Like many others on CC, I’m probably going to apply to top-tier colleges. With that small acceptance percentage, the beat advice I’ve been given so far is that I should follow my passion and attempt to develop some sort of a spike in a specific area. I’ve tried to do that over the past year and am wondering if it’s enough to continue doing what I am now, or should I change it up a bit.
Here are my EC’s for freshman year-
The ones that are basically centered around a similar concept/idea:
KYA (Mock Kentucky General Assembly)
KUNA (It’s kind of like Mock UN)
Debate Team
Speech Team
Student government (Class President)
Political Debate/Democrats Club (Founder/Leader)
Other EC’s:
Science Olympiad
Tennis
BETA Club
Hospital job shadowing/volunteer work
I’ve accumulated a decent number of awards in each of these EC’s and intend to collect quite a few more in the coming years, especially in my first 4 clubs, to show my interest in them.
I’ll probably major in PoliSci so the first few EC’s I mentioned really reflect my interest in it, at least that’s what I’m guessing.
I’d say they’re pretty good, especially class president and making your own club!
If you want to go into polisci, you should check out the senate page program - I’m looking into it and it looks fun! I want to major in polisci and biochem. You should also try volunteering for a political campaign during the midterm elections if you want. The US Senate Youth Program sounds pretty much perfect for you so look into that too!
Those freshman year ECs are a great foundation for your spike. Keep developing them and gain more impressive accomplishments as you grow older (organize rallies, work on campaigns in 2018, get involved at your state or local level, etc). You’re doing great!
@hsstudent13@newkidnewtrix
Thanks for your feedback! Do you have a link to the Senate page program? I looked it up but I wasn’t able to find anything related to high school students.
I think the midterm election idea is awesome, I look forward to finding out more about it.
This isn’t my senator, but I thought it was helpful, at least it was to me. You can’t do it until at least the summer before junior year, and I’m assuming you’re a rising sophomore? (I am too) That just gives you more time to build your resume if you decide you want to do it. Also, there are a lot of good posts about it on CC.
@hsstudent13 Seems like it’s a very selective program. Yes, I am a rising sophomore. I’m looking to establish my position in debate, speech, and activities like that to show my voice for political advocacy. Anyhow, thanks for the information. I’ll look into it.
It is really selective. It just depends on which state you’re in though, some states are easier to get in than others. As long as you’re not from California or something you should have a chance. Good luck!
@hsstudent13 I’m in Kentucky, so yeah… I’d say it’s going to be much easier here than it would be in other states. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to take it lightly. When do students usually apply? Is it the summer going into Junior year? Sorry, I’ve just got a lot of questions about this haha.
It’s fine, I completely understand lol. There are 4 sessions, 2 during the school year and 2 in the summer. The summer ones are shorter and you have to attend a special page school for the spring and fall ones. You can do the summer ones going into either junior or senior year. I’m not 100% sure when people apply, you’d have to check your senators’ websites for the application deadline, but I’d assume it would be during sophomore year. Since Mitch McConnell is from Kentucky (I think?) you’d probably have a better chance bc he’s the majority leader and he’ll probably get a page.
@hsstudent13 Well, I strongly dislike McConnell, but whatever. I’ll do it for the fun of it. It’s either him or Rand Paul, which are both awful. How would liberal colleges perceive the fact that I was a page of a Republican Senator? I’m guessing it wouldn’t matter.
I don’t like them either…If you want, you can include a note saying a lot of people are pages for senators that aren’t the same party as them, which is true. And it’s not like you have much of a choice anyway - both your senators are Republicans.
Boys / Girls State is something else you might be interested in. If Kentucky is your home state, the relevant information is here: http://www.kyboysstate.org/. My son has similar ECs and interests and is currently at Boys State in another state. He seems to be enjoying it.