Hello! I really need someone’s opinion on my current extracurricular. I have dropped many since last year because I found out they weren’t what I really like to do, and I just want to do things I am actually passionate about. I want to major in chemistry to get into pre med. It may look like a lot but for the big ones, I am working with a partner or a group so we all have a fair share of work. I am going to be a junior next year.
As you will see, I have a passion for helping others and volunteering:
- I have started a business to sell bohos with part of our profit to Alzheimer's research because my friends and I have relatives that have passed due to it. The rest of the profit is split up among the group. (it is going steady right now)
- I started a charity club in school with a good amount of members.
- I volunteer two hours per week at a hospital (has been one year now)
- I volunteer an hour per week at a nursing home (has been one year now)
- I tutored kids at Kumon during sophomore year, I do not know if i should keep going.
- I am a competitive member in my school's science Olympiad
- I have been doing model UN since freshmen year but I do not know if I should keep going
- Because my family is struggling, I work at my mom's nail salon every summer. (this is why i cant go to those fancy college programs in summer because it is too expensive)
- I also write in my school's newspaper because I enjoy writing!
I have also won essay awards and science fair, so I will probably write it on my essay.
It looks like I am jamming everything in for college but I swear I am not, I am doing what I am passionate about.
I was thinking if you guys know any other things I can do and what I should drop because it doesn’t seem “good enough”
I forgot to mention, I did volleyball in freshmen and sophomore year but I am dropping it because I am not very good at it and it is too time consuming. I also did an art class that I really like but I stopped going because I already have a lot on schedule. I LITERALLY LIKE TO DO EVERYTHING AND I AM A MESS! I NEED HELP 
I see nothing wrong with your ECs. If you feel too busy, drop the Kumon and/or Model UN. High school is a time to explore things, and that is exactly what you are doing.
Oh, and those fancy college programs? They don’t help you get in. They don’t impress admissions. Don’t worry about it. And don’t just pick an EC for your essays — read the tips at the top of the essay forum to understand what colleges are looking for in the essays.
What kind of colleges are you considering? How are your grades and test scores?
@intparent thank you for your reply! I have had straight A’s for both my freshmen and sophomore year and a total of two AP classes, AP world and AP computer science (it doesn’t really help my major) but I got a 5 on those. I decided not to do an SAT prep class because those are also really expensive so I got a lot of prep books using my Kumon money to self study. I got a pretty okay score on my PSAT’s, not the best but not the worst. I am taking 4 AP’s this upcoming school year, so I do not know how it will go.
I am considering mostly instates because they are most affordable if I do not get good financial aid. My safe is VCU for its great medical program. My top college right now is UVA but I doubt I’ll get in. The other ones would be Virginia Tech, NYU, Georgetown university, William and Mary, and George Washington university. They’re really hard to get in but its worth the shot!
NYU gives crappy aid. Drop them now. WIth 4 APs, you might be too busy next fall – you might consider going to 3 instead of 4, or dropping an EC or two.
I think you need to start a thread on helping you identify colleges to consider that could meet your financial need. They might not be your in-state publics – you sound like you come from a low income family, so some other schools might also be good choices. Take advantage of the adults on CC who can help you come up with a list of colleges to look into that might be affordable besides just your state schools.
@intparent My family’s income isn’t very low, it is just that I have many older siblings that go to college right now so I don’t want to make my parents even more stressed with money.
I will keep that idea in mind, thanks.
Okay. You still might get some good suggestions for merit aid if that will help (you could have options outside of your state). Start a thread with your budget, academic goals, and stats, and see what suggestions you get.
GWU isn’t that hard to get into. Georgetown requires 3 SAT subject tests. You should run the net price calculators on both of those.