great grades/scores vs. great extracurriculars

Applying to College
1

<p>alright my dilemma is a bit more complicated than the title.
i'm going to be a junior this year, so i would really appreciate any advice. this past fall, everyone, including me, expected that i would be captain of the cross country team come september, along with two other girls. however, another girl came along during the season and suddenly improved immensely. that wouldnt have been a problem, except this spring track season, i became really sick at the beginning of april and began running really bad times. tomorrows is our last meet, but i doubt i'm going to do well. my throat is still clogged and i can barely breathe. </p>

<p>anyway, my coach has become really angry at me as a result. he's really become such a jerk. he's always yelling at me after practice and after races. he just doesnt seem to believe that i'm sick and thinks that i'm just making an excuse. as for the other girl, she got injured, so both of us are probably not going to be captain. that leaves the other girl and new girl. </p>

<p>i've always been really dedicated to cross country and track. i never ever considered dropping it. however, this past season, my coach has really gotten on my nerves. i cant stand him and how he puts so much pressure on me. i simply cannot stand so much pressure and still survive. so, for the first time, i'm considering quitting. at first i thought about giving up just winter and spring track. but i'm seriously thinking about dropping running altogether. i NEVER get enough sleep during the seasons, and so i'm dead tired all the time. i can't go to practice and get good grades without sacrificing sleep. next year, junior year, i know that i'll have so much more work. SATs, SATIIs, APs, other clubs, volunteer work, piano exams, you name it...</p>

<p>alright what i'm asking is, which of the following scenarios is worse:
1. i stay in cross country and track, i'm not captain, and perhaps to colleges, i just seem like another teen trying to put something on their applications. my grades aren't as good as they could be because i need at least an hour of sleep a night, my SAT and other scores aren't as good as they could be. i don't go after as many volunteer or other leadership activities. BUT, i stick with a sport for three seasons, for four years.
2. i quit cross country and track. i become president or get on exec board for numerous other activities. i volunteer at the senior citizens home every weekend for five hours. my grades are the best out of all my years, i ace the SATs, SATIIs, APs. but, i may look like a quitter. and maybe colleges want us to do a sport? </p>

<p>obviously right now i'm favoring #2, probably because of this track season sent from hell. i'd really like some input. what would you do if you were me? what do colleges care about most? thanks!</p>

<p>p.s. there is no way i would ever (nor would anyone from my TOWN) receive a scholarship for running. none of us are good enough.</p>

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3

<p>You can't do both? I did.</p>

<p>It looks like you're trying to find an excuse to quit track. Personally, I wouldn't just because having a sport on your application can be a huge bonus. At least do XC in the fall. You can take the SAT/SAT II (or at least study for them) during the summer.</p>

4

<p>yeah i think thats what i'm going to do, just xc.</p>

5

<p>Quitting is quitting, any way you look at it. Are you confident you can get president at those clubs? And think to yourself, do you want to be president just to shove it in their faces and say "see, i'm a great leader, you really DID need me", or do you really exhibit a thirst and drive for that club and want it to achieve better.</p>

<p>If cross country is your passion, then no person or situation should be strong enough, at this level of your life, to discourage you to the point of "quitting". If you really have this severa a problem, then you should go to your coach and voice your situation with him. Try putting yourself in his shoes. Anyways, if you're gonna quit, might as well go out kicking and screaming right?</p>

<p>Just my .02</p>

<p>P.S. This should be on the High School Life forum, not the Application process one :P</p>

6

<p>Though it seems like you have already reached a decision, here's my view:</p>

<p>It seems that you're not particularly interested in XC right now partly because of your coach who frustrates you and makes you feel bad about participating in the sport. You also seem to believe that you will have a better chance of succeeding academically (and extracurricularly) if you quit XC which seems to be taking a lot of your free time. </p>

<p>Don't worry about the fact that colleges will think you are a quitter. If you are that worried about it, you can simply not mention the activity in your college application. In all honesty, colleges want to see what you have achieved, not what you lack.</p>

<p>Also, I believe that though many people stress the importance (justifiably) of extracurricular activities, almost every college would consider academics as more important since they are primarily educational institutions. Exceptions for individuals exist of course, but I think that if you think you're not going to do well in school or standardized testing because of your continued participation in XC, you should drop the activity. </p>

<p>To get into a good college, you should have a stellar academic record. In my opinion, ECs are more of an "icing on the cake" rather than the substance itself.</p>

7

<p>stay in xc. its just one more season of possible tourture.</p>

8

<p>Just because you're not captain doesn't make you "another teen looking for another activity" for most sport teams, 90% of the players will NOT be captains, but it doesn't mean that they don't care about/are committed to the sport (at least I hope not)</p>

9

<p>Unless you are good enough to get recruited as an athlete by the schools you are applying to, I think you may be overestimating the impact of being in a sport (or even being a captain of that sport.) If you think your academics will be significantly impacted and you would rather do that, then go ahead and concentrate on your studies. Junior year is very important. It is the year in which you get all your recommendations. Also, you take the SAT I and II, maybe an AP or two that year. It sounds like you are exhausted.</p>

<p>If you have won some awards as a runner when you were a sophomore, you can always list those. You might say "#1 time on high school team" or something like that on your resume'. A lot of people wouldn't even expect a cross-country team to have captains since it is an individual sport, so it's not like they would dismiss your involvement because you were not the captain.</p>

<p>just curious: what is your GPA right now? Because you can hold off on taking the SAT and SATII until the fall of your senior year I believe. I still lean toward just concentrating on class, though.</p>

10

<p>OP writes: "i simply cannot stand so much pressure and still survive. so, for the first time, i'm considering quitting"</p>

<p>I think if you have a passion for the sport, you owe it to yourself to take on this challenge (it is one you will need to take on many years throughout your life). You've framed the situation a certain way, and I think you could look at it differently. I bet you can find a way to get around this problem and make the whole situation work for you. Being Captain is nice, but it just isn't that big of a deal. Statistics show that students involved in team sports do better on average academically. Certainly there are physical and emotional health benefits to running (what other exercise would you do it it's place?). I'll throw in the superficial benefit of staying in shape as well.</p>

<p>On the other hand, if your heart is no longer in track, that is a great reason to move on. Knowing when to let go and move onto something else is another important life skill. In any case, good luck with your decision.</p>

11

<p>Well, dropping XC is not too great of an idea, in the sense that you're no longer "dedicated" to what you pursue. You'll either end up checking off 2 years of XC or not putting it on your app. at all... both of which look kind of bad. You'll look like you didn't do anything for the first 2 years of HS if you don't put XC on the app. Although... if you do put it... it looks like you weren't committed. Take that into consideration. I say stick with it. </p>

<p>On the other hand, if you REALLY are positive that you can become president of so MANY clubs next year... then you CAN drop it. But, it's not realistic. Unless you've been in a club for atleast one year, you don't know enough to really lead the club. Not making any assumptions on your leadership abilities, but it's unrealistic. Atleast, that's how it is at my school. People don't usually want to elect people who haven't been around in the club. Now, if you have been involved in other clubs while you were in XC, then sure, try to get leadership positions. Just don't expect toooo much. Oh, and also, the activities that you'll become a leader of will take up a lot of time too, depending on how committed you are. It might not take up as much time as XC, but it's still pretty substantial, so don't assume that your grades, SAT's, etc. will automatically go up if you have a little bit more time. Anyhow, those are just a few things to think about. :)</p>