<p>I am a junior in high school and a lot of my extra curriculars are basketball related. Is this a good or a bad thing and how do they look as a whole?</p>
<p>Here are all my ECS:</p>
<p>Youth basketball program for parish (Supervisor)
AAU Basketball (Captain)
School Varsity basketball team (Possible captain)
Parish basketball (9th and 10th grade, Co-Captain)
Church league (Player-Coach)
Stock market club (Analyst)
Underclassmen mentor program (Mentor)
School fundraiser (Only during March, Committee member)
National Honor Society (As of now only a member, we haven't had elections yet)</p>
<p>First question you should ask yourself: are you applying to any colleges where ECs are even evaluated? The vast vast majority of US colleges do not even LOOK at your ECs.</p>
<p>What sorts of schools might you be targeting?</p>
<p>Top schools typically grant acceptances to students who are not so one-dimensional.
One exception, however, is athletic recruitment.
Do you want to play basketball in college?
If so, are you good enough to be recruited as a basketball player?
Does your AAU coach know Tommy Amaker? :-)</p>
<p>Of course this is an abbreviated list, not a fleshing out of what you did in each, but the only ones that really stand out to me are the varsity captain and the AAU captain. The rest sound like you just signed up and put in some time. Maybe not even too much; the school fundraiser in March, for example. </p>
<p>mikemac, I’m just curious about why you think that i just signed up for things without putting time in? (I know that this sounds defensive but I am just curios to why it appears that way?)</p>
<p>Also why wouldn’t the position as supervisor of the youth league be impressive? I basically run a league for 100+ children in grades k-2. (Again this sounds defensive but it is a legitimate question)</p>
<p>First off, let me say I’m not an adcom. But here’s what I, an outsider, would think reading a few items from the list. Stock market club; something you signed up for at school, not the club leader, probably meets at lunch once or twice a month. Mentor program. The school asks for volunteers to be mentors, it means you are assigned a “buddy” and are supposed to do a few things with them and be a resource. So far nothing that stands out, IMHO, and makes one say “wow!” And if you read back thru my comments you’ll note that contrary to your assertion I never said you didn’t put in time; I questioned how much time.</p>
<p>Supervisor. With what you mention it does become a bit more meaningful, but fundamentally I’d take it to mean that there was a position open, perhaps paid, to work a few hours a week running a league. You coordinate the games, perhaps schedule refs and coaches, handle signups, maybe have the keys to the gym. All stuff some kid did before you were there, and that some other kid will do when you are in college. Essentially it is being a clerk. This is a guess on my part; maybe you do a lot more. Point is that’s nice, but if you take time to read thru the link I gave where an Ivy alum interviewer says what she has seen as strong ECs, ask yourself if what you are doing is comparable. Now if it turns out you founded the league, arranged for the gym use, raised money in the community for the equipment, organized the parents to supply uniforms and snacks, that would indeed be impressive!</p>
<p>I don’t mean to sound too negative, and I’m not an adcom so I’m not speaking from personal experience of how these things are rated. But one example I do know about is a HS student who started as a volunteer over the summer in a political campaign for a city councilman, they liked his work so much he became a staffer working in the office handling constituent issues. In other words, looking at the link I gave of things that stand out, filling a job usually held by an adult. And quite favorably looked on when it came time to apply for college.</p>
<p>And in the end my opinion doesn’t matter. Maybe you came here hoping to be told how wonderful it all looks. Sorry to disappoint. You’ll find out soon enough what real adcoms think when you apply.</p>
<p>I think what other posters are not mentioning is that most of the time you enhance your EC list by writing passionately about it. So, if basketball lights you on fire, make sure the readers know this.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses. Mikemac, i appreciate the response and i understand what you are saying. There are some aspects of my ECs that you have the wrong idea about (not a criticism just a response) but i really appreciate the incite and the link.</p>
<p>ECs are part of what they use to choose through a deluge of great candidates that also have good grades, tough class schedule, strong recs, etc. And since you live in the northeast corridor, a large source of applicants, geographical diversity isn’t going to help you. I’m not an Adcom, so I can’t say anything about ending chances. If there are highly selective schools that are a fit for you, then you should apply so you don’t go through life wondering “what if”. They say they look at the whole package, so there is always a chance.</p>
<p>However, and this is advice I give to everyone and not just you, invert the typical search. Spend a lot of time finding a safety that you would be happy to attend. Next focus on some match schools. And only after you have a basket that you probably will get into or are sure to get into, search for the elites. Admission into the most selective colleges is a crapshoot for just about everyone. Too many kids put their dreams and time into that search, leading to some unpleasant surprises in the spring when they find out what they actually have to choose from.</p>
<p>My personal opinion is that colleges don’t care if you worked your ass and played 3 varsity sports in high school, but rather value a lot less time consuming things like volunteering and student government.</p>