Due to my situation I am unable to participate in anything my school offers. Since my mother works I have to catch the bus and walk a mile home. I’m typically home alone until 7-10pm. My situation has progressed, it doesn’t look like I will be able to drive until I’m 18, and I have no friends or family to aide me in this issue. I am a freshmen, my GPA is a 3.7. I want to go to University of Michigan, and possibly go into medical or be a research scientist.
I try to do things outside of school.
I make lyric videos on YouTube, this can take up to 4 hours of my time. I enjoy doing it because it’s complicated and I take pride in seeing my end product. I have done this since 7th grade.
I go to a school that is very cultural, I love learning about the world around me. The Spanish/ Latin American culture has sparked my interest most of all. I take Spanish at school, but I also study things non relevant to what we are doing in Spanish. I started this in 8th grade.
In 7th grade I became skilled at math very suddenly. This encouraged me to study higher level Math independently. The school decided to move me into Advanced math for 8th grade. I still study the captivating subject on my own today. My world changed after doing this.
Also in 7th grade, I had a wonderful science teacher, once we started the Heredity unit I knew this would be my future career path. I began watching documentaries on diseases, I did so to expand my knowledge on the things that people in this world have. Doing so has gotten me ahead for 9th grade Biology. I also read articles on advances in Biology, I’ve done this more lately, but if I have the time I will watch a documentary, I prefer to do so.
My only typical one is helping a couple old teachers I had. On Thursdays during lunch I go to my old math 7 teacher, who moved to the high school, and tutor her Algebra 1 kids or help her. I do this some mornings too. On occasions I can pester my mom enough and she can take me home after volunteering at the middle school. Her work is almost directly next to my middle school. It isn’t out of her way. I know both of these count.
I’ll never have a leadership role. I don’t want one. I do pretty bad in social situations. I go insane in the summers since I basically spend everyday from the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep alone.
Would reading count? I could start doing it, I just get distracted easily. Also, would working out count? I am so uncoordinated most would make fun of me.
First you should do things you are personally interested in with at least some of your time.
I doubt that anything you do freshman year will end up on your list of ECs because hopefully you will have more things later that are more relevant and recent. But starting to explore what you are interested in and deepening that is a good idea.
Tutoring is a very good EC and if you can at some point have a regular schedule doing that would be good. Tutoring and volunteering at middle school is leading.
Youtube videos, reading, watching documentaries and working out are not really ECs to list. Reading will help you with vocabulary and such for the SAT and will give you some literature knowledge for reference in class and just reading what your are interested in isn’t a waster of time. I take it back about youtube, if you devote a lot of time and t is something you want to write about in your essays you can. It isn’t a particularly academic interest, but some people have a channel and get a lot of followers and that can be impressive, you can even make some money. Working out sounds like something that would be beneficial to you. You have to do some things just for that reason.
Studying topics on your own is your interest so you can always benefit from that and it sounds like you already are.
You don’t have to do EC for a particular major, you can just explore. Look online for citizen science projects you can get involved with online or on your own. Learn how to code. Write and submit essays or nonfiction to contests. Anything that interests you. See if your mother will get you a subscription to Imagine Magazine. Each issue highlights some field and there are suggestions of how to get involved.
Sitting home all day summers doesn’t sound very good. You should probably make some friends. What about summer camp? Maybe you should focus on what it would take to be able to drive at 16, so you can get a job or something.
Just make sure you show commitment here. Everyone has different extracurricular activities, but what really makes it impressive is when you keep at it for a long time. It shows that you’re passionate. So, for example, the Youtube thing can be great, and it sounds like you spend a lot of time on it.
Watching documentaries and learning more about classes wouldn’t go in the “Extracurriculars” section of your application, but they’re still valuable things you can write about in your essays. Also, it’s nice to do some things just because you’re interested in them, not just because of college apps. So good for you on those.
One idea is to look into something you can do from home to benefit others, such as reading for the blind, or writing letters to military men and women serving overseas, or learning to sew and making blankets for children in homeless shelters, etc. There are many organizations that need help, and you can find them online. If you find something like this you enjoy, and do it throughout high school, it will be an impressive EC, it will give you an essay topic to write about, it will show passion, and it may help you develop leadership skills.
For the summer, is there anything you can do in your neighborhood to earn some money? Of course it depends on the neighborhood, but you might enjoy a pet sitting or baby sitting job, or yard work. And there may be additional volunteer opportunities in the summer. For example, if there is a church within walking distance, they may need volunteers for something like Vacation Bible School, if that’s your thing. Or they may have a list of elderly people in your neighborhood who would like a regular weekly visit, just to talk or play cards or something. Maybe your mom could help locate an activity like this through people she knows and trusts.
You could keep your eyes and ears open for local events, particularly within walking or biking distance, where they might need volunteers. For example, if there is a fun run in the area, they may need volunteers to hand out water. Is there a local fire department within walking or biking distance that uses volunteers? Volunteering is a great way to meet people, too.
For pure entertainment in the summer, you could also pick up a cheap used instrument, such as a guitar or harmonica, and try to learn to play from online lessons.
You should!