<p>Hi, I've been involved in sports for two and a half years now, and I've been thinking about dropping Volleyball. I am not a stellar athlete--I don't even know if I'll make varsity this year. Sports really take up A LOT of time guys. I practice for three hours a day in season, which is roughly the same time I'm spending to complete the homework for all of my four AP classes.</p>
<p>I have a ton of other extracurriculars. Specifically, I'm doing an internship at a local college (caltech), as well as clubs and volunteer and other stuff. I might possibly have an internship at JPL this summer, as well as an exchange program I've gotten a scholarship for.</p>
<p>My question is this: how much does playing a sport matter, when you aren't a spectacular athlete? There is a large time commitment, and I wonder if I should quit in order to focus on my more impressive academics.</p>
<p>I personally don’t think sports matter a whit and that, unless a student is at a level where s/he can be recruited, it’s better to use that time to become good at something else. I will say, however, that almost everyone I’ve talked to at my college was a high school athlete of some sort.</p>
<p>(As someone who has done a varsity sport for four years,) I would agree that they are not very impressive if you are not recruitable. In hindsight I would have used the time more productively.</p>
<p>No EC particular is ‘recommended’ - the point is to do something you’re really interested in and committed to at the highest level you can do it. If sports isn’t it, don’t waste your time. Do the things you care most about - and if dropping the sport means you can do them in more depth and with greater commitment and creativity, it’s a no-brainer.</p>
<p>What everybody else said; some people will tell you that sports and/or community service are “mandatory” to get into the colleges in the top 10/25/50 USNWR. And here I am at Harvard without having done either. (Well, I was in a community service club freshman year but dropped out after that.) I assume, having been admitted, that the particular stuff I did with my extra time ended up making me as interesting, if not more so, than pushing myself into sports I didn’t like and wasn’t great at.</p>
<p>I think just doing a sport in high school isn’t very worthwhile. I think the only way for a sport to help you is if you are recruited (obviously) or if you are very VERY into the sport. I have state and regional awards for my sport, as well as a list of other ECs related to my sport, but I won’t be playing in college. I am pretty sure that my involvement will be beneficial, but it doesn’t sound like you are very into volleyball, so I would drop it.</p>
<p>Thanks guys! Well I’ve made my decision, not solely based on your advice, but thanks anyways. I was kind of doing sports to offset the nerdy Asian factor…? I also really liked playing, and I was decent–but not amazing. </p>