How strictly should extracurricular activities relate to major choice?

College Majors
1

Hello CC!

I’ve realized that the majority of my activities do not fit into my intended major (I am applying to college next year).

Many of them relate to writing (NaNoWriMo, poetry club, essay competitions, personal blog, etc.), especially as I can do the majority of these under my parents’ radar.

Also, one of my favorite activities is rather “broad” and “overly-academic” (as said from my counselor). I truly love Academic Decathlon, and I will be the captain; I have a string of regional medals and national medals and I am ranked highest in my region. I restarted the team and put in countless hours for myself and for my team members; needless to say, this is my main extracurricular! However, with 10 subjects, it lacks a centralized focus besides a love of learning, and my counselor has instilled many doubts in me on its significance to the college application process.

I am also involved in Scouts, summer jobs, tutoring, and retreat planning, with the “stereotypical” high scores and “traditional” activities of NHS/CSF/student council/clubs/etc. The only activity truly unique to me is my sculpture creations, which is a private endeavor and hard to prove anyway. Essay perhaps?:slight_smile:

***Main Question: I would like to try for highly-ranked schools; however, my activities do not strictly relate to my preferred major, neuroscience/biology. My only related activity is my presidency of STEM club, and individual studying on Khan Academy and browsing of journals. If anything, I seem to focus on writing and learning in general.

Would this be detrimental for me during college admissions? I honestly love what I do right now, even though they are not “stunning” or very focused (as compared to a science major with research experience, summer programs, and science club leadership). Should I apply as an X major and switch to neuroscience if I am accepted? Or do colleges only want demonstrated interest in any field? Even if it is as broad as mine? :slight_smile:

To put into context, I have to tutor/take care of my sister after school, and my parents are somewhat traditional in their rules, as according to their culture (e.g. I can’t leave my community, let alone the city/state; I am not allowed to drive; I can’t do activities that are too far away). We are also not the most comfortably well-off people, which also prevents a lot of paid summer programs (if at all), and my jobs pay for my and my sister’s school supplies. Of course, I understand these are probably(?) not factored into admissions decisions, so I hope I stand out enough on my own at this phase of my life.

Thank you! Any advice is warmly appreciated.

2

Take a deep breath.

In many countries the only ECs that matter are those related to your major, and your major is all you study. With a few exceptions (notably engineering) most colleges only look at your possible major as an suggestion: they know that a very large number of students change their intended major. Moreover, US colleges do not generally prefer one-note songs: they are trying to build a community and that means people who are interested in doing different things, and who will participate within the community.

Based on how you have presented your ECs I wouldn’t be surprised if you aren’t doing too many things- not too few! Depth over breadth and genuine accomplishment will serve you well. Have you read [url=<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways%5Dthis%5B/url”>http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways]this[/url] or [url=<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/there_is_no_formula%5Dthis%5B/url”>http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/there_is_no_formula]this[/url]?

As for your rules and responsibilities, and your financial limitations: they are not negatives in the application process. Like all students, your background is part of your story, but (to paraphrase the inimitable Matilda) “Nobody but you is gonna write your story”: you take the raw material of your life and what you make of it is who you are.

3

You’re allowed to be interested in more than one thing!

Nobody is expecting a 17-year-old to have planned her life out so narrowly and predictably that all of her extracurricular activities from the age of 13 dovetail neatly into her choice of major (or even that you will retain that choice of major or career throughout college). Furthermore, no one expects every single one of your hobbies and interests to be directly related to your major (or to each other).

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Academic Decathlon and being interested in a lot of different things and exhibiting a general love of learning. I think it’s short-sighted to suggest that 17-year-olds are supposed to establish themselves as silos of interest in only Column A with maybe a dash of Column B for interest. The truth is, most high school seniors have no idea what they want to do with the rest of their lives but have lots of things they love. Heck, I’m 29 and I don’t know what I want to do with the rest of my life. I also have lots of varied interests, many of which have nothing to do with the career I currently work in. My life would be so super boring if everything I did was related to work.

Also, the most interesting college students are the ones who realize that everything is related. There are lots of scientists who maintain science-related blogs; lots of scientists who have become science writers and write news articles and essays on the current state of science and who translate findings for the general public. (There are also science illustrators, science policy advocates, mathematicians who create models for science, people who develop software for scientific use, historians of science, philosophers of science…all fields intersect with all other fields in some way.)

And yes, of course admissions officers evaluate you in your context. They compare what you have done against what opportunities are available to you. You can write about that! I wrote a supplemental essay to my top choice colleges explaining that my parents were not supportive of my attending college and also had traditional views that prevented me from doing a lot of extracurricular activities outside of school, so I did the best that I could. I also wrote about how I had taken up a lot of personal hobbies that were more individual activities - much like yours, writing, academics, reading a lot, etc. You can write an essay about that, you can explain it in short answers…admissions counselors aren’t trying to admit a bunch of identical robots. They want real students with real stories.

You’ll be fine!

4

Thank you so much! This advice was really useful, and I appreciate the time you took to post these answers. I will venture onwards and hope for the best. :slight_smile: