I know that a lot of the top schools really value extracurriculars, but I only have two ECs, maybe three. I do a sport that takes up around 15 hours/week for the entire year and a job that also takes up 15 hours/week. I occasionally take babysitting jobs too, but I’m not sure if that’s significant enough to add to my applications.
My highest reach school is Vanderbilt, and maybe Brown. How much of a disadvantage will I be at in comparison to other applicants since I don’t have tons of ECs?
Do you not belong to any clubs? Participate in volunteer activities in your community?
No. All of the clubs at my school meet at the same time as the sports so you can’t do both, and I’ve never been able to find a volunteer job near me that had hours that I could do.
Think quality, not quantity.
If you can use what you DO (the sport and the job) to showcase the qualities that will make you a good applicant, that is fine. I have heard college administrators make a point of saying that working a job to help support your family is every bit as legitimate an “activity” as being president of a club, etc. You do not need “tons” of activities. You just need to show how the ones in which you participated are important.
If you were to have lots of free time on your hands and were not using your time well to get involved in activities, however, that would be different.
You do 30 hours/week of extra curriculars…that is a lot! Don’t worry about the quanity of the activities.
I would however, try to find a way to show leadership…Captain of the team? Promotions at work or being a trainer of new employees? Many colleges don’t care that much about ECs…look in the Common Data Set in section C7 for how much they emphasize ECs.
Agree, 30 hours/week in ECs is just fine. Colleges generally value quality/depth of involvement over quantity of clubs. You can certainly include babysitting even if it isn’t a lot – is another small job.
Remember :the point of an application is to highlight what you HAVE done, not to worry about what you haven’t done.
Playing a sport at that level of commitment plus a part time job is much better than a few clubs that meet for 45 minutes once/week or so. I agree, however, that how you describe/explain the sport and the job are crucial so that the AOs easily recognize you are describing 25-30 hours per week of activity.
You may also want to elaborate on WHY you work 15 hours per week, esp. if the reason is that your family needs money, you need to save for college, or something along those lines—as opposed to a big reason when I was young, which was to afford car payments for a Pontiac Firebird (think tacky race car for suburbanites) you really didn’t need, or because you like to spend money on video games.
^^^I think working for any reason is valuable, even if it is to earn one’s own spending money for hobbies/interests whatever they may be.
I’m working to save for college and just because I like my job.
Congratulations on your hard work and success! And it sounds like you are working hard and doing well. If you have stats even marginally competitive at these schools, you’ll be able to find a terrific school.
Personally, I think working is one of the best things for a young person to do. It teaches so many important skills and attitudes, and takes students out of school and put them in their community, where they are participating members, contributing to what is happening there, and being rewarded for helping others in the community. It’s great.
That said, Vanderbilt might be a place that appreciates it less than other schools. Here’s a link about it’s Class of 2022. Note the stats, including on students holding leadership positions. It is, after all, currently one of the most competitive school in terms of admissions (ACT range was 28-32 about a decade or so ago). From the press release:
"SAT Middle 50% Evidence Based Reading and Writing: 730-780
SAT Middle 50% Math: 770-800
ACT Middle 50%: 33-35
PERCENT OF STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED ONE OR MORE SIGNIFICANT HONORS OR HELD MAJOR LEADERSHIP POSITIONS: 100%"
I generally think of large public universities as being more stat focused and less EC focused, and LACs as being more EC focused, since the communities are much smaller and making sure their are people who will be very active and contribute a lot to the college community and college vibe is more important. Of course, that’s just a general theory and certainly won’t apply in all cases.
Will you require merit or need-based aid? What other schools are of interest to you? If Vanderbilt or Brown work out, great! If not there are, fortunately, lots of great choices. Like all students, you’ll want matches and safeties that you’d like to attend and are affordable. Would William and Mary be of interest? Some ways similar to Vanderbilt. Public university, expensive out of state, and very competitive OOS, more so for females than males. ECs are important but maybe a little less so. What about UVA? Or Rochester, academics as strong as Vanderbilt, very competitive but a little less so.
@TTG Thank you!!
My stats aren’t really that competive for those schools. I have a 3.6 UW GPA, 4.3 W, and 30 ACT.
I will probably need merit or need based aid unless I go to an in state school.
There are a lot of other schools that I’m looking at. I’ve already applied to the University of Alabama as a safety, and other schools on the top of my list are Penn State and Wake Forest. My top choice is Vandy though. I am interested in William and Mary and UVA too.
I don’t think you are competitive for Brown. Your UW GPA is low, and it doesn’t sound like you are a recruitable athlete.
I think you need to get better advice on your list. You have a lot of public universities that you are likely OOS for. You won’t get good aid from them, which it sounds like you need.
Your have good stats and can absolutely go to lots of great schools. A couple of things I think will be helpful.
Make sure that you consider the financial side carefully. The worst case scenario, which is very possible today, is that you get accepted to a couple of great schools and then find that they are not affordable. Be sure to run the net price calculator (NPC) for all schools you are seriously considering. This will give you a good estimate of what you are expected to pay. I know Wake Forest does not give significant merit aid, except to an extremely small % of students. It’s increasing need-based aid, so you could give that a shot. It primarily gives full-pay students a top-notch education. I know William and Mary does not offer much aid to OSS students, though it has increased it a lot for in-state students in last couple of years. UVA, I believe, is very similar, and like Vandy has seen a huge spike in applicants in recent years.
There are basically three routes:
Look to the public universities in your state. These will probably include at least one world-class research university, and many states have more than one such school. Take Indiana. You have IU and Purdue right off the bat, besides other good schools. You can go anywhere and do anything at these schools.
Need-based aid: Perhaps the best place to start is to google “colleges that meet full financial need.” It’s important to understand that many of these schools, like Vanderbilt, are extremely competitive, and a long reach for you, and for most students. Not to say you couldn’t do great at them, just an impersonal matter of supply and demand. Ten years ago, you would have been right in the ACT range for Vandy, now you’re 3 points lower than the 25% mark. What changed? The number of applicants–demand. What didn’t change much? The number of seats in the freshman class-supply. Also, a school on this list might be “need aware” and preference applicants who will be full pay. Also, it may calculate that a student can pay more than they can actually pay. I find Holy Cross on this list. Academics are equal to those at Vanderbilt (outstanding). It would be a reach but your score is in range and your UW and W GPA suggests you’re taking challenging classes. I also see Lafayette and Gettysburg, which would also be reasonable places to run the NPC, and terrific schools. Also Trinity College and Union College. I believe Trinity has seen a big bump in applications in recent years.
Merit aid: Some schools will offer a high % of accepted students a generous merit aid offer. The key is to be on the higher end in terms of stats. You can google “colleges that give generous merit aid.” A couple that come to mind are Denison, College of Wooster, and Kalamazoo College. They are not as well known as Vandy and Brown, obviously, but are excellent schools. They have very nice campuses and terrific students, faculty, and staff. Merit aid can turn a $60k+ sticker price into something more like $35k-$50k. That is why running the NPC is so important. To see where you are in this range, or if you would do even better, or not as well. Depending on your family financial situation, it is conceivable that you might get some aid at some OOS state flagships that are major research universities but less competitive in admissions, like a Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, etc. Is Alabama your home state?
If you are male, then you might look at schools, especially LACs, with a high % of female students. Schools like Kalamazoo and Connecticut College work hard to bring in male students to maintain something of gender parity (many more female students in college in general today). STEM schools can be the opposite. They are trying to bring in more female students to achieve more gender parity. If female, you might consider Mount Holyoke.
Bottom line: the most competitive schools are insane these days, but GREAT NEWS there are lots of terrific schools. Just focus on find the one that is a great fit for you, is accessible in terms of admission, and is affordable. Use the NPCs and eliminate schools that appear will just be too expensive. Again, all these schools I mention are excellent. I would be happy for my kids to go to any of them, if they were a fit for the individual kid.
Again, it sounds like you have a great work ethic and very positive attitude, which will be a great benefit to you in the college admissions process, and life.
Good luck
Thanks!
I’m female and my home state is Illinois.
The more competitive a college is, the more you have to be what they want. That does mean a higher gpa and higher level of engagement. In particular, when you state the major you’re interrested in (is this still education?,) they will look to see if you actually pursued anything relevant to that, got some experience, tested the supposed interest.
Nothing working with kids besides occasional babysitting (which is not a tip?) Nothing to do with education or advocacy? Thousands of kids appplying will have found the occasional time to expand.
Imo, the ideal (boiled down) is things you do because you like them or they fit your future goals; things with peers (clubs, school play, whatever) or your culture group, religious group, etc; and things you do in your community, because you see a need and are willing (comm service or volunteer.)
On top of all that, the more competitive colleges want to see that drive, the energy, an openness. Show, not just tell.
But that leaves tons of great colleges where you can thrive. If you don’t have one, get a Fiske Guide to Colleges. And yes, run the NPCs, (they work bestif your parents are married to each other and not self employed.)
@lookingforward Thanks! The major I’m interested is still education. My job is at a daycare, so I do work with kids a lot.
Ok, good. But is there anything else, other than watching kids or teaching small lessons, that you’ve done that relates to an interest in education?
Btw, It’s only early July. You can likely add something. But still, the most competitive colleges are their own challenge. In my area, the very best college for an ed major isn’t any of the top colleges, at all. It’s a local directional with a strong rep in education studies.
I don’t think I’ve done anything else.
Check out Denison and run the NPC. I think that might end up appealing to you. Beautiful school, great town, close to a city, and an up-and-comer in terms of reputation and popularity. It has an education major, and gives merit aid. I do think College of Wooster might also be a good bet, especially financially.
Thanks! I’ll look at those.