Quitting an extracurricular

Applying to College
1

I’m sophomore in high school, and I’m a two-year member of the varsity cross country team. I ran varsity track and field last spring as well. Though I’m good at cross country and track, however, I don’t really enjoy either of them.

Thus, I’m seriously considering quitting both and just running for enjoyment. In place, I’d probably do theatre and perhaps soccer in the fall. While I’m not as good as these as I am at running, I’d enjoy them far more.

My biggest concern with quitting cross country and track has to be how it will affect my college resume. I could potentially qualify for state for cross country my junior and/ or senior years. Also, as these were my two main extracurricular up until this point, quitting would result in me losing most of continuity on my resume.

How much do you think doing this will hurt my resume, especially at elite universities?

2

It won’t hurt as long as you continue to pursue meaningful ECs. Certainly don’t do anything b/c you think how it’ll look to colleges

3

As long as you don’t expect to be a recruited athlete, quitting a sport won’t matter as long as you can replace the sport with another activity. You should do things you care about and are interested in – part of HS is figuring out what those things are.

4

It’s not a concern unless you are looking to apply to highly selective schools, so DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, not what you think some nameless adcom wants you to do. Good Luck!