<p>Hi, I'm a freshman and I'm not sure how many clubs to join. I want to do my school newspaper on Tuesday or Wednesday, History Club on Wednesday, Amnesty International on Thursday, and eventually volunteer work at a cerebral palsy association on Saturday and Sunday and maybe Friday. Should I add Future Business Leaders of America on Monday? I'm just worried I won't have a lot of time to do my homework since I'm in all honors and Future Business Leaders of America and History Club do a lot of field trips and volunteer work. What do you think?</p>
<p>My recommendation is that you limit yourself to a select few clubs/ECs that you can really devote your time to. You said that you are a freshman and in all honors. Though I don’t know the rigor of your school, I can tell you that it isn’t always going to be as easy as you think. Don’t underestimate your schedule, as it’ll catch up to you and pass you by without any warning. Doing all of these clubs is great, but can you really devote your time and attention properly to every one of them, aside from doing well in school?</p>
<p>Also, I might be wrong here, but colleges like to see a concentration of ECs rather than a blanket of them. What I mean is, the more spread out you are in your ECs, the less ‘credible’ you appear to be in passionately being involved in each one. By being selective in your ECs, not only will you have time to manage both school and outside activities, but you’ll be able to enjoy them more and at the same time make a better impression on the adcoms.</p>
<p>I took 1 AP and the rest (5) Honors with tennis and was in 7 clubs, with a leader position in a few of them, and piano and Chinese School on Saturdays too. Not that hard.</p>