<p>I have two focused extracurriculars: Philosophy Club and Political Debate Club. I have been doing them since 9th Grade.</p>
<p>Is that okay, even for top schools? I also think that these two are too bland to get in....</p>
<p>Have you made an impact with these ECs? It’s good that you’re focused rather than spread too thin, but since these are only school-wide ECs, without leadership, awards, or having make some kind of notable impact within your community, school or otherwise, it’s unlikely that your ECs will impress top schools.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t call “Philosophy Club” bland. It’s certainly a lot more interesting than X Honors Society or Y Service Club.</p>
<p>If you’ve made a difference (ex. by organizing a program) then it could make a difference. Of if you’ve won awards for debate, that could make you stand out.</p>
<p>Are you kidding me? I have won no awards or have made such a huge impact. So, oh well, guess that leaves me not going to a top school.</p>
<p>there is a ray of hope- you may have to search hard for the light tho</p>
<p>Whoever tells you that you need to do a BUNCH of stuff is wrong.</p>
<p>I’ve done nothing but theatre all four years of high school, and I’ve gotten plenty of tier 1 acceptances. I think the highest-ranked school I got into was Brandeis University.</p>
<p>for quite a few of the tier 1 univs, u need to have just a few ecs,(for the sake of it).
only when u start thinking of,say,the top 30 do u need 2 have a couple of excellent ones.
i got into umn,cooper union with avg ecs, also being an intl student</p>
<p>also problem is that I am an orm (asian), go to a private school, have no hooks, and need a lot of financial aid.</p>
<p>^Plenty of schools are need-blind, but your race will hurt. What schools are we talking here? I do know kids accepted to top schools (Columbia and UChicago) with one EC (writing and visual art, respectively), but they were both accomplished, though within the constraints of the school. I imagine teachers communicated how impressive they were, even without awards, in recs. </p>
<p>So, yes, you can be successful without a slew of extracurriculars and without national awards. But you need to impress someone, and if your accomplishments don’t speak for themselves, you need to have teachers to vouch for you.</p>