<p>I am a good student I am taking many AP classes and have pretty high SAT scores, But I am just now realizing that I have NO EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, is it too late for me to get some? I'm a member of two clubs now, an officer in one but from what I have heard thats not enough. Any suggestions for something i can do now that will really stand out on my app I'm open to any thing at this point.</p>
<p>You can get into most colleges in the country as long as you have good grades and scores. It’s only the tippy top ones – Harvard, Amherst, Stanford and the like – that factor things like ECs into admission because they have an overabundance of high stat applicants and can pick and choose from among those to create active, well rounded student bodies.</p>
<p>Other than that, your lack of ECs can hurt you because you’re missing out on opportunities to learn about and develop your own interests, talents and leadership skills.</p>
<p>Dude I’m in the same predicament as you!!
I think maybe the first thing you should do is apply for a prestigious summer program? or Perhaps an internship over the summer. That’s what I’m planning on doing. NIH is pretty good but it depends on where you live. Also, you should enter competitions of some sort. Depends on what you’re good at but like you, i totally realized I have absolutely no EC’s and so that’s pretty much what I’m planning on doing. Maybe you can enter olympiads or science bowl?</p>
<p>Wonderful answer, this helps make me a little less stressed out. I will probably join some more clubs and stuff anyways just in case.</p>
<p>Joining random clubs last minute isn’t worth it and will be very obvious to admission officers. </p>
<p>It is possible that you aren’t totally aware of what ECs are in the admission process? Anything you do outside of school would count. That includes sports, youth groups, religious groups, jobs (even babysitting), volunteering, etc.</p>
<p>The summer thing is a good idea b/c admission officers don’t look down on it if you do it for only one summer. Stay away from piling up on last minute ECs. HOWEVER, if they are VERY relevant to your intended major/ field of study you may want to a consider a very limited amount.</p>
<p>You can also try to get a part-time job of some sort during the summer (or even now, if you have time). You’ll make money and be able to put it on your applications, as well.</p>
<p>It’s never too late…
Obviously it’s kind of late for sports; you could try drama or join an art/writing club if that’s your thing.
If you’re a science person, maybe find some research opportunities or start a project on your own.
Interships/jobs are nice, too, I guess.
Last resort: start a garage band with your friends… or start your own club. Or start writing a bunch of stuff for the school newspaper or lit magazine.
Depends on what you’re good at.</p>
<p>Follow what you like to do. Colleges would rather see “passion” than just a time-filler-upper. For instance, if you like computers, you could be designing web sites, or creating some business. Doesn’t have to be a standard, school-based extra-curricular. Colleges also look to see if you’ve busy with other activities, like a job or sports. Presumably, you’re getting some kind of leadership skills too and that’s what colleges look for.</p>
<p>you are a bit screwed when applying to the top 25 colleges, but again, theres nothing a perfect sat score cant fix lol XP
now on to the real topic, all you can do is do what ever you can do for now. join interesting and legit clubs (no i am sorry but national daydreaming federation doesnt count) and show the colleges that you have interests outside school</p>
<p>^ Not true. A perfect SAT score will fix very little, but it’s nice.</p>
<p>The good news, OP, is that if your scores are truly spectacular then you still have a shot at some of the top 25 schools. My EC record was a little like yours–a few clubs, no leadership positions, I played an instrument (piano) but had no awards and the school I got into never saw it anyway–and I think I did all right for myself. That’s not a guarantee, of course, but it is something.</p>
<p>Definitely do something over the summer. Get an internship, get a job (this is always a good thing), do volunteer work–something interesting that shows commitment and maturity. Related to your intended major, if that’s possible. Last summer I did research at Georgia State, wrote a paper, and submitted it to Siemens and Intel. I won exactly nothing, but I think having that experience still helped me. And it was fun.</p>
<p>Check to see if the schools you are interested in have EA which only considers GPA, SATs/ACT scores and rigor of schedule. That’s what the University of Georgia has. RD and deferred applicants have to submit part B of the application which asks for ECs.</p>
<p>^ To clarify, not all EA programs are like UGA’s. State schools may do this but the very top colleges won’t.</p>
<p>So, by no ECs, you mean two? You’re a lot better off than you think you are. Firstly, because not overloading yourself with 3000 useless, ineffective clubs, you’ve had the opportunity to maintain a rigorous courseload with good grades–and, presumably, you’ve picked up a few top-notch recs along the way. Assuming your SATs and essays pull through, you’re in a decent place to apply to top schools.</p>
<p>Secondly, top colleges aren’t looking for the kid in every club. They’re looking for passionate, talented kids–leaders, or writers, or computer scientists, or…you get the gist. So the best thing you can do is get really passionate about those two clubs. I recommend starting ancillary programs (like, if you’re in French club, start a sister program at a local middle school) as well as looking for competitive opportunities (writing contests, science fairs–whatever matches your interests). Bonus points if you get one of your potential teacher recs to advise these projects. Become an expert in your two areas of interest. It’ll give you great, focused material to talk about in your interviews, and if you play your cards, aka advisors, right, you’ll have distinct, impressive recs as well. If you work this right, you could end up looking pretty darn impressive.</p>
<p>You could add summer programs to your list if you keep it in your areas of interest. Do keep in mind that summer programs aren’t too terribly impressive unless they’re competitive (and the most competitive ones–TASP, gov’s school, RSI) are generally free. You could also intern or get a summer job, which could actually look more impressive than how deep your parent’s pockets are (which is all some summer programs demonstrate).</p>
<p>You should be doing ECs because you like doing them. If you join a club just to put it on your resume, that will not help you get into any school. Adcoms are smarter than that.</p>
<p>HOLY!! I thought I was the only one. I feel your pain dude. It’s alright just keep your grades up and join clubs/get a job/do something you’d actually enjoy. Peace dude and good luck.</p>
<p>Thank you all very much, I will get on all this ASAP. I already secured an unpaid internship this summer at a law firm that one of my fathers friends is a partner in. Hopefully that coupled with a few essay competitions and anything else i can find, will get me on par with the other applicants. You were all extremely helpful in answering my questions and I would have probably just ended up applying with a bunch of random clubs on my app lol.</p>
<p>Thanks you guys I really appreciate all the input; I am defiantly taking into account all of your opinions/suggestions. GOOD LUCK.</p>
<p>my ECs were horrible (disjoint, random, shallow) and i got a likely from columbia</p>
<p>you are not screwed in any way. keep your academics up</p>
<p>“my ECs were horrible (disjoint, random, shallow) and i got a likely from columbia”</p>
<p>You’re from Oregon, an underrepresented state.</p>
<p>^lol!</p>
<p>Burn!</p>
<p>way to go Northstar, as always.</p>