I’m looking to go into biology or CS and I really am interested in science, but my extracurriculars don’t reflect that.
I have a blog that’s pretty much about pop/geek culture (like the Mary Sue but more specific) and I do assorted CS-related things in my free time for fun. My other hobbies relate more with art and music. I’m not in any clubs at my school (or anything outside related) and I go to a STEM focused school with a lot of opportunities.
Would this reflect badly on me if I don’t “take advantage of my situation” by joining these activities at my school? While my ECs are pretty scarce, they reflect my more creative side and I put a lot of time into them. I do most of them on my own without someone who could write recs. Would doing something more “official” be better?
Hmmm. How many years have you been operating this blog for? How many followers have you acquired? How many hours per week do you spend on this blog? It does sound quite interesting. I think just as long as you demonstrate passion, you should be absolutely fine with “unrelated” ECs.
My D is a science kid and her main ECs were community service, orchestra, and theater. It didn’t hurt her for college admissions. If you are looking to attend a technical type of school like MIT, CalTech then maybe think about taking up one or two STEM ECs, but for most schools I think you should be fine.
@PolyglotGal
I’ve only been operating it for a few months and I wouldn’t brag about my follower-ship, but I spend several hours a week on it (under 10, though).
@happy1
I do plan to attend a technical type school like MIT. I’m thinking about taking up a STEM EC, but I’m afraid I won’t have time for it during junior year.
Art, music and a popular culture blog? Sounds like plenty of EC activity to me in terms of breadth. You don’t need to do any specifically CS ECs even for MIT-type schools. You do need to show a high level of accomplishment in your ECs, whatever they are. That can mean a large audience for your blog, extensive engagement with music (years of lessons, teaching, performance, compositions, whatever) or with art (similar). If there is some form of external validation, that’s nice but not essential. Just do what you love.
