I’m a rising senior and I have very few EC’s, due to having overwhelming social anxiety and few other reasons. I have been a member of two clubs, neither of which I am an officer for. I was considering doing volunteer work this summer at the local hospital for really just something to do, but will this matter to colleges? Would it appear to them that I was just doing it to say I have something?
Don’t just choose an EC “just to have something to do.” Your ECs aren’t great, but they’re not much better than mine were–the point being, you can still get into college.
Your ECs are not the only aspect of your app that colleges see. While you certainly don’t have outstanding ECs, don’t try to pad your resume in your senior year.
Focus on your transcript, teacher recs and essays now.
I’d even expand more on what @yonceonhismouth says. ECs are not even considered for MOST colleges except those that are pretty selective. The biggest return on investment in energy for you is ACT practice testing and be sure to nail your GPA your next semester.
Currently you have a 29C ACT. If you can get 32 or more, you’ll have MANY more choices (and potential scholarships) than if you add some meager EC or two to your schedule at this point.
Also, as for “considering some volunteering this summer” . Ummm. The summer is basically over.
If I were you, I’d spend 2-3 hours a day, five days a week on ACT and/or SAT prep books. Not kidding.
It’s already kind of over. You won’t be able to get into any ivy league school without grand extracurriculars even if you do get perfect gpa and perfect standardized test scores. I’d recommend applying to UC’s because they dont seem to care about those as much.
Who said anything about Ivy Leagues? Or about applying to UCs, which give zero financial aid to OOS residents?
@FiddleMySticks If you click onto the OP’s user ID, you can pull up the poster’s thread history. The OP isn’t aiming for Ivies or UCs. It’s never been mentioned. For this person’s goals, he/she is far from “over”
Oh my bad, I tend to forget I’m in a different situation than others. In that case, you can talk about your struggles and how you tried to overcome them in your college essays and I’m sure you’ll do fine. The biggest part is overcoming your issues, and volunteering is in the step of the right direction.
Okay, so improve test scores, get a higher GPA seems to be the better course of action? Thanks! 