Extracurriculars – do I need to cure cancer?

Applying to College
1

My main activity is Debate and I’ve won some awards at the national level (making it to semifinals, etc.) and I have done some leadership roles for my team – including some charity associated with it (hosting fundraising tournaments). I plan on making it to Finals rounds(hopefully next year!)

On top of that I’ve done MUN where I’ve won awards internationally and have some junior leadership roles there.
I also do DECA where I’ved qualified to State twice but my state competition got cancelled because of Covid. :frowning:

I’ve also done a online competitive research program for college credit and writing a paper with a professor which could be published in a journal.

I’m also founding a Public Speaking mentoring club next year where debate + speech students can help other students who might need help/may not have been so privileged to do speech + debate to improve their public speaking for school assignments/more.

My one question is, is this enough for the Ivies? I’ve spoken with my debate friends, and they tell me that even if I become like the “national champion”, it’s still not going to be enough? Do I need to cure cancer? lol if so, what activities can I do to “cure cancer”?

I’m looking into a Int. Relations/Polysci major and I just feel like there aren’t a lot of diverse things you can do (such as coding your own app to benefit others – I’m not a coding geek)

2

Your ECs look just fine and national/international awards are a positive. That said, ECs are but one part of holistic admissions so (short of something truly spectacular, being a recruited athlete, etc.) on their own most ECs won’t get you in or keep you out of top tier colleges.

As I tell everyone be sure to spend the time and energy to create a well rounded college application list that includes reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (run net price calculators) and that you would be excited to attend.

3

Forget about curing cancer; just curing the Coronavirus pandemic would do. :wink:

Seriously, though, there is no “enough” or “not enough” extracurricular activities to get into any colleges, Ivy or not. It’s not like they have a certain set of specific accomplishments with which to use as their admissions guidelines. “Holistic” means just that, namely, they’ll look at all of your qualities as a whole package.