I have played nontravel softball since I was six years old and when the time came for highschool softball in 9th grade, my experience was horrible. The coaches we bullies, parents of the girls on the team were coaching JV and assistant on Varsity, practices were 6 days a week, and for anyone that didn’t play “travel ball” (regardless of how good you were) you were put on the chopping block when tryout time came. So needless to say, I was cut and wasn’t welcomed back the next year. Now as a rising sophomore I am wondering (and slightly freaking out) that to get into a good college like University of Michigan -my dream school-, or Ohio State University, I need to play a high school sport.
-Just a quick insight to my stats; I have a 4.0 unweighted gpa and 27 on my act as a freshman (I plan to retest so I can get 31 or 32). Extra curriculars: Nontravel “club” softball for 10 years, class officer 9th grade, volunteer work w/ historical society. (More extra curriculars to come as I move through highschool)
Absolutely not!!! In fact you shouldn’t spend time doing things you don’t like or aren’t interested in. Find a few ECs that you really want to dive in to and go with them, not just for college applications, but because you enjoy the activity. That’s what’s important!
Sports as an EC are only important (except for recruited athletes) to demonstrate characteristics such as perseverance and teamwork. In that light I do think for students aspiring for top schools that do not play sports, that it will be important to show participation in EC’s that are not superficial and “last minute” and those that show teamwork in other forms.
Agree with @BKSquared—sports can be an “easy” way to show you will do more and are interested in more than doing your homework and playing video games in your bedroom (and future dorm room). Band, choir, Boy Scouts, etc., are similar types of activities that show commitment, as well as being involved enough in regular clubs that you get leadership positions.
Do ECs you like. The 10 years of softball likely won’t even go on your app, they only want HS activities. Colleges like academic ECs — debate, speech. quiz bowl, academic decathlon, Science Olympiad, math competitions, Robotics are all looked at favorably.
Sports show both working on behalf of the team (and your school) and the ability to follow a coach’s direction, meet expectations, and presumably improve.
I also agree with BKSquared that you can find other sorts of responsible collaborative efforts. It doesn’t have to lead to a title in a hs club. Some great ECs involve working with other local organizations where you follow the lead of adults, meet their goals, try to have some impact (even small.)
you can find out how important ECs are by looking at the Common Data Set for the school. OSU, for example, rates them in the 2nd category “important” which is below “very important”. So they matter, but not as much as your grades and scores.
Schools that care about ECs are looking for more than participation. They are looking for achievement and/or leadership. There is a thread with several posts by Northstarmom, a Ivy alum interviewer, about what constitutes impressive ECs from the point of view of the most selective colleges. The post is at http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html
Looking at your other threads I see you are thinking about nursing. You should download all the materials needed to apply at some schools you are considering. Many nursing schools look for or even require exposure to the field or other prep. By knowing the hurdles to admission now you don’t end up as a senior applying only to discover you could have done them if you had only known…
And it goes farther than that. As the articles by Cal will explain, thinking outside the box helps you stand out. Every HS in the country has a score of class officers, club secretaries, etc. But suppose you discover you love nursing by volunteering this summer. You look at ways to get involved. You found a club at school that volunteers at a local nursing home. You recruit other kids, set up regular visits, a holiday show, etc. How do you think the app from some club secretary for the History club at your HS will look next to yours with a letter of rec from the home administrator raving about what you did for the spirit and happiness of the people there? The letter from your faculty sponsor talking about the leadership you demonstrated/ And don’t discount the personal benefit to you from having done this and benefitting from the wisdom of people you would have never met otherwise. This is just an example, read the links to Cal and you will come up with something that works for you.
Do what you like. I think sports does add to your resume favorably but not in the situation you stated. If out of state for michigan you need to get the Act up as you stated but I would shoot for a 33 /34. Didn’t know you can take the Act as a freshman… But you have time to work on it. Keep your grade point up also while keeping rigor in your class selection. 10,000 kids where on Michigan’s wait list this summer. Have some good safeties.
@Aurora23 my son goes to Michigan and I am on the cc site for Michigan trying to be helpful.
As far as ec etc. You need to be doing things for 3-4 years. So have fewer clubs, activities but do them consistently… Is more important. If you can move up in rank in them then great. Universities want kids that are involved. If you are truly involved in some ways in high school then there is a good chance you will join clubs, groups, activities, once you are at the university. They want their students to be part of their university community and culture.
