Hello, I hope it’s okay to ask this here!
I am at a very competitive public high school where many people are winning regional DECA awards and journalism awards. I however, haven’t won any of that. My ECs are pretty weak and I’m worried that even though I have a 36/3.9, colleges will think I’m not involved or impressive enough. What are your experiences with this or do you have any advice for me?
Thank you!
outside of the top 100 or so colleges in the US which are very competitive in admission (and more so the higher the rank) the rest admit most of their applicants. Which leaves you with about 3,000 colleges to choose from.
Since you ask for advice, it is to figure out what you are looking for in a college in terms of size, location, advising system, where students live, type of students that tend to make up the student body, plus other factors you may care about (study abroad, student orchestra, whatever). Find schools of various difficulty in admission that have the factors you want. Then you will be assured of attending a college that’s right for you.
Even amongst the top 100 colleges there are “rack and stack” schools where grades, rigor, and test scores count for much more than the rest of the application.
It comes down to the quality of the research you do when selecting colleges to apply to. Worry about fit, not prestige.