Okay, so due to my mother’s job, I had always traveled and studied in many different countries. During my sophomore year; I applied to a boarding school (the one that I am currently attending) as an international student (I am Asian), but they told me to repeat my sophomore year instead of attending the school as a junior because I had missed half a year of school due mainly to family problems. I did what they told me and repeated my sophomore year. I did great on both of my sophomore years in Canada and United States, had almost all As with one B and a high GPA. However, I feel like I had almost no extracurricular activities, and the school is not giving me enough support. So I was thinking maybe after this junior year (I am currently a 11th grader in high school), I should transfer to another school with more focus on extracurricular and less on academics for another junior year to brighten up my extracurricular and focus less on my academics to make my applications better; this would mean that I would have repeated two years of high school when I graduate (sophomore year and junior year). So here is my question:
How do colleges view double repeats? Will repeating two years of high school significantly lower your chances of admission even though you are a straight A student with many extracurricular activities?
Repeating a year to allow yourself more extracurriculars will not be looked upon favorably. Seriously, don’t. Withholding academic information (such as previous transcripts) is a form of fraud and has serious consequences. Depending on when it is discovered, your acceptance will be revoked, you will be expelled from the college, or your degree will be revoked if you manage to graduate from the college. That’s not a risk you want to take.
There is no reason to spend an extra year in high school just to beef up your extracurriculars. You have been moving around and changing schools and school systems. That is an extracurricular in and of itself!
Stick with the HS with the good academic program. Engage in one or two extracurriculars if you have time and interest.
Thanks guys, I know this may not be a good idea and may be a waste of time. But if I am able to keep my grades up , do more hard classes, and get a couple of more awards, would colleges still view this in a negative way?
^^we dont know.
But we suspect that colleges admissions officers, who are NOT dumb, will see right through your attempt to “look better”.
There are too many applicants who dont need to go through such gyrations in order to “look good”
You want to do 6 years of high school and ECs but get a guidance counselor to hide the fact that it took you 6 years to do what other kids did in 4? Even if it wouldn’t get your college diploma rescinded if colleges find out you lied, which it will, that’s just wrong.
ECs don’t have to be organized clubs at school, you know. What kind of things do you like to do in your spare time? My daughter does a lot on her own (oil painting, long distance running, song writing…) as well as organized group activities. I bet you do more than you think you do.
It would be a terrible idea to repeat HS a second time just to try to pump up your ECs. It won’t work. First college admissions officers would certainly wonder why you transferred to a less rigorous school for another junior year (and to do ECs would not be a good answer). What courses would you even take? Second, being new to a school as a junior who is 2 years older than your peers it would likely be difficult to get involved in school activities and getting a leadership position – if you are 2 years older than most students you may not fit in well. I am not sure you tried hard enough – most people can find a few hours now and then to do something during the school year and many people do something during the summer (even menial work experience would count).
That would do more damage because it shows that you are obsessed with impressing colleges instead of finding your passion or succeeding academically. Repeating a year just to get more activities is a very bad idea and they will not look upon it favorably. It’s going to be a major red flag.
I’m sorry, but I think this is one of the worst ideas I have ever seen. There is no way this will look good. Anyone reading your app is going to think that something went badly wrong at your last school that caused you to have to transfer and repeat the grade.
First of all, are you sure you have no ECs? Did you work? Play an instrument? anything?
And I agree that is a bad idea to repeat Junior year. Many many colleges don’t really care about ECs as much as you think they do.
I know it won’t look good on my transcript if I transferred to a less rigorous school. But what about if I transfer to a very good school, like those with very challenging academics and it’s hard to get in?