Hi. I’m going to be a freshman this year. For the first time, I’ve started thinking critically about my future career and the steps leading toward it.
I am planning to attend medical school (not sure what I’ll specify in). Obviously, I have a long ways to go.
I’m wondering what extracurriculars I should take throughout the course of high school. As of now, I’m taking band, choir, three honors classes (Bio, LA, Alg 2 & Trig), and I’m planning to do drama. I was also considering joining an FTC team, but I don’t like robotics very much Honestly, I only started because I thought it would boost my application, but now I’m not too sure.
I try my best to excel at everything I do, and I only participate in activities I enjoy. For musical activities, I’m auditioning for All-State and various honor bands/choirs. I’m also going to enter the Scholastic and YoungArts competitions as I have talent in writing and art. I will likely join the school newspaper. Good grades have been an unquestionable requirement throughout my life, so those won’t stop.
Even with all this, I’m left feeling like I should be doing more. Any advice?
as a rising hs senior? have fun. if you’re in a competitive hs or you’re just a competitive person by nature and there is at least a small group of like-minded people, high school is gonna get real tough real soon. what you can do right now is explore your passions, figure out which clubs you like the most. it’s fine if you drop things you realize you don’t like or join something in the middle of the year. don’t do (too many) things that only have the purpose of boosting your application. you still have 3 whole years until you worry about college apps. freshman year is about exploring your school, expanding your horizons, and figuring out who you are. don’t stress too much about it.
Robotics won’t boost your application.
What will is truly loving the things you do ans doing well in them.
Dont be afraid to try new things, have fun, and never sacrifice sleep (9 hours as a 9th and 10th grader) to keep your brain running smoothly.
Don’t do FTC if you don’t like it, especially since it has little to no relation to an undergraduate degree you might want to pursue before heading to med school. “Inside the Admissions Office” is a great podcast about getting to colleges, and a couple of episodes would really be helpful for you: Episode 26, Crafting Your Activities List, as well as Episode 30, How to Stand Out and Be Remembered. Episode 26 mostly addresses making the best of ECs on applications for students who are ready to apply, but just after the 26-min. mark she starts giving advice for younger students who don’t have a track record yet. I recommend listening to the whole episode, though, because the first half really describes what your end goal should be. Episode 30 will explain why things like Model UN, robotics, and debate aren’t good choices for most kids, especially if you don’t even like those things. Episode 26 should have already given you ideas for what to do instead.
I also say don’t do robotics if you don’t like it. It’s a big time commitment and you kind of have to love robotics to be part of a high school team.
If you like the idea of that kind of team work and competition, look into Destination Imagination. That was my daughter’s big extracurricular activity and it gave her all kinds of opportunities. If you can find or create a team, you can focus on drama, art, or service (they also have a couple tech categories).
But don’t do it just to boost your application. Whatever you do, do it because you enjoy it.
just by worrying, you’re already way ahead of the curve and I commend you for that. i know the advice that I gave wasn’t very doable or tangible, so I’ll give you few points to think about.
as @MYOS1634 said, do things you love. you’re just 13? 14? you’re really nowhere near figuring out what you will do in life. and you’re not expected to have it all figured out. life will throw you lots of curveballs and your goals right now will probably be wildly different in just 2 years. for example, I went from wanting to be a translator working for the UN when I was your age to wanting to be a journalist with an interest in politics in my junior year. take these few years to discover what you love and what you’re good at. if those two things overlap, that’s great!
DON’T do things you have no interest in but you think it will boost your app. chances are, if you do something just to fill an EC slot on the common app, it will show in your essays or other ways that you don’t actually love it.
if you’re REALLY worried, maybe make a list of what you like ? and go from there. they don’t have to be academic, they can be hobbies or just like small little things you like to do. if your school has a club fair or anything of the sort, and they have flyers, pick some of those up and read them over for any club you found even slightly interesting.
Honestly, I only started because I thought it would boost my application, but now I’m not too sure.