guarantee admissions at a top college either.</p>