<p>Jr D is doing real well academically, so no real concerns there. However, compared to some of the stats I have seen thrown around on the level of volunteer work and EC activities, I would have to say both her quality and quanity of time served (so to speak), pale in comparison. </p>
<p>She is not a class president, star athlete, musician, cured any diseases, or even recorded 300 hours of community service in a third world country. To date she has probably recorded less than 50 hours volunteer work (all local) and is the VP of one small club at school.</p>
<p>So my question is how much do you think these items will weigh into the grand scheme of things? </p>
<p>Should be okay. My son's volunteer work consisted of spending the summer before his senior year volunteering at the senior center. He was one of many VPs of one club. He had done a lot of computer programming, both paid, volunteer and for fun which was a help. He got rejected from some top schools and accepted at some top schools - so while it may have hurt him, it wasn't fatal.</p>
<p>ECs only matter when the student shows a serious level of involvement with serious results. "Serving time" in random clubs or volunteering will not affect college admissions at selective colleges one way or another.</p>
<p>It does depend upon what type of school your D is trying to get into. HYP? Top 20? Top 50? It would help if you can provide some inkling of what you and your daughter are thinking.</p>
<p>My son had very strong ACTs, and a great prep school record, including some athletic leadership, but he never could bring himself to do much service, much to our frustration. Top 20 schools would have been a real reach, speaking generally. And out of reach, financially, since he would have gotten no merit aid.</p>
<p>D2 first try to forget what you read in CC.
Think back at the activities your D did starting freshman year.
My D was an athlete in HS because of that she had little time for anything else. Last year when she was applying to college the only ECs she had were the three months she spent tutoring a third grader and the math competition she competed in. Like you my H was worried about the lack of meaningful ECs.
She is now at a very good school .
So concentrate on what she has. Besides, it's not too late for her to do an EC in an area she likes. Jr year IMO is a very stressful period . This was the year my D started sleeping only four hours a day on weekdays. So make sure she has time just to relax.
Also tell your D to have a bragging sheet where you and her will list the activities she did outside the classroom.</p>
<p>My advice: Let her be herself. Ask her to think about what she really enjoys doing (a.k.a, her passions), and then write strong essays explaining those interests.</p>
<p>Hello there, I am new to this forum, my D is a junior and has been in girls scout for ten years now. She'll be working on her gold award this year. Anyone know if colleges care about this? Our counselor said that most colleges don't really care about this. Is that true ? I kinda feel bad that will amount to nothing.</p>
<p>As for Girl Scouts -- it's leadership, it's community service, it's showing your daughter can interact with people in a beneficial manner and help out. Colleges definately count that.</p>
<p>mango- yes GS can be a great asset for the reasons AtomicCafe mentions. It is not just that she has been a member, it is what she has done and how she has grown. If she has trouble correlating how her GS experience relates to these areas, have her talk to her leader or leaders who have had girls graduate, or college age girls for inspiration on how her experience can be shown in a positive light in the application process.</p>
<p>If she doesn't finish her gold by the time she does her applications/interviews she should still mention it as in progress, or project approved, etc. </p>
<p>There are other GS parents here such as ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad who can give you great advice. I am not there yet, D is same age and stage as yours but I am a strong advocate of the benefits from GS. </p>
<p>There are several other threads in here on girl scouts/boy scouts if you can weed through the political stuff you can find similar info. You could revive one of them or start your own thread also if you wish. Good luck to your D!</p>
<p>I don't think it's quite as recognized as Eagle Scout - but those in the know should know it's equivalent. For my gold award (though I think it was called something different back then) the seniors in our troop collaborated on a huge project at the end of junior year - it became the subject of all my college essays. So even if the award doesn't count - it may be that the work she does for it may be useful - either in the applications or of course for life in general.</p>
<p>I think it only matters if you have a list of EC's that seem unrelated or random. My Oldest D didn't have the most stellar grades but made up for that because all of her EC's revolved around lacrosse, children and the arts or some combination thereof.</p>
<p>Son is a three sport athlete and when I inquired if this looked "one-note" with no substantial community service or volunteering beyond team building stuff, his counselor said "when would he have had the time?", made me feel better.</p>
<p>But I totally get what you mean about the comparative value of your kid's EC's and grades. The thing I TRY to remember is that it's all just information and schools are trying to make a community which would be dysfunctional if all you had were academics and leaders. If that were the case, who would be left to follow? Or attend the sporting events? or... get the idea?</p>