I only started doing the extra curricular activities that I like in grade 11. When I apply I have been only doing those extra curriculars for two years. Before grade 11, I did a lot of sport related activities (I did like 5 sports in a serious level simultaneously), but no STEM extra curriculars; like the ones I’m doing today. Will this hurt my chances?
And my second question is what internship should I do this summer? I can continue my lab internship or I can do a over-seas humanitarian type internship. The latter would be much funner but I’m not really sure if doing it will make me lack specialization. Which one would be better?
I’m considering applying to Caltech, Princeton, MIT, and Hopkins.
It would definitely have been better to have extracurriculars that you did all four years of high school, but you can’t change the past. Have you done anything to show your passion for STEM in the past?
Is the overseas thing something you have to pay for? If so, it doesn’t mean much in college admissions. Go if you want to have fun, but it won’t help your application much.
A lot of people don’t know what they like freshman year! Don’t worry about it; the real use for extracurriculars, I’ve heard, is to show passion through your essays. Talk about what they mean to you. If they mean something, then they’re good ECs, even if you’ve only been doing them for two years (which is no small length of time, really).
My best friend is going to MIT and I’m going to Hopkins so we’re proof that you do not need STEM extracurricular activities all four years. I did not have anything STEM related other than a leadership position in junior year and that was the ONLY STEM related activity. And you have a lot of sports- which shows that you can juggle your time while maintaining grades. Personally, I didn’t have any sports or instruments (which a lot of people said meant I had no chance) but it hasn’t affected my admission into the school. I also didn’t do any internships- but I’d look into something you genuinely enjoy that’s fun. Don’t worry about specializing or whatnot to impress the adcoms. They like to see a genuine passion as opposed to whatever most people think they like to see.
Five sports and a lab internship? You’ll be fine. We don’t all know what we want in terms of career pursuits freshman year. I’m in college and I still don’t know what I want, lol.
@jhu2019 Curious, what’s your intended major?
@OnMyWay2013 Double majoring in Biology and Anthropology with pre-med advising. I wrote my “Why Hopkins?” essay about how I felt that the two majors were connected and how Hopkins would be the best place for me to pursue my dual interests.
It’s not going to hurt your chances.
I would continue with the lab internships.