Hi, i am currently a junior in high school (california) and im taking a real tough year (5 aps). As sophomore year wasn’t great (3.1 gpa unweighted), i have to make sure my gpa this year is really good. I’m not sure if my extracurriculars are good enough. I am currently in cyberpatriot (3 years), model united nations (2 years), teaching elementary school kids science (3 years), and playing piano at the church (since 7th grade). I am contemplating about joining the basketball team (JV), joining science olympiad, or doing lapd volunteer hours. I want to major in international relations when I go to college. Which ecs should i take, or should i take any extra at all?
If you’re taking tough APs I would focus on academics and not additional ECs. The vast majority of schools will be determining whether to admit you based almost exclusively off of academics (GPA/test scores primarily) and ECs will have little to no weight.
On here you see people particularly concerned about ECs because so many people are aiming for “The Ivies” or the like. For those schools excellent GPA/test scores are not enough.
Your ECs are fine, focus on bringing up that GPA to make a more powerful impact on your app.