Only 1 EC freshman year, Moderate EC’s sophomore, Pretty Good Junior and Senior, VERY GENERAL (just imagine 1-2 leadership positions). ONLY LOOKING FROM A EXTRACURRICULAR STANDPOINT, is this competitive enough? I understand this is very, VERY minimal information lol.
It’s not the number of ECs but what you did and how you contributed.
IMO all your posts are pointing to being too focus on prestigious college admission and not creating a balanced list of match and safety schools.
Competitive schools are reaches for everyone. Expect to be like most students and not get into your reach schools. Find match and safeties you love even more.
You’re right, I am too focused on reach schools. Thanks for the wake-up call! I do love the match schools I have planned for myself though! Thank you for the advice!
College Confidential recently covered the article to focus on EC that may help answer your question. Read more here: https://insights.collegeconfidential.com/extracurriculars-look-good-applications
Do not think 'Every point I get off of a homework or test is a point away from going to Harvard."
Think: “I need to do my best, and there will be a college that is right for me when I graduate.”
Do not think “If I don’t go to an Ivy League School/Top20, I am doomed forever.”
Think: “No matter where I go, I can bloom where I am planted. I can get involved and shine.”
Do not think: “My life is over…the kid in my math class is taking 20 APs and I am taking 5. I will never succeed.”
Think: “I need to challenge myself, but only to the point where I can still do well.”
Do not think: “If I am not President of a club freshman year, I will never succeed.”
Think: I should spend freshman year exploring clubs, volunteering and fun activities to see what I would like to continue in.
Also Check out “How to be a High School Superstar” by Cal Newport.
“The basic message of the book is this: Don’t wear yourself out taking as many classes as you can and being involved in every club and sport. Instead, leave yourself enough free time to explore your interests. Cultivate one interest and make it into something special that will make you stand out among the other applicants and get you into the toughest schools, even if your grades and scores aren’t stellar. Newport calls this the “relaxed superstar approach,” and he shows you how to really do this, breaking the process down into three principles, explained and illustrated with real life examples of students who got into top schools: (1) underscheduling—making sure you have copious amounts of free time to pursue interesting things, (2) focusing on one or two pursuits instead of trying to be a “jack of all trades,” and (3) innovation—developing an interesting and important activity or project in your area of interest. This fruit yielded by this strategy, an interesting life and real, meaningful achievements, is sure to help not only with college admissions, but getting a job, starting a business, or whatever your goals.”
http://www.examiner.com/review/be-a-relaxed-high-school-superstar
Agree the # of extracurriculars really gives nothing. If you could elaborate maybe we could help you more. Just make sure your extracurriculars are actually meaningful and are impactful enough to you and others that you could possibly write a college essay on it. If those 1-2 leadership positions are in orgs/clubs that are doing good work and assuming everything else is in check, you definitely have a chance.
Thank you everyone!