Lack of ECs?

Applying to College
1

<p>I think I'm probably too young to be worrying about this, but I have a feeling I'm not going to be involved in "enough" ECs through high school...as of right now (a little over a semester into freshman year), the only ECs I have going on are musically related (playing the cello/piano). I'm not in any clubs due to poor oversight on my part; I joined the school tennis and swimming teams at the beginning of the year, creating conflicts in schedule with those of my school's clubs. Now that the tennis and swim seasons have ended, I am not involved in any outside-school activities and end up frittering away my free time via the vices of Wikipedia and instant messaging. I'm not particularly good at anything I've mentioned so far other than the cello, at which I consider myself just barely above average. </p>

<p>My school district is somewhat strange, in that all of the district's freshman attend a separate campus before going to the high schools for 10-12th grade. Therefore, many clubs that I likely will join in upcoming years (e.g. the math club, the robotics club, science olympiad) are unavailable to me currently. Nonetheless, I have way too much free time on my hands as of now, and I'm somewhat uneasy that my lack of activity will cause me to appear lackadaisical to colleges in the future.</p>

<p>Sorry this post is so long, and I apologize for any grammatical/spelling errors.
~SpaceBear</p>

2

<p>What level of colleges are you hoping to apply to? The ECs colleges look for are dependent on their applicant pool. Two sports and music seem decent for a freshman. Are you getting all As? If not put the free time you have now toward improving your grades. The 3 most important things for admission will be GPA, rank, SAT/ACT scores. Have you looked into volunteering; local food pantry, library or whatever? But don’t do ECs/activities to pad your resume, do them because you enjoy them and they help you grow as a person.</p>

3

<p>You’re a freshman? Why are you even here?</p>

<p>Go outside. :P</p>

4

<p>my kids lived their lives as they wanted and did not do activities for how it would look to colleges. They have clear interests, though, and pursued those because that’s what made them happy. They have gotten into great schools and are well prepared for life because they are self-determined and did not plot their development according to what they thought colleges wanted to see!</p>