<p>I am currently a freshman at a rigorous private high school. I have a very strong passion for the publications. At the moment I am a small editor on both the newspaper and the main magazine (I am the first student at my school to be an editor on either publication in ninth grade). I am also vice president of my class and some sort of supervisor for the middle school magazine (dont have the title figured out yet). My question is this - can I give up grade government without giving up my chance at Columbia?</p>
<p>I like grade government, but do not feel as passionate about it as I do the publications. I feel that without being tied down to grade government, I could be fully committed to the publications and rise very high in their ranks. Would only having my publications as ECs be enough to get into Columbia assuming my grades and testing is up to par? The newspaper is a very big deal at my school.</p>
<p>Give up grade govt. but you shouldn’t just do the newspaper, there has to be something else (either in or out of school) that you like to do, isn’t there?</p>
<p>I am also a member of my school’s moot court team and math team. The moot court team is very small and the math team does not have a formal structure. Do you mean that I should also try to be captain of the moot court team (which is more in a competition than a league), or that I should take on another whole new EC that is big like the paper (and magazine which is slightly smaller)? Do you have any examples of other ECs to consider. At my school, it is hard to get to the top of multiple bigtime ECs (like drama, mock trial, etc…)</p>
<p>Not being rude, because I understand wanting to be on top of the game and wanting to be productive all throughout high school, but how, as a freshman, could you possibly know that you want to go to Columbia?</p>
<p>Anyway, I vote for participating in whatever activities you truly enjoy and doing your damndest to excel in those fields.</p>
<p>Percyshelley – some kids (myself included) have distant or close family members who went to certain colleges, you hear about them your whole life, and then you do early research and develop a liking for that college. I set my eyes on columbia during my freshman year, and fortunately I got it – I guess it’s just a different way of thinking. That being said, it is important to make the reasons why you want to go that college your own so that when you actually get there you’re happy with your decisions.</p>
<p>Calim – extra-currics are tricky. You don’t want to seem like you’ve spread yourself too thin to actually care about your activities, but at the same time you want to show that you’re a dynamic person with the ability to excel in various different ways.</p>
<p>My advice is to go for newspaper and set it up (as much as possible) that you’ll be Editor-in-Chief your senior year. That should be your base from which to set up your other extra-currics and build a theme around all of your extra-currics. If you are in fact a well-spoken, articulate person then pursue that in various different ways – whether that be moot court, Model UN, etc.</p>
<p>More importantly, start something new that the adcoms won’t really see on thousands of other apps. Starting something new takes a lot of dedication and it’s not easy…so pick something you love doing. Moot court, Model UN all those things will be on thousands of other apps.</p>
<p>Something a lot of people forget about are summer activities. Most people pursue summer internships during the summer before senior year. If you can start doing volunteer work (or even better – interning) during the summer going into your junior year or even this summer it will give a very nice edge. It will also show them how determined you are – that even when most people are just chilling you still have your passions in mind.</p>
<p>Personally, I was in a similar situation…I was planning on becoming leader of about 3 clubs and 1 varsity sport…one was yearbook and the moderator changed and just made my life miserable. I’d spend every day working 3 hours on it, only to get yelled at for missing a friday or not spending 3 full days (9-5) during a school break. It got to the point where I’d stress about having to go and just be relieved when it was ever cancelled. I decided to make the decision that no college was worth this…and quit it. I never looked back. I spent more time on the activities I really liked, and I got into two ivies RD.</p>
<p>philolexian1 – Thank you for the long well thought out post. You were spot on with your analysis of me and why I want to go Columbia. (Just so you know- I have done my research and know about the departments, core, professors, etc)</p>
<p>I have been trying to shoot for the newspaper, and am happy to get all this feedback. I already have applied to a few places/internships this year and am waiting to hear back from everyone right now. I have plans for volunteering doing interesting things just in case things fall through. Can I actually write about my summer before sophomore year on my application?</p>
<p>Anon<em>Person</em>1 – It is nice to hear about people who were in the same position as me. You really scared me when you wrote about what happened to you in yearbook. I am happy that everything still worked out for you though.</p>
<p>Calim – good planning, always good to have back up. And there is no actual space for you to write about your summer going into sophomore year, but you can always write it in the “Additional Information” Section.</p>