Extracurricular help

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

As senior year comes closer I have really began to focus on strengthening my profile and through that I have found that my extracurriculars are really bad compared to other students in my area and people on CC. I really never got into olympiads, my school doesn’t have honor societies, I don’t do sports. I am really freaking out over this. My academic profile is relatively good (considering my school caps the number of AP/honors) and I feel my extracurriculars is where I REALLY lack. Can someone please look over what I have so far and maybe suggest what I can do in order to strengthen my profile?
I am very interested in biology and sciences and my academic profile shows that but not my extracurriculars. thoughts?

  • VEX Robotics (9-12) win various local and state tournaments and awards attend CA state championships every year (hoping to make it to worlds this year - would this look good or is it too common?)
  • 3rd degree black belt in Taekwondo, working towards my (4th) master degree (since i was 7 y.o. - 12th grade) assistant instructor - lead classes individually including color belt classes and black belt classes closer to my own level
  • School "Shadow guide" (11-12) act as guide to prospective freshman (basically just take them along with me during school day)
  • Teacher assistant for Spanish (11) mainly grading assignments and papers for teacher and occasionally helping out students
  • Volunteer at local hospital (11-12) will have ~150 hours by senior year just simple work around hospital as well as interaction with patients
  • Volunteer at soccer camp for kids with autism (10) pretty self-explanatory
  • work at seasonal hot chocolate shop (9) simple tasks like being a cashier, making drinks, and administrative work
  • immersion trip to Cambodia (11) helped at local school, teaching robotics
  • tutoring club at school (11-12) tutor in math, science, english, and spanish
  • teacher assistant for catholic high school entrance exam, called HSPT if you're familiar (11-12)

Overall, I think if I were to pick out one thing from my extracurriculars that somewhat stands out is my passion for teaching which can be seen in both my TA positions, tutoring club, taekwondo, and volunteer work.

Thanks for taking time to help a struggling junior out :slight_smile:

2

You do not need to have ECs that are directly related to your major. The point of ECs is to show that you can excel at whatever you choose to do, and you will stick with something if it turns out to be the right thing for you. They also want to see that you are a person who is interested in the world.

“3rd degree black belt in Taekwondo”

This sounds to me like you are able to stick with something for quite a while, and excel at it.

I also see “teacher assistant”, “volunteer at local hospital”, “volunteer at soccer camp”, and “tutoring” on your list. Thus helping people is a consistent theme throughout your ECs.

Your ECs are very good. Relax. Do not worry about it.

3

Your list is fine. EC’s that suddenly show up Senior year don’t tend to be impressive - schools like to see ongoing dedication and leadership. Some type of title/leadership in the robotics club would help - more than how far the team goes in competitions.

Fwiw, my D earned her 4th dan/Master title last year (started at age 5) - don’t underestimate the value of both the accomplishment and the leadership shown at this level. If it’s similar, standing in front of a class of 15-20 adults for an hour, solely responsible for teaching and leading, is quite significant.

4

Do you think a black belt in martial arts is common in many applicants? What do you think can really make one stand out with that as a main extracurricular?