So in terms of other parts of my high school application, like my grades and coursework I seem to be pretty solid at over 3.7 and also seem to have a decent SAT score of 1400.
However due to COVID I basically lost my freshman year so it is kind of like I had a year less for my extracurricular activities so last year was basically my “freshman year” in terms of extracurriculars which if it hadn’t been for covid would have been my actual freshman year.
So it is only really this year that I have started deepening my involvement and have gotten one state level award for DECA and am kind of passionate about entrepreneurship and engineering but the problem is that I do not really have any extracurricular that is STEM related yet. I have participated in a number of science olympiads this year and never really won any and even if I win next year, it is too late right. I am also the chess competition captain. So basically my extracurriculars involvement is not zero but it is not sufficient but would the fact that COVID happened be a consideration as to my lower extracurricular achievement.
Next year, I am getting lots of officer positions however in 4 clubs but senior year is also when applications start so does doing well in extracurriculars next year even matter.
Does this hinder my chances of going to top 30 universities?
I just changed my username. But anyways, I mean I can get into UF which I did check with the collegevine website and it says I have a 40% chance of getting of in so that is my safety school. Thing is I would like to know my chance of getting into top 30 with my extracurriculars. I want to know if I still have a chance with next year and if next year’s extracurriculars assuming if I do really well would it matter.
Frankly, I’d be more concerned about your GPA and SAT score. Do you plan to retake the SAT or go test optional? Is the GPA you posted weighted or unweighted.
And I agree…40% chance of acceptance…not a safety but more like a match…could go either way.
Once more…why top 30 colleges? More important…what do you want to study? What can your parents contribute annually for college for you? Do you qualify for need based aid? Will you be looking for colleges with guaranteed merit aid (which might not be top 30).
But to remain on topic…your ECs look fine. Do the things you like to do…not a checklist you think will impress college adcoms.
Are you class of 2024? 11th grade is almost over. And you will have only 1 semester grades from senior year to show to college admissions.
Going back to your original question, participate in the extracurriculars that you like and enjoy. As a senior, you might get a leadership position or two as well. Colleges aren’t looking at a checklist to make sure you did everything.
Why do you want to attend a top 30 school? What do you want to study? Make a balanced list. Make sure you can afford going to every school on your list.
I would like to study mechanical engineering or physics in college. Initially, they started off as extracurriculars to impress colleges earlier this year, where I just signed up for a bunch of clubs but then once I saw that I was doing good in DECA, I started investing more time towards it. I am more interested in the innovation and creativity which could apply to the mechanical engineering designs.