Few/no EC's Freshman yearn in HS

Applying to College
1

<p>Have I ruined my chances of getting into a top college by doing almost nothing outside of high school for my freshman year? I read these crazy lists of extracurricular activities and feel discouraged because I've done very little. All I really have going for me right now is that I am ranked number one in my class of ~500 with a 4.0uw/4.7w GPA. EC wise, all I've done is built my current computer this year and I've been a speed solver for three years(I plan to go to my first competition soon). Is it possible to pick up the slack over the next three years? </p>

<p>I've got many things that I would like to try like art, bowling and perhaps even starting some sort of video game club/team at my school.</p>

<p>Thanks for reading, </p>

<p>-C</p>

2

<p>It’s never too late</p>

3

<p>Lol, “yearn.”
You’ll be okay.</p>

4

<p>If your main interest is math/science, things like art and bowling clubs won’t help much. Do more computer-related stuff instead (or whatever your interests are).</p>

<p>Don’t worry, when I was a freshman I had NO ECs until March. Well I volunteered a couple hours a week but ended up quitting. I got more involved in things as time went on, by following my interests and taking advantage of every opportunity in my two main passions. I’m still waiting on decisions so I have nothing to really show for my progress, but I think I have strong ECs now (internships, a big-ish summer program, over 1000 community service hours, leadership positions), much stronger than I would have thought possible based on where I was freshman year. And my activities really changed my life and got me interested in the career I want!</p>

5

<p>You definitely have time to try as many things as you want but really try to find something you can be passionate about. I didn’t have many EC’s at all to put on my applications (dance classes, musical for one year, photography club for one year, book club for two, working out with a personal trainer for three, 6 hours of volunteer work but I started a community service project). My point is the only thing that I did consistently was my dance classes and the rest of the activities came and went. It also depends on what major you’re going to be looking at as well. Junior year I became passionate about writing and knew that’s what I wanted to do so I focused on that.</p>

6

<p>The majority of colleges do not even consider ECs. Do what you are interested in doing.</p>

7

<p>You may want to apply to schools in the United Kingdom and Canada.</p>

<p>They don’t care as much about ECs there.</p>

<p>Play in a game where the rules favor you.</p>

<p>I am not sure how we have reached the point in this country where just concentrating on your studies is considered a bad thing.</p>

<p>FYI, last year, my son had 2300 SATs, but a lack of ECs definitely hurt him.</p>

8

<p>The question about impressive ECs comes up regularly on the forum. There is a thread with several posts by Northstarmom, a Ivy alum interviewer, about what constitutes impressive ECs from the point of view of the most selective colleges. The post is at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>As you will see from that link, at the most selective colleges they are looking for depth more than just participation. Stanford, for example, says

</p>

<p>2 very interesting articles about ECs that stand out and how to get them (same author, different examples) are at [How</a> to Be Impressive](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/05/28/the-art-of-activity-innovation-how-to-be-impressive-without-an-impressive-amount-of-work/]How”>The Art of Activity Innovation: How to Be Impressive Without an Impressive Amount of Work - Cal Newport) and [Save</a> This Grind?](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/09/12/case-study-how-could-we-save-this-ridiculously-overloaded-grind/]Save”>Case Study: How Could We Save This Ridiculously Overloaded Grind? - Cal Newport) While I don’t agree with some of his underlying explanations, take a look at these 2 articles and I think you’ll get some original ideas.</p>