<p>I hope this the right place to post (sorry!), but here goes nothing.</p>
<p>I have a general question about admissions to any college. My apologies in advance for rambling, but this is the situation:</p>
<p>I'm a junior enrolled in a frankly terrible public high school, within a middle-of-nowhere "dying" town. There are no real ECs other than a handful of sports, which are not my thing at all. There are a few clubs, but they rarely meet and even more rarely do anything. The kids simply do not care; in all seriousness, some can barely read. Likewise, only a few teachers and faculty care at all about teaching their students. An ACT of 20 is an accomplishment. No one has heard of an SAT. The classes offered make up a short list of easy-credit courses.There is a single AP class of eight students (I'm one of them), and it will not be offered next year because nobody signed up for it. The dropout rate is unbelievable. Most students do not go on to college, and poverty is off the charts. The county's unemployment is one of the worst in the state, and the state's is one of the worst in the country. There are just no summer jobs to be had. Further, only a few organizations allow volunteering, closely-knit church groups mostly (members only), and even then they don't really do much of anything. I wish I was joking.</p>
<p>I'm trying to do my best with what I have but, compared with the majority of stats here, mine look... sad.</p>
<p>So, my question is: do admissions offices for "better" colleges understand that some students have little or poor access to resources, curricular and extracurricular? And then, will they even bother with these people when they could just choose someone with an excellent, shining background?</p>
<p>You will be evaluated in the context of your school and community. Please don’t worry about that.</p>
<p>Falconidae, It is true, as happymomof1 says, that admissions committees will evaluate your application with your school in mind. I would also suggest that you think about other ways you can follow your passions and demonstrate some initiative, perhaps outside of school. You say that only a few organizations allow volunteering. Have you looked online for opportunities? Some types of volunteering can even be done from home. </p>
<p>Check out your local businesses. Will anyone give you an internship? Many businesses are happy to hire or accept teenagers as volunteers to help them with their social media, for example. But even bagging groceries will demonstrate to colleges that you have drive.</p>
<p>There are many other ways to enrich your high school years, and to make yourself stand out to admissions committees while you are at it. Self-study for some APs, if there are subjects that interest you. You should be able to register to take any AP test without having taken the course. Or study another subject that interests you, in a less formal way. Learn a foreign language that isn’t offered in your school. There are free websites for this sort of study.</p>
<p>Use some of the resources available online to create your own website, blog, or newsletter on a subject of interest to you.</p>
<p>Colleges don’t care about whether you have joined a slew of clubs at school. They just want to see that you got up and got involved in something - even (and especially!) if you had to find, create, or invent that something yourself.</p>
<p>Good luck and have fun!</p>
<p>
I have a feeling you haven’t investigated very far. Students who are driven can find or develop ECs. But don’t rest your hat on those. Most schools don’t even care about ECs - only the most selective. The primary thing you have to do is do well in school.</p>
<p>Although my son was involved in school sponsored EC’s when he was in public school, he was also always involved in self-created and other out of school EC’s both when he was in public school and when he was homeschooled. You can start a business, form a nonprofit venture to help your community, create an internet venture for profit or not, invent/program/create something that you sell or that helps people, or write a book, symphony or song you promote on Youtube. If you’re in a very rural area, why not solicit partners in building and equipping an observatory? You don’t have to have any initial local support. Get in touch with some professors at the nearest decent university that has astronomy classes. Ask them if they can get the equipment if you find a location and manual labor as well as some donated materials for the building. This is not small task, but once you get people involved, the expertise and funding will become more available. You are the champion of it. This alone could get you serious consideration even if it’s half done and still in progress by the time you apply. </p>
<p>Now, I want to make a point but don’t take it personally. Top colleges look for leaders, innovators, change agents, and great minds. So, start thinking like one. Don’t let your circumstances keep you down. If anything, they are an opportunity. I see this on the news. “Girl in Dying Town Builds the Observatory that Got Kids Interested in Science.” How cool is that!" </p>
<p>Frankly, waiting for the school to provide your learning opportunities and EC’s will get you where they are–to a deadend. So, why accept that as your fate? You can go to a university and knock on the doors of every department and ask for unwanted textbooks. Start studying. Go see the resident astronomer and propose your idea. Be excited so that person takes you seriously. Learn what you can on the web about it. There is plenty. </p>
<p>Look, it doesn’t have to be an observatory, but it can be a fish farm, a new kind of crop, a small business that employs poor parents while their kids are in school so they don’t need day care but still make some money, or something else that benefits the community. Just do it!</p>