How Are My Extracurriculars for top 15?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi, I am currently a junior at a medium size high school.
My goals for college are top 15.
Im not sure if my ecs are good enough to have a okay chance. I have really good grades and test scores.
I think my clubs are pretty strong, but perhaps lacking in competitions

Robotics - 9, 10, 11
leadership council, programming lead, lead 3 other subgroups, have a chance at captain next year
200+ hrs of outreach for robotics

I started a nonprofit org. Its officially registered nonprofit in the state but there is a long way to 501c3. It just got started and we barely did anything for now. But hopefully it will grow. Plan to do operate in the community and toy drives for local hospital. We also have a plan to sponsor schooling kids in the 3rd world.

Internship - 9, 10, 11
I Interned every summer. Didnt do much freshmen year, but this year i will get my name on the next paper they publish.
I’m also planning to do some competitions such as isef.

Job Shadowing - 11
Have not started yet, but hope to get 50+ hours in.

French Honor Society 10,11

  • Secretary
    Mu Alpha Theta (club) 10,11
  • Secretary, will run for prez next year
    Red Cross 10,11
  • Core Leader
    Debate 9,10,11
  • Nothing, really. I hope to win something this year, though

Summer church camp counselor 9,10

Competitions

  • Thus far, i really dont have much in competitions.

I have a 90% chance of getting national merit so that may be on here soon

I’m working on an app for congressional app challenge. Someone from my school won it last year, and I think I can pull something similar to that. I have a really good shot at this but im not sure how much colleges weigh this.

Model UN - We compete at UChicago, so it is really hard to win. Trying again this year.

This year I plan to do physics olympiad and chem olympiad. I have a ok chance of qualifying to AIME as well as something on the chem olympiad.

Also I plan to do some science comps from internship this year like ISEF. Long shot.

I’m just beginning my junior year in high school. Please hmu with competitions that are easy to win :slight_smile:

oh did i mention im asian male? rip me

2

Ecs are fine. Do stuff you enjoy. Don’t do things you think the colleges want. Do things you truly enjoy. Your grades and stats are more important then your ecs

3

EC’s will not make up for poor academics. And being an Asian male is a strike against you at the top 15.

4

Your ECs wont hurt your chances but all seem pretty “standard” therefore nothing really stands out. If you have a passion for one area and really went “all out” to pursue that passion and showed meaningful results then it would make that EC stand out. Remember it’s quality not quantity.

5

@TomSrOfBoston OP actually mentioned that he has really good grades and test scores.

6

If your grades and test scores are within the range for the top 15 (which I’m assuming they are since you mentioned they were good), then I think you have a solid shot at the top 15. While your EC’s are not bad, most of the kids applying to these highly selective schools will have all of these same things. You being an Asian male is also a disadvantage unfortunately. You are going to have to try a little harder to stand out amongst all the other Asian applicants. If you CAN get your name on a published paper in time to include this in your application, that would be significant, as it is something not a lot of other applicants can say for themselves. It would also help if you could place in some of these competitions you mention. However, I would not just join a bunch of new clubs because you think it is what colleges would like. Focus on the activities you already take a part in and think about how you can further your role in those activities so that you can stand out amongst others. Keep your grades up, because junior year is critical! Draft an amazing personal statement and supplements next summer, and have them be read by as many people as possible. Then apply! The worst that could happen is that you get rejected, and hopefully you will have some safety schools you love to fall back on. Best of luck!

7

Good luck

8

Thanks for the advice guys!

GPA and test wise, I still have a 4.0 rn and hope to keep it through this year through 6 AP’s. 5’s on every AP taken, including HUG, world, CSA, and physics 1. Based on my practice tests, I’m expecting somewhere between 33-36 on my ACT. So I think the largest factor for college, besides essays, is extracurriculars.

For some of my clubs (robotics?) I already put in a lot of effort (hundreds of hours a year) I dont do it just for the resume and enjoy doing it,but i feel like there is no point in hyper-prioritizing it if I really cant gain much else (i already have abt 4 leadership pos.) Thoughts on this?

Probably not a lot of effort in FHS since they dont allow seniors to be officers. sorry french :frowning:

Red cross dosent take a lot of time, so I might put some time into it for a long shot at prez next year.

so to sum up this year I plan to focus 1. on keeping gpa, and 2. internship (get that thicc thicc paper) and competitions (i’m really lacking)
Clubs wise, I’m leaning towards getting my nonprofit going, get juice in mu alpha theta to run for prez next year, and throwing time into doing debate with a new partner. (Hopefully we can go to state?)

9

Where do you get the idea you need competitions/awards? Or an official 501c3 to collect toys or fund some students? (And a toy drive or supporting those in distant lands is not the same as rolling up your sleeves in your own community. Both of these ideas are rather “hands off.”) Or a published paper or a president title? Is Red Cross a hs club or actual involvement with the org, outside the hs, doing work with them?

How much do you really know what the top 15 look for, after stats? Think of the traction you’d get if, instead of fussing over non-profit status and reinventing the wheel, you were involved with an existing local adult organization.

If you want to study STEM why would you drop robotics?

How you think matters. Don’t make decisions until you’ve scoured what your targets say and show, and have made the effort to get an idea what they do want to see. You can “stand out” for your understanding and accurate sense of match. It’s not about publishing, titles, awards, etc, but the more everyday choices and commitments. And then, how you write in your app and supp.