Extracurricular activities!

<p>So obviously, any college you want to apply to do not just look at the academics in your high school career. Sure you have great grades and test scores, but another thing is what you actually do OUTside of school, to show that you have other interests than studying all day and merely academic matters. They want to know that you are an active participant in the community and you work in other outside activities.</p>

<p>My questions are: What would be a good amount of extracurricular activities to take? What is the average amount that would be good to have on your applications, and what would you be competing with, in terms of other students with good grades and ec's, if you were to go to a high-end scientific school as, say, Caltech or MIT? </p>

<p>Also, if this factors in, what TYPE of extracurriculars should I plan on taking part in (For example, there are the groups that usually go for fundraising and research like Key Club, the clubs that show for community service and other achievements like NHS, the smaller clubs that focus on other issues such as Environmental Club/Shakespeare Club, or sports like tennis/football/rugby/soccer)? Are there any specific groups that help the MOST? </p>

<p>Thanks in advance; I would greatly appreciate any help or answers to my questions(I think what I'm asking is pretty common among other people interested in college)</p>

<p>And let’s say someone wasn’t interested in sports anyway, would they still have a good chance of still having a noticeable ec record?</p>

<p>About your first paragraph, I don’t know if that is actually true, and it’s definitely not “obvious”. I think some colleges look at only academics, especially state schools.</p>

<p>But yeah, I think a good amount of ECs to do is as much as you can do without feeling stressed.</p>

<p>Nobody can really tell you what type helps the most unless the schools’ admissions offices publish information like that.</p>