<p>I'm a sophomore, on my schools varsity winter and spring track and field team. Practice is for two hours after school, so this prevents me from participating in that many academic clubs, seeing as they all meet right after school. I was wondering, what would look better? Two varsity sports (considering its winter AND spring track) with one or two academic clubs, or just one varsity sport (just spring) with multiple ECs?</p>
<p>Btw, i'm on Math League - Adv Math Division, Science League - Chem, Campus Ministry, Asian Club, and Jerseymens (paintballing, snow boarding, six flags, etc.), as well as participating in two major after school events that totaled around 250 hours combined (counted as campus min. and leadership hours) and around 100 service hours. If i drop winter track, I can take up in addition to those, College Bowl, Robotics, Astronomy, and Model UN, as well as tally around 500+ service hours per year. </p>
<p>So, 2 varsity sports or 1 varsity sport + more ECs?</p>
<p>feikuai is correct: which would you rather do? Do you love running all winter and would miss it terribly, or do you yearn to do robotics and Model UN?</p>
<p>Only you can answer: don't ask us "what would look better?", ask yourself "what do I really want to do with my time?"</p>
<p>Being athletic could help you keep relatively healthy. ...sound
mind ...sound body thingy....so some sports would be good for
you to balance other pursuits.</p>
<p>I second feikuai and mootmom. Don't worry about how many "service hours" you can accumulate, that's just silly. Do what attracts you most. It's far better to excel and take leadership roles in a few things you really care about, than spread yourself too thin.</p>
<p>You've been given some great advice here, and I agree wholeheartedly with the idea of doing what you love rather doing what you think looks good.</p>
<p>The first and foremost reason for this should be obvious: do what you love because you should do what you love. Period.</p>
<p>The second, lesser but still worth mentioning reason is this: if you really love what you do, it'll be a great deal easier to write about it in essays and let it come through in interviews and the like.</p>
<p>No matter how you look at it, it's definitely better to do what you're passionate about.</p>
<p>I agree with everybody who has commented. Also, with the exception of MIT and Caltech, most schools with an excellent engineering program won't care what you have excelled at. </p>
<p>One way to sort of have both would be to participate in the AMC or ARML competitions for math and/or for the U.S. bio, chem, or physics team tryouts. You don't have to attend meetings for this stuff, but if you do decently well (qualify for AIME, make semis for the US science team tryouts), then this shows you are someone who goes above and beyond the call of duty.</p>
<p>I agree completely with the above. However, for MIT, I personally think (and don't let me influence you) that having a varsity sport is important in addition to academic clubs. If you think you can handle two varsity sports on top of your academic clubs, I would do so. (This following part, I'm hoping, you will follow...) DON'T STRESS YOURSELF OUT SO MUCH THAT YOUR GRADES START TO DROP. Messing up your GPA will pretty much mess up your chances of getting into the college of your choice.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Extracurricular Activities
Some students feel so much pressure to get into the "right" college that they want to make sure they do everything "right" - even do the "right" extracurricular activities. Fortunately, the only right answer is to do what's right for you - not what you think is right for us.</p>
<p>Choose your activities because they really delight, intrigue and challenge you, not because you think they'll look impressive on your application. Go out of your way to find projects, activities and experiences that stimulate your creativity and leadership, that connect you with peers and adults who bring out your best, that please you so much you don't mind the work involved. Some students find room for many activities; others prefer to concentrate on just a few. Either way, the test for any extracurricular should be whether it makes you happy - whether it feels right for you.</p>
<p>By the same token, some applicants struggle to turn themselves into clones of the "ideal" MIT student - you know, the one who gets triple 800s on the SAT. Fortunately, cloning is still for sheep. What we really want to see on your application is you being you - pursuing the things you love, growing, changing, taking risks, learning from your mistakes, all in your own distinctive way. College is not a costume party; you're not supposed to come dressed as someone else. Instead, college is an intense, irreplaceable four-year opportunity to become more yourself than you've ever been. What you need to show us is that you're ready to try.
<p>theres no way i can participate in school sports... my lessons (afterschool) collide with basketball practices... evrytime... so that's one something which i love but cannot do. So forget it! To the OP: man! ur ecs look in no way deficient....so that doesnt tip the balance beam (imagined balance beam holding ecs on one side and sports on the other) to sports. You don't 'need' it...but maybe if u like a particular sport ....exchange one of ur ecs for the sport.</p>