<p>I played football in the fall and I'm playing basketball right now, currently in freshman year. I like these sports enough, the thing is I'm not entirely sure whether it's worth it. I definitely won't be a recruited athlete. Mainly, I'm playing sports because they're fun, but also because they're extracurriculars. But given the large time commitment, I'm beginning to question whether I should keep playing. By far, my top priority is getting good grades and getting into a good school. I figured sports were a great way to show that I'm diverse, not just an average Asian nerd. My grades haven't suffered yet from sports, but I'm worried as I get older and the classes get harder and the sports get more competitive that I won't be able to handle it. What do you think? Is it worth it to play sports?</p>
<p>Also, if I continue playing, is 2 years of a sport "good enough" of an extracurricular? I planned on playing at least 3 years of each sport, but like I said I meant only be able to play 2 because of their time commitment.</p>
<p>Playing sports is worth it as an EC if you love it and it brings you happiness. It’s not worth it if you don’t like it or you’re only doing it to get into college. I know that’s kind of a cliche, and probably not what you wanted to hear, but it’s true.</p>
<p>Yes, you should put school first. If you absolutely have to choose at some point, you should choose your GPA, even if that means dropping one or more sports. But if you learn good time management skills now, you might not have to choose. Also keep in mind that top colleges expect to see strong ECs, whether that means sports or something else, so if you quit sports, you’ll still have to devote a similar amount of time to something else.</p>
<p>So do what makes you happiest for as long as you can, and admissions to the right college will follow.</p>
<p>My advice is to never make decisions based on what someone might consider important four years from now.</p>
<p>Having said that, varsity sports are an effective EC because adcoms know that they require at least two-three hours per day, five days per week. There are few other activities that universally require this extensive a time commitment. It is also relatively consistent to gauge an applicant’s involvement in the activity based on letters earned, team awards and other regional recognition.</p>
<p>If you would rather spend 15-20 hours/week on a different activity(music, community service, paid job, etc.), then go for it. However, if you use most of those hours for studying, then don’t consider yourself competitive with a student who has similar grades along with demonstated involvement.</p>
<p>If you wish to be Machiavellian about it, then sports are probably not your best hour-for-hour time investment. Elite schools especially want leadership and are drawn to unusual elements that make an individual stand out from 10,000 other applicants with similar stats. It takes a long time, in terms of hours invested, to gain a real leadership role in a major sport and, even then, your application will very likely still look like a thousand others.</p>
<p>Your best bet to enhance your elite school admission chances is to pursue something that you love and somehow make it uniquely you. Based on the feedback my son received after applying – 3 customized letters from his committee advocates – elite schools have a great fondness for community service work, especially self-directed projects.</p>
<p>I would recommend that you look around your local community for an unmet need and create a solution to help meet that need. It could be a weekend sports clinic for inner city youth, an English class for recent immigrants, a program for helping the elderly get online for the first time. What you do doesn’t matter, just that you show leadership and initiative to try to make one little corner of the world a better place. This is hard work, but much of it can be done from home an hour at a time (making calls, sending emails) or at school (recruiting your classmates to assist you). What you accomplish and the challenges you face along the way would make a great essay and make you memorable to an adcom who reads dozens of apps every day until they all blur together.</p>
<p>Highschool isn’t a huge time commitment. Keep playing if you enjoy them. Maybe cut out one sport so you get a longer offseason to invest your time elsewhere, but there’s no reason to drop something you enjoy unless you really believe its preventing you from succeeding in school.</p>
<p>I strongly disagree with Pancaked. Most sports take up a massive amount of time, around 20 hours a week during season and 10 during the off-season. I agree with LoremIpsum; if your most important goal is to look good to college, sports are not worth the time it takes. Other activities are more time-efficient. On the other hand, if you like playing sports and you want to stay in shape, keep playing.</p>