So I have good grades but that alone wont get me into good colleges.
Im a sophomore and what I have so far is:
Marching band (freshman-now)
Natonal beta club
30 something hours of community service
This summer, attending a program
But so far thats all I have. Next year I plan to join:
Math club
Spanish club
Continue marching and beta
Interact club
Volunteer at hospital and local library
But is all this enough?
You need something MUCH more than mere membership in clubs!
A leadership position, an achievement, a distinction or anything that is special. You must spend quality time in your club and do something productive. Please be aware that the admissions officers are well aware of applicants who join clubs simply to increase the number of clubs on their ECs.
Until and unless you can do something significant in any of the clubs you join, no point in joining it.
And the same goes out for all other ECs. Adcoms want to see PASSION in the student. They want to know what interests you and what you care about.
A student extensively involved in one club is much more valuable than a student who is a member of ten different clubs.
aimivan - If you want some more detailed help from this board - you need to be more specific about your “good grades” - and also what a “good college” consists of - for you.
And please keep in mind that unless you are expecting to try for an Ivy or a top LAC, ECs really don’t matter. My EC advice is usually to do what YOU want to do - NOT what you think some AdCom wants to see. And not to disagree with "determined2300 - but to add to their thoughts about passion and numbers - I see nothing wrong with your plan to join more clubs. You might need a range of experience in order to run into “your passion”. Also worth pointing out - I have 2 kids admitted to super selective NU - and neither of them had “club or team leadership” roles in HS. So do what you want to - and there will be a school that will appreciate what you are all about. Don’t join a club or team because you think it will look good - join them because you want to! Good Luck.
@nugraddad My goal is stanford, but I’m realistic and plan to apply to other in state and out of states.
My grades: (operate on a two semester schedule)
9:
English ap prep - 88
Biology honors - 96
World history honors - 91
Algebra 2 honors - 91
Band A - 92
Band B - 95
Microsoft Excel/Access honors - 98
Health/PE - 100
10:
English ap prep - 93
Chemistry honors - 95
Spanish 1 - 97
Band a - 95
Civics&economics honors - 98 (in progress)
Precalc honors - 97 (in progress)
Band b - 96 (in progress)
Weighlifting - 99 (in progress)
Schedule for next year:
AP calc AB (first sem)
AP calc BC (second sem)
American history honors 1
American history honors 2
AP english lang and comp
AP Biology
AP psychology
I am in top 5% of my class.
Those clubs do actually interest me and Im not doing it just to add clubs, but it does help.
@determined2300 i will most likely get a leadership position in marching and math club.
Other than that theres not much my school offers. Its a small high school with about 1000 kids.
And im worried about competing against others to stanford (again im realistic but have hope) when I see their ECs are really full and I just have this.
It is the quality instead of quantity that is more important.
Try for maybe some outside of school extracurriculars related to your passions. Find a volunteer opportunity at your local music school and teach disadvantaged kids band lessons for free, or try to score high in the AIME and make it into the USAMO. Perhaps start your own initiative in do some projects. Clubs are way overdone.
The question about impressive EC’s comes up regularly on the forum. There is a thread with several posts by Northstarmom, a 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/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html
As you will see from that link, at the most selective colleges they are looking for depth more than just participation. Stanford, for example, says
I see you as having minimal participation so far in a few things and planning on adding minimal effort to a couple more. No college is going to believe you were very involved in anything when you have a laundry list of 8+ activities! Take a look at this video which actually is a former Stanford adcom talking about this point https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96XL8vBBB7o
Kinda ironic that by fixing your “worry” you will lower your chances of admission…
2 very interesting articles about ECs that stand out and how to get them (same author, different examples) are at [How to Be Impressive](The Art of Activity Innovation: How to Be Impressive Without an Impressive Amount of Work - Cal Newport) and [Save This Grind?](Case Study: How Could We Save This Ridiculously Overloaded Grind? - Cal Newport) I don’t buy into his underlying explanation of why they are impressive, but take a look at these 2 articles and I think you’ll get some original ideas.
Take a look at “How to be a High School Superstar” by Cal Newport. How to turn your interests into stellar ECs.
It’s not about what ECs you do, it’s how you contribute within them. Think about the things that you naturally add value to and focus on those. It’s naturally easier to contribute more value in something that is a passion or genuine interest. Those are the kinds of details that need to be conveyed in your application.
Have you heard the saying “Jack of all trades, Master of none”???
It means that if you spread yourself too thin, you can’t possibly do a decent job.
Find the activities you really love, and devote yourself to them.
These 4 years of high school are NOT just about pulling together fodder for a college application. They’re about growing and learning and determining what you want to do with your life and what you want to do with our time. Your choice of Extra Curricular activities is part of that process.