College app season is here and I’m about to lose all the hair on my head. Just want opinions on my list of activities.
-varsity/club soccer- captain
-youth group leader (pretty involved)
-tutoring refugees (among other things. not basic)
-job at McDonalds
-Beta club- Pres.
-FBLA-VP
Doesn’t seem like much but work and soccer take up most of my time. Looking to apply to highly selective schools and want to know whether my app will get booted from first glance at my ECs. Might not be super interesting things for others but I am very passionate about them.
Also, I have a few other less significant activities such as hospital volunteering over the summer that I am apprehensive about adding. Less is more amirite?
Don’t worry about the activity title. What did you do with your varsity soccer? Did you captain the team to states? How many people did you reach out to in youth group? I know many kids with ECs similar to yours at fantastic schools now (given high test scores/GPA). It’s 20% what you’re involved in, and 80% how much of an impact you’ve made. There’s a major difference between, say, being a FBLA national qualifier/finalist vs. placing 34th at regionals. Basically, your ultimate goal is to show on your activities section that these aren’t BS clubs/involvements - you’re actually dedicated. I know it’ll be hard to do in 150 characters, but really let these shine through.
Maybe you can even write your essay from a unique perspective about an EC on that list that you have a different or unusually interesting detail about. Don’t waste your time talking about scoring the game-winning penalty in extra time, or how soccer’s made you a better person - you’ll sink into the pile of cliches. Use the essay as an opportunity to creatively show your dedication, or a cool enlightening experience or something you genuinely appreciate about ____ (youth group, soccer, FBLA, etc.). As long as you can steer clear of cliches, you should definitely be in the competitive loop!
Not as important as grades, test scores, LORs, and essays.