<p>Freshman:
President of Mock Trial Team
VP of Debate Team
20 hrs of community service (I'll definitely increase it)
Summer program at a local university
Pre-college piano program at a university</p>
<p>Sophomore:
Sophomore representative to student council
President of Mock Trial
VP of Debate
Pre-college piano program at a university
Swimming team
Cross country (maybe)
Mu Alpha Theta (maybe secretary; might even place in the competition)
Model UN</p>
<p>Junior:
Mock Trial (might not be president anymore, since I'll be transferring to a new school)
Debate (same as Mock Trial)
Model UN
Pre-college piano program
Swimming club
Cross country (or track) club
Mu Alpha Theta (might not be secretary for same reason stated above)</p>
<p>Video Game Culture club (will found it; if it already exists, will create some variant of it or some other club and will also captain the club)
A science/medicine oriented club (will found; it'll probably be a local chapter of a national organization, like the Red Cross or March for Dimes)</p>
<p>Senior:
See junior EC's
Might found another club
Might add another club or EC</p>
<p>Awards:
I'm confident that we'll place in state level for Mock Trial and maybe even debate next year
MAT, I will probably place in the mathematics competition
I'll also enter science fairs and stuff like ISTS and hopefully place at some level
I'm going to study hard for Olympiads so I can place in top 50 in Bio and Chem</p>
<p>Other:
I'm doing research with a professor this year that I hope to enter in stuff like ISEF, Google Science Fair, and maybe even publish
Next summer, I'm going to apply to some prestigious summer programs and if I don't get in, I'll do an internship with my aunt, who is an internist in New York
Junior year summer, same as sophomore year summer.</p>
<p>I'm also going to do cancer research after diabetes research.</p>
<p>^ I agree with ArtsyGirl13. Also, your projected ECs obviously look good because they are projected. Truth is, you most likely won’t reach all of these things. </p>
<p>I was like this and it worked fine until Junior year… I didn’t get a position and wasn’t able to do some stuff due to time, and I flipped out. Now, I realize it’s not a big deal. It’s better to love what you’re doing than to have a laundry list.</p>
<p>If you get involved in what you love eventually you’ll keep doing bigger and bigger things that are all concentrated on that thing that you love and are really good at. This looks REALLY good on colleges apps.</p>
<p>Read “How to be a High School Superstar” by Cal Newport. Doing a lot of ECs doesn’t make you impressive; taking one or two ECs deep enough to become the best is what really matters if you want to stand out.</p>
<p>FWIW: My daughter, who is currently a rising senior at Harvard, had 2 extra curricular activities in 4 years of high school – cheerleading and theater, but she devoted many hours to each, appearing in over 10 plays and musicals at her school and attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York one summer, as well as cheerleading camp. My son, who is a rising junior at Yale, had 1 extra curricular in 4 years of high school – baseball, which he played during the fall, spring and summer. Neither one of them had a single hour of community service. Zero. Zilch. None. Colleges are most interested in seeing depth, not breadth.</p>
<p>Yangmaster has it right, that book by Cal Ripkin is one you should read. Do it now, you still have time to incorporate those ideas over the next couple of years.</p>
<p>But note that Newport is still talking superstars. Not just the kid who, when the bell rings, heads down the hall to that hs activity. </p>
<p>There is no formula. There will always be kids who can say, well, I didn’t do x and y and succeeded. Because it’s not just the specific activities or the titles or even the competition level. It’s the qualities you show. Or not.</p>
<p>I see what you’re all saying. The thing is, I enjoy all of these activities (truly. Well, all except for cross country. I’m just doing that to help me with swimming)</p>
<p>Which EC’s do you think I should drop to show more depth?</p>
<p>Alright, so I did a bit of revision, and I’m definitely keeping Mock Trial, Debate, and the research (I’m really passionate about debating in general and I absolutely love science, especially Biology). I’ve also decided to keep piano, since it’s my favorite instrument. Swimming also helps me stay healthy, seeing as how obesity runs in my family, and I lost a lot of weight after starting.
Also, I’m not going to found a Video Game Culture Club. Rather, I will try to establish some sort of program that teaches science to younger kids and tries to foster an interest in scientific pursuits. I want to see people enjoy the beauty of science.</p>
<p>USABO and USNCO will be more like awards rather than extracurriculars. I’m dropping Model UN and MAT altogether.</p>