<p>Hello, everyone! I attend a small public high school that doesn't offer a lot of extracurriculars that kids actually take seriously (actually clubs at my school are kind of a joke). I hear a lot about being well rounded, but I'm about the polar opposite of well-roundedness. My GPA isn't perfect (3.98ish?), but in the extracurricular activities that I participate in, I'm pretty heavily involved. I'm really dedicated to robotics (usually 10-15 hours per week during the school year) and in research (I probably have several hundred hours), among other things.I don't play any sports. This puts me in an awkward position, as I would really love to attend the like of MIT or Harvard for bioengineering but I feel like I don't do enough compared to kids who play multiple sports, start nonprofits, etc. What kinds of things can I do in order to stand out when applying to these schools as a science-focused person? I have random assortments of awards, but nothing major. I'm hoping to get high scores on the SAT/ACT, as those will help. By the way, I'm a rising junior, so I hope I have enough time to do something!</p>
<p>Compete in competitions. USAMO, USACO, USABO, etch to get you started. Good luck.</p>
<p>Robotics is good. Some clubs, too. Outside research or on your own? Now what about some other non-school activities and some real comm service? (Not starting a non-profit or a fundraiser.) It’s common for many kids to omit a lot of what they are doing, assuming it doesn’t count. And while you’re thinking, look hard at what MIT itself says about wanting rounded kids. And why. It’s one of the schools that has said the most about this. You have to really dig into what all your targets say. It’s there. </p>
<p>@tooty44
That is too unrealistic. For those competitions to be useful, applepie must become a finalist in junior year. In senior year, it would be too late because by that time, applepie would already know which universities accepted him/her. However, it is extremely unlikely to become a finalist with less than one year of preparation. Becoming a semifinalist is not enough to impress those top universities.</p>
<p>Look at the school, community and world around you and how you can engage in it and make a difference.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your thoughts! What do you think would be realistic expectations? </p>
<p>Test scores are very important at those schools. Your GPA is quite sufficient, but even more important than beefy ECs are excellent test scores. Assuming you will take the PSAT this fall, you might want to start doing some studying now so you can possibly achieve a NMSF qualifying score. You don’t say what state you are in, that does make a difference in what the cutoff scores are. But in any case you need very strong test scores to get into top colleges. You also will need some subject tests, so look at those as well if you haven’t yet.</p>
<p>I think your ECs sound pretty good )robotics and a lot of research). Do not worry for one second about not having any sports or clubs I know how much work Robotics is, and also how many “hats” many members of FIRST teams wear during the year. On my kid’s team there is a lot to do for marketing, fundraising, design, build, mentoring, etc. When you list robotics as an EC on your Common App next year, I suggest you say “see additional information” in the description, then bullet out all your responsibilities in the Additional Info section under a heading “Robotics EC”. Also, try for Chairman’s Award next year through FIRST – they dropped this back to a Junior year award starting next year, I think, so then if you make it to a finalist you could put that on your college app, too.</p>
<p>There certainly are other good schools besides Harvard and MIT where you can apply, too. You will want to work on making a solid list of schools that include reaches (like MIT & Harvard), and also several matches where you are very likely to be admitted, and a safety or two. And spend some time checking affordability of your choices before getting too invested (net price calculators on the financial aid web pages are great for this).</p>
<p>No, don’t take MIT off the list. Just realize that an effective balance is, as BP said, “school, community and world around you.” --What you do based on your own interests and future plans, what you do with your various groups, in and out of hs, and what you do for the community. Lots to be gained via a balance, nothing to lose. When the competition is fierce, be wise.</p>
<p>I understand that many of these competitions are past the college app deadline, but doing these competitions and achieving even just semifinalist will help the OP out as he/she has very little awards currently. At the very least, the OP will be able to send in results to waitlisted schools, but more importantly will learn a lot in the process of competing in these events, which ,when it comes down to it, is the most important thing. </p>
<p>Unless you are playing for the college, they really don’t care if sports was one of your extracurriculars or not, except to show balance. Other extracurriculars can do this. Focus on maintaining a strong commitment to a few extracurriculars and try to obtain leadership positions. Regardless, ECs are just a small part of the equation. High scores, a rigorous course load, and good essays will matter the most. Good ECs will enhance a strong application, but if the other stuff is weak, they will likely not matter. </p>