Hi Guys!
I’ve been stressed out these days by checking other students’ stats. I’m an international student (Iran), and I wasn’t planning on applying to U.S. universities. Recently, I started checking the requirements but I didn’t have much time to start doing new activities.
I know what I’ve done is almost nothing compared to what American students do in high school, but I don’t really have the opportunity to do an internship or other amazing activities that Americans do.
Here are my ECs. I listed the ones that I was really passionate about (to be honest, I don’t like one of them but I just mentioned it). What I’m worried about is that I’m a swimmer and used to play volleyball. I feel like colleges will think that I’ve focused too much on sport. Do you think it will be better if I just don’t mention that I played volleyball in high school?
- Oh I forgot to say my major. I might go undecided OR choose to major in biology with a minor in astronomy.
I’d be grateful if you guys could take a look at my list!
• I’ve been taking classes in an astronomy institute for 2 years. We do experiments and sometimes we go to places where we can use our telescope for observing planets and stars. (This is my favorite extracurricular activity)
• I’ve been a professional swimmer and attended regional and national competitions. (Won +10 medals in regional and 1 bronze medal in national competition). I also set a provincial record for the 100 meters freestyle.
• I teach English to students that can’t afford attending English classes outside school.
• I’ve been a lifeguard for ~ 4 years and was trained to participate in a national lifeguard competition.
• I’m a member of an environmental organization. We spend ~5 hours on Fidays cleaning jungles and sometimes streets.
• I’ve been a translator and have translated materials for PhD students (Persian to English).
• Beisdes my mother tongue (Persian). I know Arabic and German (~A2) (we have to learn Arabic in school, but I became interested in that language and took a 6-month course. For German, it took me 2 years to learn it and become fluent. It was REALLY harder than Arabic for me :)))
• I used to be an amateur journalist. I was chosen based on my sophomore GPA and an interview in a cultural center (this is what I didn’t enjoy doing. It was cool and many students like it but I just felt like it was not for me).
• I played volleyball in high school and our team won 3 gold medal in 3 competitions. I was chosen to play for our regional team, but I didn’t since I LOVE swimming :))))