Okay, so I am a rising junior and I have a question about extracurriculars. To be blunt, I barely have any. Not that I dont want to, but I really just cant. I have working parents who are not able to provide me transportation to wherever I want whenever I want, and I am afraid this will affect my admission into colleges. I know competitive colleges all find extracurriculars to have alot of value, and I see kids getting admitted with very remarkable extracurriculars, such as award winners or title holders. I just feel like this will hurt me a lot in the admission’s process. I will say that I am a great student, though. I dual enroll, have a rigorous high school schedule, and am ranked top 5% of my class. You think being academically strong will compensate for my lack of extracurriculars? Or is this something I can explain in my application? The issue is that I do not want to sound like I am just making excuses for not being like other students who have stronger applications.
Whether it matters a lot depends on the college. To be honest, it does matter for the very tippy top colleges. They expect you to at least make the most of the school-based opportunities (clubs, teams, etc) that you have there. Top colleges are looking for (1) great students who (2) can overcome obstacles to achieve things. That said, there are students who have legit excuses – care of ill family members, communities/schools where there is very little EC opportunity, etc.
Also, there are tons of schools where ECs matter less. Your flagship state university likely won’t care at all. Schools outside the top 30 or so generally care less (they want some ECs, but you don’t need “amazing” ECs to get in). And many merit based scholarships given by colleges are given to students with the strongest academic credentials.
You still have junior year, next summer, and fall of senior year to make some headway with your ECs. What have you been doing? What are your interests? What kind of community do you live in? We might be able to make some suggestions.
Hello @intparent ! What you mentioned about people having actual excuses was what I was scared about. I do not want to come off as a whiny kid trying to give himself a reason for not doing something that others are doing with much less than I. I began to worry because a school I consider to be a safety, and so far my only safety, UF, apparently regards extracurriculars as important, so it kinda scares me thinking that I am not even applicable for my safety school.
I would say that an interest I have demonstrated the most in school is foreign language. I took french, and I am in the french club, french honors society, competed in a state competition for the past two years, and was elected in the student office for this state competition for this upcoming year. I also recently started teaching myself italian, so I guess that would go with my interest for foreign language.
As for how my community is, it is pretty dead. Most extracurriculars are sports, and opportunities are hard to find, especially for a future international relations/ law major. If there are any events, they are usually STEM, so there would be no purpose in me doing it. My school does not have model UN or anything like that, so its hard for me to really demonstrate a “passion” for my designated major, as others are able to do very well. My school is not that big either, hence why there are not many clubs or activities that go on.
Does your school have debate? That is very valuable for a future lawyer. What about where you live? Are there any volunteer opportunities – libraries, opportunities in politics like campaigning for initiatives or candidates, helping at non-profits like food shelves, etc? I would not worry too much about tying your ECs to your future major. Colleges want to know that you are a contributor to your community in some way.
@intparent Yes my school does have debate, but it is a class and a club. You must be in the class to be in the debate club, which I find to be a waste of classes (debate 1 and 2). My school doesnt offer alot of classes, intense classes rather, so my main priority is taking advantage of the harder classes that are offered. I do not hear alot about opportunities for campaigns or anything like that in my area. My entire community is pretty dead. And even if I do find opportunities, having a ride still might be an issue. Weekends are fine, it is just during the week that I do not have a source of transportation.
You are fine. The previous poster explained it perfectly. Reading CC can make any great student feel less than when in reality, great grades and great stats will get you into many wonderful colleges or universities. As far as EC…for the most selective…yes, a concern but in reality (which is where most students live), you at just fine. Please stop stressing. For the remainder of high school keep getting those great grades and get involved in what interests you and in what is available to you. If you are really trying to set yourself apart from others, consider starting something up. You say your community is “dead.” Then what can you do to contribute to it, make it a better place or make it come alive? Showing initiative, care and commitment to the world around you by making a difference is a great EC.
Waiting for someone to tell you about an opportunity is not what a very top college would expect. They want go-getters, to be honest. And an academic-type EC like debate is worth taking a class for – plus it gives you extra class time to prep, which would make you a better debater. The only way I’d turn that down (if you were interested in debate) would be if you had a conflict with an advanced class in your intended area of study. BUT, even then, since you are interested in law and IR, it isn’t like STEM – you probably don’t get out of sequence like you could in math, for example if you miss a class.
No one is going to come and ask you to work on a ballot initiative or on a campaign or to volunteer, either. You have yet to looking for things that interest you and ask if you could help. I know kids who came up with ideas for new laws they thought would help their communities and got them enacted, students who volunteered for campaigns or ballot initiatives that were important to them, students who volunteered for specific candidates or political parties, students who volunteered at their local food bank, etc.
The bottom line is that top colleges expect top grades and hard classes. But they also want students who are interested and interesting. Academics alone won’t get you in if that is your goal. But as I said above, there are plenty of schools (most schools) that don’t care very much either.
I was at UF preview last month with my son and learned that ECs really matters, the UF official speaker literally said " most of UF applicants have great GPAs, great academic records and where are the differences?" the answer is: ECs.
They look into ECs.
So, is not too late for you. You can find something to do on weekends, especially community service, clubs, help people, help animals, etc. As a community contributor, most institutions would see nicely.
I hope this helps.
Good luck.
Talking UF…
UF loves to see this type of activity, and that you stay involved/dedicated for 3 or 4 years (and earned a leadership spot). Being in-state, you need to try and get in at least 100 hours of volunteer time. You’ll need it for Bright Futures (and who doesn’t like free money?), and it helps fill in that EC gap. You can do it over the weekend, but try to find something you can keep up with for awhile, the hours will add up.
Good Luck!
Keep in mind that it’s not about how many ECs you do, but about what you do in those you choose. It’s absolutely fine to have only one EC, or only one “group” of ECs, such as those involving foreign language, if you do meaty things in them.
In other words, I think your ECs are fine for UF.
thanks to all of you for your help! Just found out I have an issue with my french extracurriculars, though. My french teacher left the school, so things are a bit messy right now lol, but it’ll be fine I hope.