(un)Focused Extracurriculars?

Colleges and Universities A-Z College of William and Mary
1

<p>William and Mary is absolutely my first choice.</p>

<p>I have decent SAT scores and a fairly strong academic record (4.0 UW gpa, will graduate with Physics, AP Calculus, and 6 years of a language) Yet...my extracurriculars, however plentiful, admittedly are unfocused.</p>

<p>I have done a musical, was in marching band for a year, ran a season of track, have done cross county for a few seasons, participated in NaNoWriMo once, was involved in chorus, fenced for a semester, have competed in science Olympiad (winning first place at the regional level), and have been accepted into the all-district band throughout high school. (I've also got some volunteer hours playing music at my church.)</p>

<p>I realize that these activities lack continuity; it's just that my passions--literature in particular, do not necessarily align with the extra-curriculars at my school. Thus, I tend to jump around a bit. I've considered starting a club, but there's not a great deal of literature loving students at my high school, and I can't picture an endeavor of that sort ending successfully. </p>

<p>Will this lack of continuity lessen the strength of my application?</p>

2

<p>Sounds to me that you do display a passion (albeit you consider it secondary) for music-related activities. You should be fine.</p>

3

<p>I’d agree with Smdur1970. The only thing I’d add is that admissions committees like to see students moving into leadership roles within their extracurriculars, so if you see such an opportunity …</p>

<p>As for literature, I’d suggest as an alternative to a club a “Literary Magazine” - you can include student submissions in art, poetry, short stories, photography. I suspect, though, it may be too late - lining up school funding, a sponsor, getting team members, soliciting/reviewing submissions, doing page layouts, and turning it around at a printer by end of term would be a <em>lot</em> of work.</p>

4

<p>I see some focus! You have music (musical, chorus, marching band; all district band); you have running (XC, Track). I agree with Squiddy about moving into leadership roles if possible.</p>