Is it bad to have sports as your only extracurriculars?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Let me introduce myself ... I have stats that are good enough to not be "ignored" by schools ranging from the #1 on US News to the school at the bottom. However, the thing is my exracurriculars are ALL related to sports! What will colleges think of this?</p>

<p>Just so you know, my EC's include,</p>

<p>School soccer - grades 9-11 (I'm a junior btw), and will include grade 12 unless I somehow injure myself. 1 year of varsity so far on a nationally ranked team. :)
School indoor track - grade 9.
School outdoor track - grades 10 and 11. I switched from indoor -> outdoor. For track, I'm more of an average runner (5:30 mile time).
Club soccer - since I was 4. Year round
ODP soccer - 4 years
Club basketball - 4 years
Soccer referee - 2 years and I work voluntarily (no pay), so it counts as community service.
Club ultimate frisbee (I will be starting this summer). I've wanted to play ultimate and/or start a club for so long but I couldn't do so before.</p>

<p>Oh and I would never get all american awards or something like that.</p>

2

<p>Well Dan, all of these ec’s look fine, however, colleges nowadays want someone who can play a sport AND so something else that is inspiring. It is essential to not have a narrow collection of ec’s and rather spread them out a little. Just make sure you are not spread out too thin. Unless you can play Division I or III soccer, no college is going to really care about how “good” you are, rather what you learned from playing soccer, and the time invested.</p>

3

<p>are you male or female?? because a 5:30 mile for a boy is sucky, for a girl its average. </p>

<p>if you’re not good enough to be recruited you need some other kind of extracurricular.</p>

4

<p>Uh, I just started distance running this past season and I am perfectly fine with a 5:30 mile time seeing that my soccer coach demands a 6:00 mile time.</p>

<p>Just curious NP, what happened to Division II soccer?</p>

<p>I could probably play at a div 3 school, but not recruited.</p>

5

<p>I’m a girl, I run around a 5:20 mile, I barely qualify for my county meet with that.</p>

6

<p>I don’t plan on being recruited …</p>

7

<p>

</p>

<p>Maybe your county is more competitive than his… What are you trying to accomplish by being a snob and emasculating him? </p>

<p>As for the OP’s EC’s… depending on the school you’d like to go to, I think you’re fine.</p>

8

<p>My county is very competitive (fastest mile is 4:15) but again, I don’t plan on being recruited. I run track to help me get in shape for soccer.</p>

9

<p>Not to be a bringer of bad new but I know PLENTY of people that had sports as their only ECs and NONE of the them got into the colleges they wanted. I guess it shows one-sided aspects of a student. But really i guess it depends on the college so it wouldn’t hurt to at least apply. Seriously whats so hoard about joining a club that doesn’t have to do with sports. lol</p>

<p>As for myself I made all-counties for track and didn’t get ANY recognition from colleges. So i wouldn’t get my hopes too high about sports scholarships or anything like that because if you were to get recruited, you’ll probobly hear from local colleges nearby. NOthing DI most likely.</p>

10

<p>On the other hand I have a friend with absolutely NO EC’s, at most two years of Interact and she’s going to BU. Its not HYP but its a respectable school, nonetheless. Her grades/classes/test scores aren’t amazing either.</p>

11

<p>My friend was valedictorian and an 11-letter varsity player who got into Princeton. He didn’t have any other EC’s.
Then again, he was always varsity, and was valedictorian.
And it was 2001. That probably helped.</p>

12

<p>YES 10char</p>

13

<p>and is it bad NOT to have any sports as ECs?
cause i’m really not a sporty person</p>

14

<p>Do you have an idea where you want to go to school? I have several former students who are attending good schools – not top schools, but good schools – who listed sports as their main ECs. Sports are part of the package. You still need good grades and scores.</p>

15

<p>Any community service?</p>

<p>After three years anything you add now might look like window dressing, but, why not sign up for the school play or the prom or yearbook committee? Keep the commitment to sports but add a little something else. Couldn’t hurt.</p>

<p>Historically it seems that one EC is fine so long as you’re exceptional at it. Multiple forms of the same EC are OK if you show a multi-year commitment, and maybe pick up a leadership (Captain, Co-Captain) role. Any chance for that?</p>

<p>But just remember, we’re all guessing here and without knowing more about your profile, (GPA, test scores, geography, etc.), we’re really guessing.</p>

16

<p>Thanks for your comments. :)</p>

<p>Vinceh - my community service is … you guessed it! soccer refereeing! I always ref for free.</p>

<p>I seriously need to find something else to do … it doesn’t help that next year I want to join the school xc skiing team (more sports :slight_smile: ). I’m praying the people who read my application are those who look upon sports as very favorable.</p>

<p>Now that I think about it … I did go to a few Math League meetings. Maybe I’ll go to more and contribute, etc.</p>