S23 Twins have started marching band camp…Texas being Texas we’re still having football and marching season, albeit delayed and modified/shortened.
Twin 1’s only real EC outside of band is getting his private pilots license…quality over quantity will
be his wheelhouse because the kids isn’t interested in anything else!!
Twin 2: marching band and StuCo were his things…not sure how clubs/StuCo are going to pan out this year so he’s looking at some outside things like our City’s Teen Court (the kid loves law and crime related stuff lol) .
It’s definitely tough to find meaningful EC’s and volunteer opportunities right now ??♀️
None of what my kids have ever done for EC’s has ever been chosen for college applications. I’m not pushing for my kids to go to T20 or even T50 schools. I want them having options to explore their many vast interests. Overly academic would be pretty boring for them thus I look at the whole package. Sure there’s kids out there that can get the 4.5 GPA and be captain of every EC they do. But I want happy, helpful kids. And I know for my kids that putting extra pressure on them to be top of everything and strive for perfection is just too much.
2plustrio - I guess that’s my question. What are their interests? and how do they explore in a covid environment? I need ideas and help for my kiddo so she doesn’t sit around all fall as school is only in person 50% and independent learning the rest. I’d love to hear some interests that your kids have -and they might intrigue my D. thanks.
@bgbg4us my D loves art, kpop, writing, baking and karate. She is still doing all of these but a lot of it is different than before.
Karate has probably changed the most (doing it twice a week on zoom from her bedroom instead of 6 days a week, sometimes 4-5 hours in a single evening or morning).
he used to be part of a kpop community, attending events monthly in our area, and I know she misses that a lot, but she is still very interested in it and spends quite a bit of time teaching herself intricate choreography related to it (which has motivated her to sign up for dance as an elective at school this year…though that, too, will be done virtually, at least for first semester).
She is just doing things from home - trying out new baking recipes, creating art in her room, writing (which she sometimes shares with others),…even though there is no anime club at school for now she is still watching anime (her current fave is based on volleyball so she’s starting hitting a soccerball around in the yard as if it’s a volleyball because we don’t have a volleyball…she has no intent of pursuing it in a serious way, but she likes trying it out, and it gets her outside). She’s really just keeping herself busy with things at home.
I think the two things she misses most are karate and the kpop events/community, and she’s doing very muted virtual versions of them for now. Since she likes writing, she may sign up for an online creative writing class outside of school (she did some of that through a summer program), but only if she has time (waiting to see how challenged she’s going to be keeping up with a very rigorous school schedule).
I hope your D finds something she likes! I know my D is missing some of her activities/community bigtime…but is also helped by the fact that some of her favorite things are easily done at home - baking, writing, creating art.
Sigh my son’s ECs pales in comparison to a lot of your kids! All summer he’s only done lifeguarding, driving lessons and coding (he has been spending a lot of hours on learning Python and also doing C++ - he bought himself a Arduino kit and really immersed into projects for that). He hopes to get into the robotics and/or coding club this year but it all depends on restrictions due to COVID. He turns 16 next month, so he will be looking for a part time job since lifeguarding is summer only. I also have been encouraging him to ask about the Math UIL team (forget the actual name). But that is really it.
First off, I’ll repeat what I said upthread: If you’re worried about ECs for college applications, they’re honestly effectively worthless in that arena.
Second, if you’re worried about ECs for personal enrichment, then hooray! That’s a good reason to have them. But you need to remember that ECs aren’t just school-related activities, or even structured activities.
Case studies: My D17 and D19 went to a K–12 school with a very small high school program, where the only school-sponsored ECs were drama (done by D17), Model UN (done by D17), and student government (done by D19). Full stop. But even if they hadn’t done any of those ECs, they could still have maxed out the list of ECs on the common app.
After all, they were both involved in their church youth groups, they both took music lessons (and D19 played in a community youth orchestra), D17 did community theater, they both were part of a group that helped out each month at the local food bank, D19 helped build an informal book club with her friends…
An EC is anything that isn’t directly related to taking classes—and that’s a pretty wide range of possibilities. Summer jobs count! Self-directed study counts! Writing song’s for their (maybe not yet even in existence) band counts! Hobbies such as cooking and coin collecting count! (I mean, heck, my D23 creates insanely intricate worlds in Minecraft, and I’d count that as a worthwhile EC whether or not it gets listed on college applications.) So please don’t obsess over them. They’re doing fine.
The Ukelele, photography, fun things all sound good to me. I wish I could suggest those to my daughter, but she’s like a cat-I can’t really tell her anything, she’s got to come to it on her own. I don’t have much to offer except that I’m feeling your pain, and I’m much more worried about the lack of exposure to new ideas and directions right now, than about academics or sports this coming year.
We’ve just said that every day she has to do something good for her body and something good for her mind.
@bgbg4us I agree with the poster upthread about looking for adapting your kiddo’s existing interests to an online or outdoor format. S23 is an introvert and happy hanging out at home. He has been meeting virtually with his school’s robotics club and web design team as well as with his mentor on his passion projects. The meetings have been a good outlet and have added structure to his summer. The kids chat, learn a new skill together, and do team building exercises (e.g. creating an AI algorithm for Tic-Tac-Toe and playing a mini-tournament).
Sports were very limited this summer but he took tennis lessons and, since tennis is of the approved fall sports, he can also have a bit of socially distanced interaction with his peers.
I had hoped he could do some community service but being out and about in the community doesn’t feel safe or practical.
@DFBDFB Thank you for reiterating that. With the older two having gone through the process, I have seen both ends of the spectrum - one being heavily involved (she played softball, NHS, HOSA, volunteered, etc), the other minimal (minimal HOSA and worked)…and as a result, I have seen different responses/reactions in the admissions process with the first one being more favorable than the other (respectively). AND to top it off, my S23 is showing interest in the same university that the other two are currently attending so…yes, I’m nervous lol. Add to that, this same university eliminated the academic auto admit (top 25% along with competitive test scores) so he will really need to stand out on paper. So much pressure on these kids!!! I hate it! I wish they could continue being kids (like I remember doing when I was in HS)! These kids are going to be the most resilient generation ever!
my D23 is the youngest of 4. The older 3 accepted tuition-free scholarships for their colleges. ECs played no part in the auto-merit awards they were given. My S20 is headed to Alabama next week - and we are excited at the opportunities there. (if anyone ever wants to know our top auto-merit, no-essay schools, let me know!)
Just want to keep D23 engaged. I’ll keep reading ideas. it’s been a battle. Hoping its easier with your kids! they say the strong-willed ones are often very bright - because they know what they want – That’s such a good hope for me!
My D23 is third of four, and the older two kept our costs down, but certainly not full-tuition!
So yes, I’d definitely like to hear your list. (Might not work for D23 since she’s looking at a pretty niche field, but D25’s interests are much more widely offered, so…)
S23 just finished up the summer baseball season this weekend (3rd at state) and has a week off before HS tennis starts up. He is a 3 sport athlete, but is a high level baseball player, and will be attending a couple of prospect camps in August. We were on the fringes of the college recruitment with S20, I’m sure it will be an interesting ride.
S23 was selected for Student Council this year. It will be his first year participating, and will be different, as their largest initiatives/projects will probably be canceled or highly modified.
We are looking at scheduling flight school, but at a very slow pace, since he has 2 years before he can get his license.
@Momof3B do you think the lack of multiple choice made a big impact on your children’s AP scores? I would think that our 23s are nowhere as strong of writers as the Jr’s and seniors who have been through multiple honors and AP English classes. Writing is a skill that takes time to develop. S23 can regurgitate info with the best of them, butt writing is a work in progress.
His AP Human Geo teacher has submitted the test for a rescore. After going over his submission, he said my son hit all the rubric points as his FRQ’s and practices were in line with a getting 3. His grades throughout the year also reflect that so we’ll see ??♀️.
My son is also moving along nicely with his ground school. My husband will be back on Wednesday and has the next 7 days off so the two of them will get some plane time in before school starts!
For activities…my D23’s formal, organized activities have included symphonic and marching band (at school, obviously) and started playing in a community brass ensemble last winter. Not sure if that will get revived. She also fences but had taken a break from that during marching band season and had just gotten back into the routine when everything shut down. I’m not sure if she’ll want to go back to it but I hope so.
Outside of that she’s into KPop, creative writing, drawing and painting and science, esp ecology. For the Fall she’s going to train as an “Energy Master” with a local environmental action group. After the training, members have to do 20 hours of community service doing things like energy audits or representing the organization at events to share info about reducing energy use. The class is online for fall and the service piece TBD. She also wants to start a school hiking club and volunteer at a local nature center (was supposed to be junior counselor there this summer). She’s been busy this summer with driver’s ed and a summer school class.
My S21 is much less of a joiner than D23 and does very little at school, other than helping with the stage crew for theater. That amounts to just a few weeks of involvement over the course of the school year. But, he also golfs on his own or with friends (doesn’t want to do the school team because it normally conflicts with his summer job), plays guitar (private lessons) and was pretty involved at our church. Pre-covid, he performed on guitar with a music ministry team that plays for the preschool Sunday school, runs the sound board for services once a month, and helps with dinner service at our monthly community assistance program. And, he worked at a camp - first as a volunteer staff and then as paid counselor- since the summer after 7th grade.
This summer, with all the usual cancelled he has gotten some baby sitting work, helped an older couple with household DIY projects, is editing some old home videos for my dad, and doing a data project for me.
@JESmom & @Gatormama - not a big list; but S20 had no-essay full tuition at Alabama & Nebraska; and tuition of $1.5K at Arizona and Texas Tech. We considered AZ and TT full tuition as 1.5K is a token.; In-state tuition offered ($5.5K) at FSU. I’ve heard U of Utah is generous with high stats as well, but S20 didnt’ apply. Several of schools he applied to were from the long thread by KevinofOC - who had a high stats kid, and around $15K that he wanted to pay, although could afford more (so need-based aid at schools wasn’t super helpful). My kid wanted engineering and auto merit and no essays. We have 4 kids - and went the merit route. I’ve been reading, and several posters are thinking that the Covid environment is going to hurt OOS offers for scholarships. Hoping not so for D23’s sake.
Thanks, @bgbg4us - yes, I also worry about OOS offers. We are in PA, the land of high high in-state tuition, and we went OOS for Thing 1 and will be likely looking OOS for Thing 2, who’s liable to have high stats but no hook to speak of, other than his general awesomeness (says Mom). Our EFC is high, our assets/savings are nil, and we will cash flow his costs as we are doing with Thing 1. So merit - and schools that stack - are the number one priority.
as 1.5K is a token.; In-state tuition offered ($5.5K) at FSU. I’ve heard U of Utah is generous with high stats as well, but S20 didnt’ apply. Several of schools he applied to were from the long thread by KevinofOC - who had a high stats kid, and around $15K that he wanted to pay, although could afford more (so need-based aid at schools wasn’t super helpful). My kid wanted engineering and auto merit and no essays. We have 4 kids - and went the merit route. I’ve been reading, and several posters are thinking that the Covid environment is going to hurt OOS offers for scholarships. Hoping not so for D23’s sake.