extracurriculars (I'll chance back)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’m a sophomore in HS and I have decent grades (3.9 unweighted, 4.0 weighted)

my extracurriculars are

playing guzheng (chinese harp) for five years, intending to play throughout college
-it’s not very well-known so I don’t participate in competitions, but I study under one of the most famous musicians of that field and I practice 1+ hours a day

playing piano (played from age 6-11, quit, picked up again four years later, started playing two months ago)
-I intend to go through cm levels and I put a hell lot of practice in (because I really like playing the piano) around 2 hours a day

co-coordinator of volunteer chapter
-organize blood drives, disaster relief, pretty leadership-y roles

jv tennis player (not very serious, play for fun)

active member of key club/red cross club, regularly volunteers, officer positions in club (secretary and vice president)

volunteer special Olympics swim coach

takes academic classes during the summer at prestigious camp (cognitive neuroscience this year)

swim coach and swimmer on rec team in spring and summer

active member of forensics and debate team (won various awards, nothing particularly exceptional)

I put a lot of time into these extracurriculars, mostly because I love them, but I have not achieved outstanding success in any of them (national championships, etc) even though I devote a lot of time to them as well as my schoolwork

will that hurt my chances if I have pretty good grades, good test scores, and a great essay?

2

Umm…it might not ‘hurt’ your chances, but neither will it add a lot to your resume. The colleges look for achievements (state and national championships etc). You have done a lot of stuff, but you have nothing to show that you have excelled in them. Have you given the Trinity music exams (or something similar)? Also try to present your skills to the admissions committee through your essays (maybe write one of your essays revolving around your passion about music?).

3

Your ECs do show a lot of focus on music and swimming, which is a good thing. Having awards definitely helps, and I’d suggest you to enter competitions in fields related to your ECs if you can. The lack of awards will not hurt your application, but they woulf certainly help you a lot when it comes to admissions at ivy league colleges and the likes

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