These are activities I love. Obviously it looks a check list bc everyone wants to go to an Ivy League school or any good school and me, being an uprising junior, will need to think about schools I want to apply to, even if they are hard to get into. The reason it might look like a check list is because I do not want to do random clubs, play three varsity sports, just to look more impressive, even though the like gardening. I also read PrepScholar articles, watch YouTube videos, about getting into great schools. Being a well rounded person means being mediocre at everything. It looks like spreading myself, but the mulching is a business my friends and I are doing because we want to do it, not because we need to. Plus, this is not a final list and it will become better and more clear later on. I love these activities and if you think there should be something different. let me know.
I think HS should be a time for learning, getting good grades by doing your best ( we all need days off), going out with friends, developing relationships, and getting involved in clubs and activities that are of interest to you.
Students who play 3 varsity sports ( one of my kids did this) don’t do it to “look more impressive.” That’s absurd and requires some type of athletic ability (at least I think it does). They do it because that’s what they love to do…it’s who they are…looking “more impressive” is not on their radar screen. My daughter didn’t care how she looked …she cared about playing. When she played soccer or softball in first grade…college was not on her mind ( or ours). We just knew she loved sports…and so she played sports.
Being a well rounded person does not mean “being mediocre at everything.” My other child was a well rounded HS student. She had several strong leadership positions both in school and in the community, and none of these positions were related or shared a common theme, other than leadership. She was the poster child for “well rounded.” This became a running joke…she often spoke about the fact that she didn’t have one specific skill or interest. She graduated at the top of her class and got into plenty of great schools. And on any given day she never thought about what her activities looked like to colleges…she simply woke up at 5:00 am every single day and got her day started…doing what she loved to do. What did this include…at 5 am? Well…it included developing expertise outside of class in a foreign language, organizing and leading extra help sessions at 6:30 am, traveling into the city to meet with companies to discuss specifics pertinent to her school club, developing fundraisers in the community, leading pep rallies, working the snack bar at football games ( one of her favorite activities and one that inspired her college choice), and cleaning out a closet in her school ( this became the basis of her essay as she learned a lot about her interests). She was just an involved HS kid doing things that she loved to do.
I guess what I am saying is…neither of my kids watched videos or read articles about getting into great schools. They simply got up in the morning and did what they naturally loved to do, without thinking about it. Nothing seemed calculated or planned out.
You love gardening? That’s terrific! Go out there and garden, volunteer at local parks, teach kids how to plant, etc. Once you start your junior year and you have test scores in hand, you can begin to craft a list of appropriate schools…including safeties and matches.
And no…despite Ivy League schools being among the best…not everybody wants to attend.
@twogirls Read the article How to get into Harvard and the Ivy League by a Harvard Alum on Prepscholar and they say that well rounded means mediocre at everything.
@domt73 I am not going to comment about the articles that you have read. You have been given a lot of good advice by experienced posters and I wish you the best.
@twogirls Thanks so much, I will give all of you a sample of my application before applying and will tell y’all about colleges I want to apply to in the early round during EA or ED.