Too Few ECs?

Applying to College
1

Hey,

I am finishing my sophomore year of high school, and I am starting to think about college admissions. My goal is to put myself in position to be competitive for admission to a top-tier university. Looking at what I have done so far, my grades, test scores, and schedule are fine, but I am a little concerned that I may have too few extracurricular activities: I really only participate in math and running. Even my community service is generally math oriented.

Math is something I really enjoy doing, so I spend a lot of time studying it. In terms of accomplishments, I qualified for USAJMO this year with some room to spare, and I am estimating a score of around 20, which should put me near honorable mention level (top 24 students). In school, I am the vice president of my school’s MAO (math honor society) chapter, and I help coach students at my school for math competitions. In the future, I am hoping to be President of Mu Alpha Theta and qualify for USAMO (maybe even MOP).

I am also really involved in running. I am a varsity letterman in cross country and track both freshman and sophomore year. Our cross country team is competive on the state level, so being on varsity is a big time commitment: there is mandatory practice every day after school in addition to many practices throughout the summer. I will hopefully be a four-year lettermen in both sports and a team co-captain for cross country.

The time commitment that both of these activities entail makes it hard to participate in more clubs around school. I know that colleges say that they value depth over breadth in regard to ECs, but it just seems like I have so much fewer than many other applicants to top colleges. Does the fact that I am pretty accomplished in the activities I am involved in outweigh their small number, or should I look into adding some different activities for well-roundedness?

2

What do you feel would make you more well-rounded?

3

I was considering something like Youth in Government or Model UN that would show some writing/debate ability. It would just be a lot on my plate in addition to my academics and my current ECs. I am lukewarm on both.

4

Why are you lukewarm on them? Doesn’t seem too interesting at the outset, or seems like just a bunch of extra work?

5

A mix of both. The main reasons I would join those clubs are because I have some friends in them and because of college applications.

6

I would suggest that branching out a little bit might not be a bad idea. Worst comes to worst, you discover you hate Model UN/debate/whatever, drop it and just leave it off your common app. Best comes to best, you discover you love it.

But/also: consider applying to selective summer math programs next year, like Ross or HCSSiM. Those look really good to adcoms.

7

Keep your current EC’s; obviously the passion and commitment is there.

It doesn’t hurt to branch out and do something like Model UN or debate or Youth in Government to see how you like it. If you don’t like it, you just don’t mention it and drop it.

8

I’m pretty sure there is more in there than math and running. Sometimes, you have to take a risk and get out of your comfort zone to see if something new suits you.

9

Take advantage of summers to add to that list like doing some scholarly activity or volunteering. Summers are certainly a good way to add experiences without impinging on the time you have during the school year.

10

Thanks to all of you for your help! This really cleared up the decision for me. There is no real drawback to trying out a new club or two, and it would definitely be a good way to expand my comfort zone, something I sometimes struggle to do.