Hello! First post on College Confidential!
I’m applying to a couple of top tier STEM institutions (Northwestern, Cornell, MIT, etc.) and I’m wondering how good, generally, are the extracurriculars of accepted applicants? Since I am a straight, white male, how good do my extracurriculars have to be to have a shot at being accepted?
This is a great question – we recently covered this topic in a College Confidential article, which you can find here: https://insights.collegeconfidential.com/extracurriculars-that-help-you-stand-out
Schools are not looking at a checklist for students to tick off at top schools. They look at EC’s as indicias of what a student may bring to the University outside of the classroom. Qualities that EC’s may showcase include, leadership, teamwork, perseverance, empathy, dedication/loyalty. AO’s also may consider if EC’s are consistent with the applicant’s stated academic interests, but they do not have to be exclusively so. Bottom line, it is not about the EC’s themselves, but the quality of your participation in them. BTW, working part time or taking care of family members are fine activities.
Yes. I understand that there’s no uniformity to how colleges judge extracurriculars. What I am asking is how can I judge if the quality of my involvement is on par with my competition?
“What I am asking is how can I judge if the quality of my involvement is on par with my competition?”
That’s tough to do. It goes back to the example of an applicant who is the best clarinet player in the world, but this particular year his/her dream college is in need of flutists and quarterbacks. The clarinet player gets waitlisted.
Look up the Coke Scholarship and read the histories of some of it’s past recipients. If you don’t feel super inadequate in comparison, you just might stand a good chance.
Stanford, to give one example, says
There was a post several years back by Northstarmom (Ivy alum interviewer) about what constitutes impressive ECs from the point of view of the most selective colleges. The post is at http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/2646596/#Comment_2646596
For the schools you mentioned, most kids have national impact ECs. Whether in sports, volunteering, or doing something, they have done something beyond a state level and stood out. There isn’t a singular thing, it’s just those schools are looking for people who stand out in a crowd of excellence. There are 100 applicants and these schools have 5-10 spots so the competition is fierce. So many don’t realize this and waste their time. Better to know where you fit in than applying to schools where you are not a fit ( up or down).
"For the schools you mentioned, most kids have national impact ECs. Whether in sports, volunteering, or doing something, they have done something beyond a state level and stood out. "
I do not agree with that. Most kids that go to T20, T10 or even HYPSM do not have national impact EC’s. Having those definitely helps, and they help immensely because they are so rare. As a practical matter how many national recognition awards, even counting semifinalists, finalists and not just winners are out there? How many 18 year olds can lead a non-profit to a national impact level?
Anecdotally, my kids attend(ed) T20 schools, with S is at Y. They were also admitted to several other top schools. They had no national level recognition. They were very active in their school and our community and could point to tangible contributions they made in their apps. They also received some district and regional awards/recognition. I do not know of any of their circle of friends at school that had national impact EC’s. Two of S’s close friends got into H the same year he got into Y, same story. I have interviewed for Y for over 25 years. I have yet to interview a national EC impact applicant. Lot’s of Eagle Scouts, student body/class presidents, district, regional and even state level winners/finalists in debate, music, literature, math, and science activities. Now does having this level of EC’s get you in? No, because most of the people you are competing against are also at that level. But it does make you competitive.
I generally agree with the groupings that were linked in post #5.
@BKSquared I would disagree. Even 30 years ago, kids had very special things to get into these schools. Today, it’s even crazier.
We live in NE. Kids all have lots of activities. A kid who is not URM, legacy, or Division I athlete will have a major impact thing. Of course, if you apply from WY, are a URM, have a very unusual story, your results might be different. If you are coming from a place w
Also, HYPM is very different from top 20 where I completely agree those traits you mentioned would likely suffice.
And the reputation of the school ( public or private) matters a lot.
The kids we know well who have been accepted to schools with <10% rates all have something regional, national or even higher. I find it hard to believe that in 25 years you have never had an All American in sport or someone who went to nationals, a kid who placed high in Intel, a kid with an amazing musical talent who played/placed nationally. No national scholastic award winners? No one who won a national award? Not one?
My kids know kids in all these categories. The kids you cite would be going to good schools too, but certainly not Yale.