The wait is killing me! How impressive do my ECs and awards look?
Math Honor Society 2016-p
High School Summa Cum Laude Honor Roll 2015-p
Precalculus Tutor 2016-p
Competitive figure skater for 11 years: 30+ hours a week training in the summer, 18+ hours a week during the school season
Learn-To-Skate Program: 50+ hours in 2013 as an assistant figure skating teacher for kids and adults
Learn-To-Skate Adaptive Program: 25 hours+ in 2013 as a figure skating instructor to children and teens with mental illnesses
25+ hours in dog adoptions for a adoption foundation 2013-2015
Professional Skaters Association Certified Figure Skating Coach 2016-p (private lesson coach)
Figure skating Learn-To-Skate instructor for students ages of 3 and older, 2015-present
Figure skating teacher for students ages 3-50 years in group lessons, 2014-present (Youngest figure skating instructor at the ice rink to begin teaching at the age of fifteen.)
Rising Leaves Figure Skating Competition 2016 silver medal in senior division and several other awards for local competitions
Skating Club's Memorial Award 2015 – given to the skater who represented the skating club and is the farthest in qualifying competitions of the highest level (50+ skaters in the club)
Senior Free Skate Test Gold Medalist (passed highest figure skating free skate test level possible), 2015
Senior Moves Test Gold Medalist (passed highest figure skating moves test level possible), 2014
You really try to drag it out but something like that is honestly something that can be summed up in a paragraph. It is pretty impressive, but not that diversified (which may be an issue).
Pretty good for state schools but your chances for Ivy are pretty low with those EC’s.
The whole premise that top colleges are looking largely for “well-rounded” students is false. They are looking to build a well-rounded class. Does this mean having a good amount of well-rounded students? Yes. Does this mean having a good amount of “focused” students with virtuosic ability in specific disciplines, sports, arts, or other activities? Also, yes.
I’ve heard a number of admissions officers say that they look to create a well rounded class. That does not mean that every individual has to be well rounded – they want a mix of well rounded individuals and individuals who have specific talents/interests.
In any event you are who you are so be proud of it and seek out colleges that will be a good fit for you moving forward.
Well-rounded student does multiple sports, does science competitions and writes on their free time, and even cooks.
A student in a well-rounded class might be pretty good at debate & speech, participating in many government-related activities. They might be good at one sport, like soccer.
That doesn’t mean well-rounded students are frowned upon. The admissions committee looks at the class as a whole and fills in the gaps. If they need a trombone player and the well-rounded student is a good trombone player with 3 years of experience in honors band, they might take that student. Institutional priorities are out of your control, so like everyone says: JUST BE YOURSELF.
I really like your resume. Can you provide GPA, test scores, and which schools you applied to? You have a very focused list of activities (primarily figure skating + community service).
I think your resume is very good. Some other users might be saying that you need to be even more “well-rounded”, but I do not agree with this. Your commitment to skating is excellent. People try and be a super diverse person just to stand out to colleges, but the thing is that if you are very committed to an EC, that will look better than jumping around. For example, a family friend of mine has a son and daughter. The son’s application included tons of sports, activities, clubs, classes, etc. The daughter’s application mentioned her personal blog, which has over ten thousand followers. Both had good grades. The son did not get in and the daughter did.
What are your grades/ test scores?
@RMNiMiTz
An example of a well rounded student could be an excellent all-around student who is on the football team (but not a recruited athlete), writes for the school newspaper, plays violin, and does community service work. In short, a well rounded student would have multiple academic and extracurricular strengths and interests.
In assembling a class, most colleges want a well rounded class. That will include some individuals who are well rounded individuals as well as people who have developed special interests or talents. Some examples of people with special interests/talents could be:
–a student who is a recruited athlete and spends most of his/her time outside of class training for a particular sport.
–a student who is a truly superior musician or artist etc. and spends a great deal of time to hone those skills.
–a student who is very invested in the sciences, who has done research at a high level, perhaps has taken a number of college level science classes, had a successful Intel project etc.
These are but a few examples. The idea is that either pathway is fine. If a student is well-rounded that is great. If a student has a particular interest or talent that is great as well. Colleges look well rounded students as well as students with particular strengths/ talents in different areas to fill its class.
In the OP’s case he/she has been very directed in terms of activities with a huge focus on figure skating, and has met with success. In general, don’t believe this focus will be a problem for the OP in terms of college admissions.
A well-rounded class at an elite school is usually made up of students who may be more “pointed” in their talents and also those who are well-rounded. Specific talents and class dynamics may be sought after depending on institutional needs. An obvious example would be Michigan recruiting amazing players for the football team who may not necessarily have the best academic qualifications, especially compared to the rest of their peers at Michigan (although I am sure they often do). These players are usually “pointed” or “focused” in their talent.
A well-rounded student is a student who is like a “jack of all trades”.
my gpa overall is 3.4uw/3.8w with an upward trend (3.7 uw junior year) at a very competitive high school. I took 9 APs total and my new sat score is a 1310. I applied to BU, Northeastern, Vandy (Education), NYU Steinhardt, Amherst, Middlebury, Colgate, University of Richmond, Hamilton, and a couple safeties. I’ll be happy if I get into one of them haha. Thanks for all the feedback!