No Extracurriculars Freshman/Sophomore Year

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

So I’m a junior and I’m worried about my lack of extracurriculars. I get good grades, I have a 4.0 UW, I’m in 5 AP classes rn, have taken 3 before, and will take another 5 next year, I got a 32 on the act when I took it last year and I’m aiming to get a 34 this year.

But freshman and sophomore year I did basically nothing in terms of EC’s bc I’m pretty shy and was scared to join stuff. like I play a few instruments and have been teaching myself a foreign language the past couple of years, but other than that literally all I did was robotics club sophomore year.

I’m a lot more comfortable with myself and my school and everything this year and I’m starting to do more (forensics, academic team, community service, maybe jazz band, and still robotics club, I’m also getting a job this year) but ik it won’t look good on college apps that I didn’t do anything my first two years. Do I have any chances of getting into top colleges (ivies, stanford, MIT, etc.) or are they totally shot?

2

Your chances are very slim, but then again, they’re slim for everyone. Not having superior ECs in an applicant pool where everyone is coming in with perfect or nearly perfect GPAs and test scores is going to hurt, because it is much more difficult to stand out. The good news is that teaching yourself to play several instruments and learning another language do count as ECs. Unless you’ve taken those skills to unusual depths, it probably isn’t what those tippy top colleges are looking for. Don’t discount the effort entirely, however. Plenty of schools will appreciate the curiosity and initiative. If you are so quiet and shy that it kept you from large group social participation for two years, you likely wouldn’t enjoy your time at Stanford or MIT anyway. Look for smaller schools, perhaps ones outside of large cities. LACs, maybe? There are plenty where you can find the quality education you’re seeking.