<p>I'm a sophomore. This year, I was president of my school's SECME club, and the student council historian of my class. Next year, I'll still be SECME president, and possibly the Beta Club president and Secretary of my class. My question is whether anyone knows if colleges care about leadership positions in clubs, because I'm exerting a lot of energy and time by taking the initiative to be more involved. Don't get me wrong, I love being proactive, but I also signed up for five AP classes, and that should take priority, I think.</p>
<p>Also, is it weird to be in almost as many Extra Curricular Activities as school classes? I was in six clubs this year, and there were a couple more I was considering. The starred ones are the ones I was in this year, and the others are those I'm planning to be in. Could anyone give me advice on which ones I should drop? I don't think I can hold so many activities if I'm taking the classes that I signed up for.
*1. SECME (Southeastern Consortium for Minors in Engineering)
*2. NCSSSMST (National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools in Math, Science, and Technology)
*3. Beta Club
4. National Honors Society
*5. Student Council
*6. Business Professionals of America
7. Student Ambassador (I go to a 600 student Magnet School. This is how we get incoming Freshman.)
*8. Experimental Science (It might be a class next year, but it's pretty much Science Fair.)</p>
<p>Colleges love leadership. </p>
<p>You could drop NHS if you want to, I’ve heard most colleges don’t care about that. I’m not sure about Student Council. Everything else I think you should keep (if you can handle it).</p>
<p>Other things equal, you’re better off from a resume standpoint having an activity than not having an activity. You’re not going to hurt yourself by doing too many ECs or leadership positions unless one of the following happens:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Your grades or other responsibilities fall behind because you’re stretched too thin</p></li>
<li><p>You burn out from working too hard</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Based on what you know about yourself and your abilities, do you think either of those is a realistic possibility? Leadership is definitely a positive addition to a resume but it’s not worth making yourself miserable or hurting your grades.</p>
<p>@Kawaiiii
I would drop NHS, but at my school, it’s only a once a month commitment. I feel like I might as well be a member since it doesn’t really take too much time. It’s good to know that leadership positions count. Student Council is the one I was considering dropping even more, but I’ll probably ask the Juniors how often they meet before making any decisions.</p>
<p>@HateBeinSober
I’m afraid of stretching myself too thin too. This year, there was a week where I had deadlines for SECME, BPA, and Science Fair, and it was insanely stressful. I’m not too worried about burning out though, because I find motivation out of everything. Also, I’m going into Junior year knowing that it’s going to be rough. Sometimes I feel like my plans don’t fit my capabilities.</p>
<p>Do you know how many many times a month/week all of your other clubs meet? </p>
<p>Assume you sign up for everything on that list. Allowing maybe an hour of homework every day, what does a typical week’s schedule look like? You’ll be fine with a few very stressful weeks out of the entire year with a lot of deadlines, but I think you’re in a lot more danger if every single week wears you down. </p>
<p>From August through October this year, I had morning and afternoon cross country practices, races most weekends, and 5 AP classes. With my other ECs, I had probably 25 or 30 hours every week taken by my activities. For months I had no spare time during the week. I was mentally and physically exhausted by the end of it and while my grades weren’t affected, I think my social life and my college essays suffered a lot. You’re not a senior so you don’t have the essays issue, but just consider whether it’s worth it to work that hard.</p>
<p>@HateBeinSober </p>
<p>1 Hour of homework a day in total from five APs? </p>
<p>Lol</p>
<p>@Kawaiiii</p>
<p>Been doing it for 8 months now and that’s an overestimate. Heck, plenty of nights I don’t have any at all.</p>
<p>@Kawaiiii </p>
<p>Physics C (both), Calculus BC, Economics (both), Psychology, Spanish</p>
<p>@HateBeinSober </p>
<p>I guess it depends on the school and the teacher then.</p>
<p>@Kawaiiii
Here’s the basic Extra Curriculum schedule:
- SECME - Every other week. (Friday)
- NCSSSMST - Every other week. (Friday)
- BPA - Once a month. (Friday)
- NHS - Once a month. (Tuesday)
- Beta - Once a month. (Wednesday at lunch.)
- Exp. Science - Once a week. (Tuesday, but it might be a class.)
- Student Council - No idea.</p>
<p>@HateBeinSober
I don’t think that every single week will wear me out like that. Plus I’ll have friends in each of my classes in case I desperately need help with something. It also helps that most of the EC’s aren’t on a weekly basis. And by senior year, I’ll probably town down my schedule.</p>
<p>What is a SECME meeting and a NCSSSSMST meeting is on the same day? Or NHS and Exp. Science (unless it becomes a class) on the same day? </p>
<p>I think you should be fine btw</p>
<p>@awakeningvenus </p>
<p>Based on what you’ve told me in this thread that sounds like a load you could manage comfortably. I thought that one or more of those would have daily meetings or practices, but with only 2-3 club meetings in a typical week I don’t think you’d get stretched too thin. </p>
<p>@Kawaiiii
Some of the meetings overlap occasionally, but they’re the ones that don’t really count participation strictly. NCSSSMST and SECME are sponsored by the same teacher, so they’re on alternative Fridays. BPA is only once a month, so that means I’ll miss one of NCSSSMST or SECME meetings in a month, but the teacher is understanding. Also, I’m considering dropping BPA. Experimental Science is usually more of a Science Fair focused workshop, so I could easily miss a meeting once a month.</p>
<p>@HateBeinSober
I think I was more concerned with the leadership more than the EC’s themselves. Honestly, this year I was surprised at how much time I put into SECME compared to when I was just a normal member. Also, my parents told me that they don’t want me to be in so many activities because they don’t think I can handle it. They’re also pushing me towards spending more time getting ready for PSAT for a chance at National Merit Scholar, but for every other activity I’m in, there are scholarship opportunities. Also, I’m planning to practice that more over the summer.</p>
<p>I’m busy with a lot of different activities, so I sometimes skip meetings and then check in with the teacher the morning after. I can definitely see how this practice may be condemned by your teacher, but it’s kind of commonplace at my school for the kids who do sports and can’t always attend after-school meetings.</p>
<p>@awakeningvenus </p>
<p>Definitely put forth the effort for the PSAT. Being a NMF is a really nice thing to have in your back pocket when you start applying to colleges, even at more prestigious schools (USC offers half tuition off, Vanderbilt and UChicago give $5000 and $2000 respectively, and that’s just off the top of my head). I’d say that the PSAT and SAT is more important than any of the ECs you’re doing. You’ve got a pretty solid focused interest in STEM stuff and that’s going to help you with more selective admissions, but NMF status alone is enough to earn a profit at plenty of decent colleges.</p>
<p>@CandyPants16
It’s not completely uncommon at my school too, ahaha. I should probably try to refrain from skipping too many meetings for the club I’m president of, although I could always ask the VP to fill in for me. </p>
<p>@HateBeinSober
Even with the National Merit, I don’t think I’ll be able to afford any top tier schools. I mean, I’m still planning to put forth a really hard effort, because I do have high hopes. But I really like academic based competition like science fair, and I really want to try and get far (maybe even Intel International Fair, a girl can dream). Most of my EC’s are based purely off of interest. Over the summer, I’m planning to go through the SAT practice books that I have so I can get comfortable with the material.</p>
<p>@awakeningvenus </p>
<p>It’s good that you’ve tempered your expectations about college choices, but I wouldn’t cross anything off my list just because I thought I wouldn’t be able to afford it. I couldn’t afford 2 out of the 5 colleges I got in to, but at least I got a chance to look at their scholarship and financial aid offers. And if money is a big limiting factor, that just makes NMF status that much more important. I really can’t stress that enough. You can graduate from somewhere like Kentucky, Alabama, or Oklahoma and earn money while you’re doing it.</p>
<p>It sounds like you’re on the right course as far as your ECs, though. </p>