I’m very stuck because I know for a fact I won’t get into college.
The next school year I will in the 11th grade and I already signed up for pretty rigorous classes. This is only to make up for the fact that I have no ECs or community service.
This is not exactly what I want to talk about though. It’s the fact that I only ever joined one club my freshman year (Red Cross) and had to quit due to my anxiety. It sucks that I don’t have the ability to join all of these clubs (Yes, I have talked to different counselors but it doesn’t do much). I hate the fact that my chances of getting into colleges depend on ECs cause it means that they are pretty low.
I don’t have a passion like most people on here; I’m not even quite sure what I want to major in. I’m very introverted and despite my efforts to make friends, for some reason, most people in my school find me repulsive so even if I were to join clubs I wouldn’t get a leadership position because nobody would vote for me.
My family doesn’t have enough money for me to join a sport or to get better at one (tried out for track my freshman year, I didn’t get in)
I can’t even to go to summer camps for college apps.
Nothing really sticks out about me and my grades arent enough for college admissions.
My grades are average compared to those of the people at my school (my school is very big and really competitive). I perform poorly in tests, even with extra time and tons of studying, which results me in getting really low scores; I won’t be able to rely on my SAT, ACT, or PSAT (took it twice already, scored under average both times).
At this point, even if it’s my junior year, I’ve given up on even trying to do well at school since I already know I won’t get into college; I’m really stuck I don’t know what to do.
I know students who got into good schools with NO extracurricular activities at all. ECs are one way Harvard and Stanford choose from many, many applicants who all have straight A’s in hard classes and great test scores. As long as you are okay with attending one of the very good colleges and universities in the US that are not super highly selective, or want to go outside of the US, ECs are not critical.
Keep trying.
Edit: I see on another thread that you say “I currently have an UW 3.86 GPA”. There are very good schools that you can get into with this GPA, no ECs, and no test scores.
You “know for a fact” that you won’t get into college without EC’s???
I’ve been teaching for 30 years, and I have 2 kids in college. And I know for a fact that you’re wrong.
My son had no EC’s-- nothing. And he had his choice of schools.
Oh, and please don’t gauge “normal” by the kids on this site. The kids on this site tend to be incredibly driven-- absolutely not at all like the typical kid I’ve ever taught in my college prep school. Sure, the kids at the top tend to have an idea of their future. But the vast majority are kids like you-- really not sure of where they’re going or how they’ll get there.
But what concerns me about your post is that you think that the kids at your school find you replusive. That’s a huge red flag to me. My suggestion is that you talk to a teacher about getting counseling-- and do it Monday, since schools are starting to finish for the summer. He/she can find you someone to talk to. No one should be that down on him/herself. It’s OK to be an introvert. I would love to read that you found a counselor who could help you find all those things that I’m sure your family does love about you.
Let’s see if we can help you narrow down your focus a little. What’s your favorite class in school? Least favorite?
You say you joined the Red Cross club-- what about that particular club appealed to you? Was it the medical aspect? The idea of helping others? Something else?
Likewise, you joined track. What about that appealed to you?
What do you do after school? Given the resources, what would you like to do with that time?
In one of your other threads you mentioned you’re considering UF and FSU. Are you in FL? There’s nothing wrong with starting at a cc like your siblings did. Since you’re low income you might qualify for a Pell Grant. Does your state offer aid?
@austinmshauri perhaps I do live in FL, my state offers a brights futures scholarship which if one meets all the requirements you get a full ride or most of your college paid for… this only goes for public universities in florida
Just some advice for you as you mature and grow, “knowing for a fact” is a pretty dangerous position to claim (unless it’s pure science or math which is based on fact - 2+2 = 4). In general, things are not always as they appear.
As my dad once told me, and it’s proven to be spot on, they’ll always be another bus, another job, another house, another car. Just because people tell you you have to act now, or do something, etc. doesn’t make it so.
My D recently hit us up with a “OMG- there’s this great summer program that I should join to help me get admitted to X. We have to sign up and pay today!”. I explained to her that I’m sure they’ll be willing to cash our check next week or whenever. let’s find out more about it, etc. Of course she replied “no we need to do it today. It says so online. I won’t get into college if we don’t do this…” Fast forward and they magically extended the deadlines to “accommodate” more students…Head of the program is reaching out ot her now to see if she’s interested.
that isn’t true. You can use BF at private schools (you get about $6500) and you’d also get a resident grant of about $3500, so you start with about a $10000 off tuition. Many of the private schools also have merit aid.
And there are many public schools where tuition would be covered by BF. Many do not care if you have any ECs if you have good grades and test scores (which you’d have to have to get BF).
You do need 100 hours of community service for BF, plus other classes (foreign language, math). You can get the community service hours in a number of different ways, including helping teachers at school, working at the Red Cross, working at your church.
@bjkmom, Florida schools have been out for the summer for weeks now.
Have you thought about getting a part time job? Maybe volunteering at an animal shelter? (Sometimes they are easier to deal with than people). ? What about helping with sets and costumes for the theater department? Don’t worry at all about leadership.
Don’t join something because your parents want you to, what is it you want? For your own mental health and as a growth experience, try to find an activity or two outside academics and give it a try. There are definitely plenty of colleges that will accept you without ECs. But having something that engages you outside of academics is important in its own right.
Some colleges do not consider ECs as part of the application process. You can Google a target college and “common data set” and go to section C7. This will show you what factors the target college considers. An EC can also involve what you do in your free time including hobbies or helping with a younger sibling. My son was accepted to 3 colleges that only looked at grades and test scores. No essay. No ECs.
The first thing you need to do is google “ Common Data Set” and
then look in Section C7: Relative importance of each of the following academic and nonacademic factors in first-time, firstyear,degree-seeking (freshman) admission decisions.
Then look at " Extracurricular activities"
Is it Very Important, Important, Considered, or Not Considered?
Big State schools may only “consider” ECs because they mostly use GPA/SAT/ACT because of the sheer number of applicants. Private schools have holistic admissions and may think it “very important”.