<p>Okay, so I'm a sophomore and the spring season for golf is rolling around and I am by no means good at it. I might be able to make varsity next year due to the sheer lack of people in the sport. I'm not sure if I want to commit all that time to golf this year, self studying 2 APs, seeing as I don't like it, am not good at it, and will probably get nowhere with it. It would take up a huge chunk of time during the month or two leading up to the AP exams. </p>
<p>My question is, how much will it hurt my college resume if I don't have a sport? Will it have made a difference at all if I didn't place at any tournaments anyway? (I played fresh year, JV) I don't have anything special or hook-ish in my ECs; and they're largely academic (academic team, key club, science bowl, etc.) </p>
<p>Don’t do it. If you aren’t interested why waste your time? Not having a sport will not hurt you at all, because you should find the other ECs that you really LOVE to do. When I mean LOVE, I mean ECs that you would spend a lot of time on even if you couldn’t put it on your college resume. </p>
<p>You might discover that music or community service is your calling, but don’t do these things because colleges will look favorably upon them. Pretending to be interested in activities is exactly the type of student that colleges do not want on their campus. In the end is it worth it?</p>
<p>If you are more comfortable by academic EC’s then by all means indulge in those. Being athletic is not going to get you into college unless you are a true football star with a 3.8 GPA or higher and are being hounded by State School recruiters. </p>
<p>You’ll never succeed in Golf because you don’t like it. It’s just wasted time. Extracurriculars are used to determine the quality of person you are and what interests you have. Having awards in different extracurricular activities just shows your level of commitment to your task.</p>
<p>Sports take a lot of time, which you therefore cannot use to do other things. That’s why they’re impressive ECs to have, but that’s also why you don’t need to do them if you’re not interested. You could accomplish a lot of things in the time you’d spend, and even better you’d LIKE doing those things.</p>
<p>No matter whether you like sports or not, it is a fact that most (though of course not all) people who get into good colleges played sports in high school.</p>
<p>What that means for you is that not only should you play golf, but you need to start playing 3 other sports as well. Trust me, you need all the advantage you can get.</p>
<p>Do golf if you enjoy it. Don’t do it because you think it’ll look good for colleges…they will see right through that. Focus on what you’re good at and what you enjoy. Then let that shine in your college essays and interviews. =)</p>
<p>hmmm. The thing is, I’m not sure if I would find anything more productive to do in golf’s absence besides independent self study for APs. </p>
<p>Would just listing a sport (without placing at tournaments/no awards/no state/national rank) help my app at all? Or is my effort better directed elsewhere?</p>
<p>Colleges would rather see that you do something and you are dedicated to it and passionate about it. Just writing “golf” without at least one award or accomplishment may look a little like you just did it for the sake of doing it.</p>
<p>For 99% of colleges, it won’t make a bit of difference. Now, if you end up applying to the top 1%, they prefer the “Renaissance Man” type, who values both the physical and mental aspect of being. Some sort of activity involving physical movement might make the difference between you and a couch potato in the final selection round.</p>
<p>You do NOT need to play a sport to get into college. I know 2 people who did not play a single sport throughout HS but just got into Stanford ED. There are many other ways to be a well-rounded student without playing a sport that you don’t really care about, anyway.</p>