<p>All right so i'm a junior preppin up for the college stuff, and I'm wondering if ivies care more about academics or about extra-curriculars</p>
<p>i'm a stud academically, (4.0 unweighted so far, dont know my weighted but I got a 5.0 this semester, 240 PSAT, 35 ACT)
locked up a leadership position(NHS vp right now, should be prez next year)</p>
<p>but the problem is in my extra-curriculars, swimming and music. although i've been swimming for 10 years and have played the trumpet for 8, i'm not like nationally ranked or anything. I've been in varsity in swimming and in my school's top band for my first two years, but no honors. </p>
<p>thats pretty much my situation extracurricularly. they just want to see passion. I did karate for 9 years and trumpet for 9 years. neither of them I did beyond the regional level, nor did I want to. you look like a good applicant, so dont freak out. but fyi, NHS is not a good EC at all. get some leadership in your swimming and write your essays about that. that is what they want to see. NHS looks superficial</p>
<p>Some NHS chapters are actually active. If the OP can describe the responsibilities of his/her office and it’s a legitimate activity, then it does matter.</p>
<p>Disclosure: My school has no NHS and I had never heard of it before I came to CC, so I think I’d have no biases.</p>
<p>I think NHS is widely perceived as a joke. I would not count on it to get you in. And I’m afraid it’s very difficult to muscle your way in on just grades and tests. I’m figuring that out the hard way.</p>
<p>There truly is not a correct answer to whether academics or extracurricular activities are more important. For many, non-academic factors lead to admission, but many applicants do achieve acceptance on academic credentials that are superior relative to their perceived subjective merit. Extracurricularly, it is really a matter of distinguishing oneself with unique talents, abilities, or skills. For instance, holding the presidency of the NHS is a very positive accomplishment but it is very generic on an application to HYPS.</p>
<p>Like mifune already mentioned, there must be thousands of NHS presidents who apply to HYPMS. And seeing as they only accept a few thousand, being NHS president isn’t going to help you much. Also, perfect scores aren’t that impressive either, and since you are clearly capable academically, I would get really really really good at some extracurriculars.</p>
<p>In my opinion, the ECs perceived as worthwhile, or in other words, ECs that seem to actually help are: Debate, MUN, Science Olympiad, Sports (letter), Music, and internships… although, I have to say, even some of these, like MUN or debate are becoming cliched. </p>
<p>I guess what I’m trying to say is, you can’t really rely on honor societies or key club nowadays as your ECs.</p>