I am a sophomore in high school and just realized what i wanted to do. Last year, I didn’t care about college that much, didn’t even know the admissions process. But now I realize the importance. I have fairly good grades, but I have basically no substantial extra curriculars, no sports, except for one instrument that I take private lessons with, nothing else. I want to join a lot of extracurriculars, but
1: Will it look bad when I immediately join these clubs junior year?
2: I am also worried because clubs in my school are faciliateted by teachers, and I don’t want to seem like I am joining clubs just for college – i am planning on relying on teachers for summer camp recommendations as well.
All my classmates are part of clubs, investmnet, chemistry, habitat, etc. I just feel so stupid that I didn’t realize the importance of college. I just joined a stem tutoring program if that helped, but I know it’ll take a lot more to get into UCLA and NYU, and being in clubs for just a year or two isn’t enough.
if it helps my dream school is ucla and nyu. I feel dumb right now
Colleges want focused extracurriculars, not laundry lists. Join what you want to join––not what you think will look good. Try out some school goods, look for jobs/volunteer in the community, etc. Grades and test scores are the driving factors, but once you reach a certain threshold, extracurricular activities will certainly be considered.
You are missing the point. Competitive schools want students who are driven to be involved in the world-not to sign up for a bunch of EC to look good for college and not because they just realized how important ECs were to colleges. They look for students who have interests that naturally draw them to pursue activities involving those interests. And, they look for students who have achievements because their sustained involvement in those activities that are meaningful to them naturally leads them to achieve in those activities at high levels. Colleges are not that interested in how many clubs you have joined. It really makes no difference to them and it does not enhance your applications. It is the achievements and the successes that can make a candidate attractive to a competitive college. Less competitive colleges don’t focus so much on ECs. They will look more at grades and scores.
thanks sir, my main question was if it would look sloppy in some sense to join them in junior year. That isn’t a very long active participation rate. I have looked at UCLA results thread and NYU and the accepted appliers had a lot of important extracurriculars. It is just that I have no significant extracurriculars, and I am fearing that it is too late to have substantial extracurriculars.
Think about what you are interested in and what is meaningful to you and pursue it. There are lots of ways to do that. Not all involve school clubs. What do you already do in your spare time?
Well there you go. What do you call those? Photography is a great art form. Try to show your work. Submit it to shows-esp juried shows. Find unusual ways to use your art. Read this essay even if you have no interest in MIT. It is very relevant. I would not run around joining clubs. I would develop the things you are already doing but take them to a new level. http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways
I naturally don’t know what you do in photography right now. But my point is to be engaged in your world. Don’t run out and join things you are not naturally interested in. But do try to strive for accomplishment in areas you have a natural affinity for-like photography. Build on that. Don’t run out and start a bunch of stuff for college. Find ways to get external validation for being skilled in what you are already doing. So, pursue photography at a higher and more involved level.
My daughter had zero sports and got accepted to an excellent university last year with a scholarship, so don’t lose hope. Focus on ECs that you can actually excel in or show your strengths (teaching/tutoring in my D’s case)
Why can’t you join clubs now? Clubs usually don’t require you to be there at the start. Enter your photography in som kind of local competition, or submit to local community newspapers, which are often delighted to display local art, photos, etc, by people in town. Have you ever participated in any NYSSMA-type events in your state? Feb to March is usually the month to sign up. (NYSSMA is a music adjudication whereby your skills are assessed. Ask your violin instructor, or school band or orchestra teacher, your state has something similar, no doubt.). Here is a GREAT free, easy, and impressive thing to do…find somewhere in your community to volunteer. Surely there will be a volunteer opportunity you are interested in. You are a sophomore in HS, your college chances aren’t ruined because you just realized colleges want to see ECs on your application. Get started on all this now, I don’t get why you have to “wait” unitl junior year. Anything you do this school year counts. Good luck.
@sensodyne , sure, why not? My kid has played violin for 8 years and has done NYSSMA for all those years. She invested more time on her violin than any other activity. She never joined her HS orchestra, has no intention of studying music. She just did it because it was a challenge and she liked it. Anything that is important to you and that you spend time on is something you should list, but having some kind of outside confirmation of your activity gives it more credibility. Even if you never do soemthing like NYSSMA, it is still a good idea to give admissions offices some idea of your level of ability. If you can barely play a note, it might not be worth mentioning, but if you are accomplished, you absolutley need to be sure to communicate that in your activities section.
Read the book by Cal Newport called “How to be a High School Superstar” …it talks about how to maximize your ECs. With the violin, is there a youth orchestra you can join? Can you do photography for the yearbook or newspaper? Or enter your photos in art exhibitions?
DO NOT WORRY…you are doing fine. I would try to figure out a way to show leadership next year…Do you start a photography club?
I agree with all the advice you are getting here, @sensodyne. If the situation at your high school is too awkward to get involved in a club or activity (and that totally does happen!) then look for something in your community. Maybe a group that doesn’t normally have HS students. Libraries often have bulletin boards where groups like these post their meeting notices (yes, low tech!) and they will be genuinely flattered that you want to participate.
The point of ECs for college apps isn’t the quantity but the quality. And while quality definitely means state and national recognition, it can also mean appreciating the experience, gaining maturity, seeing connections that aren’t obvious from textbook studies. For example, exhibiting photos is great, but what about volunteering with a local cancer survivors group to create visual images for a fundraising campaign? You’ll gain an understanding of the power of photography but also the power of the human spirit to live.
My kids were involved in some HS clubs, but their most significant EC’s were at church and in the community. The advice you are getting here is solid. You do have EC’s you may just want to find ways to expand them. For example, my S plays piano. He volunteered to play at church while in HS and now in college he volunteers to teach piano for underprivileged youth.