There really isn’t a lot of information online about this, so I figured I’d ask this.
I have never:
joined a club
participated in any afterschool school-related activity in any way, shape, or form\
volunteered
done community service
held a job
And I barely spend any time with my family outside of eating out.
I have a 4.2 GPA (3.8 unweighted) as well and am likely going to have around a 1550 SAT. My senior year transcript is also going to be really strong academically.
I have zero attachment to my environment around me and zero desire to change that. I do not regret any of it, either.
In general, how much will this affect my admission chances?
I would think that it probably depends on what schools you are applying to and how highly they value EC. You might also have the opportunity to explain why you weren’t involved in application essays (ie do you have to put in an extra amount of effort to keep your grades up requiring you to make that a priority, do you need to help out extensively at home babysitting a sibling, doing housework, etc). Were options even available to you. Do you lack transportation?
It will be a big negative at the very top tier schools as they are looking for students who are not only academically outstanding but who are involved in their school and community (and there is not enough room to accept all of those). It should not be as big of an issue the large state universities and I’d imagine that some less selective schools would likely want to get you for your high stats.
I do hope that you find a college where you will want to get more involved just for your own personal growth.
Actually, the fact that you have no interest in the world around you helps explain why your essay ideas in your other thread are so uninteresting. Have you thought about doing something different this summer and next year?
I think on CC that the emphasis on ECs is just because of reach schools, I doubt your appropriately chosen match schools will care much. If you have a pathology that explains your lack of social integration, maybe that is something worth discussing. I suspect many high schoolers would love to live in their bedrooms and just only have school work as an obligation. Make sure you craft your applications appropriately.
My D had almost no ECs -she did have interests and hobbies and played those up in her applications a bit. Reading writing book reviews online, baking etc… She got into lots of schools with merit aid. But none of them were what you would call super competitive.
Plenty state universities and colleges don’t care about ECs. And if you could be a full pay student at a private school, plenty will take you without them either.
Aside from the top-tier schools who care about how you integrate yourself into your community and potential leadership skills, most schools (including state schools) only ask about EC’s to get an indication of how you spend your time outside of school. They simply want to how you spend your free time.
Two things.
If you’re actually concerned about lack of Ec participation – start a Daydreamer Club at your school.
Even if you don’t get any other students to join in, you’ll at least get the topic for a more interesting essay.
For the schools that you’re planning to apply to, find out if they consider EC’s at all when reviewing applications.
To easily find that out, google Common Data Set [school name]> then go to C7.
I could actually get from my recommendations that I have excellent leadership skills. I just do not really use them much at all, but when I do it really stands out. The same could be said for my social skills.
I cannot start a daydreamer club at my school because I will be starting Dual Enrollment FT next year and I won’t be there at all.
My schools consider ECs, but last. What degree exactly is last?
I think colleges want kids who will do well academically and also contribute to the life of the campus. If you are a junior then it is IMPERATIVE you do something interesting this summer and in the fall. Do you need ideas? Are you a creative person, a sporty person, have an interest in helpling others? If you want to be a psych major you must have an interest in humans. A good place to start is by helping others this summer. Volunteer at a camp for special needs or something similar. If you need suggestions. Please ask us.